【推荐1】Most of us travel with our parents as children and teenagers. For some of us, during the travel, our parents are our inspiration. These trips are normally full of rental (租借的) cars, beaches, and hamburgers. My family would go to Galiano island every summer, and we spent a week in Mexico in 1995, and then we took two different trips to Anaheim to experience the magic of Disney, Universal, and Knott’s Berry Farm, the US.

But all of these are childhood experiences and memories. I didn’t truly travel with my parents until I’m an adult when I got the chance to travel with mom and dad.

I was in New Zealand for a study abroad, and invited my parents to come down for a 2-week road trip around the North Island and then 10 days in Fiji. Why not? They said as if this was something they were invited to do every day. I didn’t really plan anything, but my mom had done some reading and I knew some highlights (亮点) after living in New Zealand for 5 months.

I had booked a hotel for their first night in Auckland. The only other preparation I had done was to book a rental car. My parents immediately reached an agreement that I should be the driver, for the whole two weeks. The main reason for this, understandably, was that neither of them had ever been in a country where you drive on the left hand side of the road and on the right hand side of the car. This led to me driving my parents around the entire North Island of New Zealand for 2 weeks! But still, everybody had jobs. Dad had the maps, and mom had the guidebook, and I just took them where they told me to go.

Sometimes as two kids’ father, I was asked who I was traveling with. When I said “my parents”, the response was, “Ohhh, older people.” Actually, I have some tips on travelling with parents happily.

【推荐3】After a long period of lockdown(禁闭),now it is time to relax. Head out to find surprising holiday decorations to warm your heart and make your season bright. Come on, light shows a waiting for you.

Holiday Lights on the Boardwalk

Take a walk by the ocean and experience a holiday light display along the Long Beach Boardwalk, dusk to p.m. daily and weekends through mid-January, from Long Beach to Park Avenue.

Free, 516-432-6000. You can also check the stores along Park Avenue for more holiday lights.

Town of Islip Holiday Light Show

Bring the family to see the lights from the comfort and safety of personal vehicles as you drive through the 1/8-mile light display on the grounds of historic Brookwood Hall. Decorations have been given by Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs and Public Works staff.

Cheap, 516-433-6742.From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 22; Brookwood Hall Park. Suffolk

County Holiday Lights Show

The Suffolk County’s drive-through display features two miles of holiday-themed lights; opens from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Dec. 30. Closed Dec. 24-25 Tickets will be sold at the gate and payment can be made with credit cards only, no cash, $25; $22on Dec. 30.

Monday through Friday; 631-543-6622

Christmas House

Indoor family-friendly walk through holiday experience, highlights include a real snow room:3 to 11 p.m. MondayThursday; 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday; 10 a. m. to l a.m. Saturday; 10 a. m to 11 p.m. Sunday through January. Guests must wear masks, maintain social distancing and purchase tickets with assigned arrival time in advance online.

$30 for adults, $25 for kids aged 10 and younger, 631-591-0455.

【推荐1】Article Contest—Teens Making a Difference!

No matter what your age or life is, you can always make a difference. Teen Ink knows this, and so does Natalie Silverstein—author of Simple Acts: The Busy Teen’s Guide to Making a Difference! For this contest, we want to know what simple acts you've done to make a difference! Please click here for online registration.

Follow all rules carefully to prevent disqualification.

You must be a teen（aged 13-19）with a Teen Ink account to enter.

Submissions (提交) must relate to the topic（Teens Making a Difference）.

Articles must be between 250-350 words.

Deadline: December 31 this year.

There's no size limit to an act of kindness—it doesn’t matter how big or small your act of kindness is. We want to hear about it!

There is no limit to the number of pieces you can submit.

Submit entries through our website. Other forms of submission will not be accepted. All entries submitted to Teen Ink are automatically (自动) considered for the contest. Must include the words “Article Contest” in your submission’s tags (标签) and title.

Winner and honorable mentions will have their articles published in Teen Ink magazine. Overall winner will receive a copy of Natalie Silverstein's book, Simple Acts: The Busy Teen’s Guide to Making a Difference and a $25 Amazon gift card.