CONSUMER FOCUS: Affordable family reunions
Home for the holidays?
Some ideas for saving money while entertaining guests — or just looking for some local fun this season
There’s at least one family tradition that continues to hold up against the tests of time and the economy: Going home for the holidays.
“The time around Christmas and New Year’s is the No. 1 travel period of the year,” according to Shaun D. Seufert, a public relations specialist for AAA of Western and Central New York. It doesn’t matter that gasoline prices have doubled in the past five years, even though dropping recently.
“At least 80 percent of all holiday travel between 2003 and 2007 has been by automobile,” Seufert continued. “Gas prices … have little or no impact.”
And when those holiday travelers return to their hometowns, “The majority … will stay at a friend or relative’s home,” Seufert said. “Hotel stays actually come in a distant second.”
That said, an empty nest quickly can become a full house as siblings, kids and grandkids flock home. Norman Rockwell’s images of Americana are what you dream of; Chevy Chase’s “Christmas Vacation” may be what you get.
Fortunately, the family home doesn’t have to be the only place for guests to sleep, be entertained and fed.
Take sleeping arrangements.
People accustomed to their own en suite might balk at having to share a twin bed in a guest room, then line up with the rest of the family to use the sole bathroom. With this area’s older houses, that’s a possibility.
How about staying in someone else’s home?
Martha Collins runs the Green Glen Bed & Breakfast in East Aurora with her husband Ed.
“The tourists are here during the summer. The people who come during the holidays — they’re here for relatives,” she explained. “[Relatives] don’t have room for them and they need a place to stay.”
Last year, holiday guests at the Green Glen included a man from New York City who had grown up in Orchard Park, and a woman who traveled from Paris to spend time with her mother, who lives in Wyoming County.
“It works out wonderfully well,” Collins said. “At Thanksgiving and Christmas, they are with their families,” leaving their hosts to do their own thing.
Bed and breakfast establishments throughout the region are listed on www.bbwny.com,www.allwny.com/bed_breakfast and www.bbonline.com.
Family-friendly hotel packages that cover some meals and entertainment can be found via the Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau (www.visitbuffaloniagara.com, then click on special deals and packages.)
What’s on the menu?
While eating dinner with the family pretty much is the point of Thanksgiving, don’t expect your hosts to keep their kitchen open 24-7 during your visit.
Some alternatives:
• The 2008 Entertainment Book has coupons for discounts and 2-for-1 deals at local restaurants. Just be sure to ask first before helping yourself to a coupon.
• At foupons.com, register for free then download coupons for freebies or discounts from participating restaurants.
• Restaurant.com sells discounted certificates from participating restaurants. Get on the restaurant. com e-mail list and save 50 percent to 60 percent on certificates by entering a special discount code.
When it comes time to work off those meals, taking a walk or grabbing a big piece of cardboard and heading for the nearest snow-covered hill doesn’t cost a thing. But other old-fashioned family activities still can be enjoyed at a nominal charge. Consider:
• Light shows, disc jockeys and music are welcoming a new generation of bowlers in the region, where the cost of a game averages $3.
• Rainbow Roller Rink, 101 Oliver St., North Tonawanda. www.rainbowrink.com.693-1100. Admission varies by session; skate rentals are $2 for rollers and $3 for blades — you also can bring your own.
• Rotary (Ice) Rink, Main at Chippewa, Buffalo. Opens Nov. 23 with a tree-lighting ceremony and fireworks. www.buffaloplace.com/ aboutus/marketing/rink. 854-7465. Admission is free; skate rentals are $2 for children and $3 for adults.
Not a fan of cold temperatures? A couple of local attractions guarantee balmy temperatures year-round:
• Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, 2655 S. Park Ave., Buffalo. www.buffalogardens.com. 827-1584. Adults, $6; seniors (55 and older) and students with school ID, $5; children 6 to 13, $3; and children younger than 6, free.
• Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory, 2405 Niagara River Parkway, Niagara Falls, Ont. www.niagaraparks.com/garden/butterfly. (905) 358-0025. Adults (13 and older), $11; children (6 to 12), $6.50; and children 5 and younger are free. Prices are in Canadian dollars and don’t include taxes. Don’t forget your passport to cross the bridge.
Looking to do some Christmas shopping?
Forget chain stores and malls. Avoid Niagara Falls Boulevard and Transit Road. Instead, shop the Elmwood Village, historic Allentown and Hertel Avenue in Buffalo; or Main Street in Williamsville or East Aurora.
Old-fashioned shopping experiences await in the suburbs:
• Kelly’s Country Store, 3121 Grand Island Blvd., Grand Island. www.kellyscountrystore.com. 773-0003.
• Vidler’s 5 & 10, 676-694 Main St., East Aurora. www.vidlers5and10.com. 652-0481.
• Colden Country Store, corner of Heath Road and Route 240, Colden. 941-5016.
’Tis the season, so don’t forget to include holiday festivities in your plans.
The starting gun goes off at 9 a. m. Thanksgiving Day for the 113th annual YMCA Turkey Trot, a combination footrace and costume party, in downtown Buffalo. Register before Nov. 22 at www.ymcabuffaloniagara.org/turkeytrot.
Across the border, the 26th Annual Winter Festival of Lights shines nightly in Niagara Falls, Ont., until Jan. 5, 2009. Free; don’t forget your passport. www.niagaraparks.com/events.
Special holiday performances are on the schedules of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Shea’s Performing Arts Center. www.bpo.org and www.sheas.org.
And one more thing: Welcome home.
