It’s that time of the year when families pack up everything they own and head out for the holidays.

Earlier today, AAA released their holiday travel forecast and the news is good: travel is down this year, so ONLY 43 million people are going to hit the road next week.  Since you’ve been so busy cleaning off your desk before the trip, here’s a handy round up of key stories from around the internet, whether you are flying solo or it’s a total family affair.

Mom and former flight attendant Heather Poole has some great advice here about flying with your kids.  I’ve always wondered about unprepared parents on planes, mostly because I always lived by the Girl Scout motto: Be Prepared. If you’re not yet, read 5 Tips for Flying with Kids before you go.

Another important source for information comes straight from the Transportation Security Administration.  This post, from the TSAblog, has information for military travelers, a guide to what to bring and not bring onboard including very clear photographs plus contact center hours and details. Did you know the TSA has an app too? You will when you read their Travel Trips.

The Travel Channel has ten tips for  surviving holiday travel, including some good information about days to travel and times of day to travel.

There may still be some time to save money on your holiday travel expenses. Check out what the smart people at Real Simple magazine have to say about that. My favorite is number three: don’t drive yourself to the airport.

If you’re a procrastinator, there are even tips for you from The Fiscal Times.

If you’re driving to your holiday celebration, AAA is always a great source for road safety.

If you’re one of those people who are concerned about road safety on particular days of the week and times of the year, take heart. This chart from safe motorist.com shows the worst days, months and times of day to drive.

Finally, here’s the word on the worst highways to drive all the time, which means they won’t be any better during the holidays.

Safe travels y’all.