The holidays happen at the wrong time of the year.

From Thanksgiving, the busiest travel holiday in the U.S. to New Year’s week, there is an excess of travelers. We all try to make it through the airports in a lump, like a big mouse in a small snake, and the airports have trouble digesting us. The problem isn’t just the glut of people, it is the changing weather.

The beginning of winter is the most difficult to handle, not because it’s coldest, but because the weather is still changing. Beginnings can be the most vulnerable times.

Machines and people come under the greatest pressure when they are adjusting to new conditions. Computers, for instance, are particularly vulnerable when they are first put to use. Around five to seven percent of hard drives break in the first 30 days, estimates Willie Cade, Owner of PC Rebuilders and Recyclers. If the hard drive gets through that danger period, the chances are good it will run for years.

But, unless you work at Hallmark, you probably can’t move holidays to some other time of year. So, wear the shoes that are easy to take on and off, spend as much of your inevitable delay in uninhabited terminals and bring a good book.

Is there anything you can do to make airport travel easier during the holidays?

• Drink water after you get through security but before you get stuck in the dry air of the plane. If you try to take water through security it will probably get confiscated.
• If you have electronics, find a place to plug in, even if it means sitting on the floor.
• Let children walk off their excess energy off before they get on ...