Getting sick over the holiday break almost seems like tradition for my family.  It’s like the second we get a chance to breathe, we all get sick.  Between traveling, eating lots of food, and being around family 24/7, illnesses are spread very easily over the holidays.  It seems almost inevitable to get the flu, but there are ways to prevent this from happening.  Traveling is a huge part of the holiday sickness rush.  If you are traveling by car, make sure to bring trash bags, tissues, cough drops, and plenty of hand sanitizer for you are your family.  Traveling by plane is tricker because you can’t exactly supply things for the other passengers.  But you can be conscious of yourself.  Sleeping on a plane can actually lower your chances of getting sick.  When you are sleeping you need less oxygen so you are slowing that constant rate of germs passing into your lungs.  You are also less likely to need to use the public restroom available on the plane.  Travelling is only one part of the problem.  Once you reach your destination, or you visitors come to your house, there are likely to be a lot of people staying where you are staying.  With lots of people over, it can be hard to find a place to sleep that is comfortable for everybody, but after the first full night, do not change the sleeping arrangements unless you are willing to wash all of the sheets of those that are moving!  Sheets, pillows, and blankets absorb all sorts of germs in your sleep so you need to be very careful of where your head might be lying down.  Renting a hotel room if you have a lot of people staying over isn’t a bad idea, just send the super early or super late risers to have their own hotel room!  That makes everything more comfortable for everybody.  Foods are often homemade during the holidays, because everything tastes better homemade!  Make sure that when baking and decorating to always wash the spoons you lick very thoroughly, or better yet, get a new spoon!  When grabbing a snack from that tempting plate, make sure to only grab the one or more that you are going to eat.  Having people over for the holidays is so much fun, just make sure to take the right precautions so that everyone remains healthy for the start of the next semester!