Wonderstruck
A NEWSLETTER FROM THE TEAM AT WONDER YEAR
Volume 7 • December 2023
Looking for a gift idea? Give them Wonder Year!
Our favorite place to purchase the book is at REI.com. Thank you and happy holidays!
Book News
Wonder Year has been on sale for almost three months! Here are a few of November’s wonder-full highlights.
- The book has done well at Colorado REI stores and on REI.com, so will be placed in 35 more stores in December. We’ve attended morning sales “huddles” to share our book with staff and love the heartfelt conversations had during these meetings. We look forward to further partnership.
- Sales are strong across outlets. We are beginning to look at a second print run.
- Our press page is filling up! We’re finding our stride on podcasts and at conferences.
On January 20-21, we’ll be at the Denver Travel & Adventure show! We’ll be presenting Saturday on the Savvy Traveler stage, and we’ll be at our booth all weekend long. Stop by and say hello!
Blog Roundup for November
We began the month with this post on a cool organization called Working Without Borders. In our interview with Sam Keller, you learn about what his organization does to promote and support family travel. Perhaps this read will open up your own borders.
Our next Fernweh Family is the Neilans. Jamie is a single mom who traveled with her son, Jace, and worked remotely for a month. This read is such a nice reminder that family travel is not one-size-fits-all. Determination, coupled with finding Working Without Borders, allowed them to turn summer vacation into a life-affirming milestone.
And finally, we wanted to share a bit more about the upcoming Travel and Adventure Show. This winter we will be at two of their locations: Denver and the Bay Area. Read more here about their mission, audience, and what these national shows can offer you.
December Happenings Around the Globe
- Holiday Festivities – Traveling during December opens up a world of cultural celebrations with a wide range of holiday traditions. However you and your family celebrate winter—Christmas, Kwanzaa, Diwali, Chanukah, Las Posadas, St. Nicholas Day, or via other festivities—on the road you can expand your horizons by finding festive markets, new customs, gift-giving rituals, special foods, and dazzling displays of light.
- World Arabic Language Day – Every year on December 18, we recognize Arabic Language Day. This year, the theme is “The Language of Poetry and Arts.” According to UNESCO, “On World Arabic Language Day, UNESCO is encouraging everyone to celebrate not only a language, but also a culture and, more broadly, emphasizing how much we need diverse perspectives.”
- Wonderfruit Festival – Billed as an exploration of wonder through art, culture, music, and nature, Wonderfruit is an extraordinary worldschooling opportunity happening December 14-18, 2023, in Chonburi, Thailand. Wonderfruit could be a fabulous eco-friendly close-out to 2023 if you are in the area.
- Nobel Prize Day – Every year on December 10, the world glows with hope and admiration as the new Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and economics receive their prizes at a ceremony in Stockholm. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded the same day in Oslo.
- New Year’s Eve – Celebrated on December 31, New Year’s Eve is a day families and friends come together for good cheer! Many take time to reflect on the outgoing year and look to the future with optimism and a renewed commitment to positive change. Around the world, there are gatherings with fireworks, live music, food, drinks, and sparklers. Let us be the first to wish you a very HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!
Nature’s Offerings
- Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) – In December, traveling families in the far north have a fantastic opportunity to witness the Northern Lights. This extraordinary light show happens when energized particles from the sun crash into the earth’s atmosphere, creating an unforgettable display of dancing light.
- Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere – Meanwhile in the Southern Hemisphere, December brings warmer weather and the longest day of the year as the sun reaches its highest point in the sky. If you are lucky to be near the Antarctic on December 21, you might even experience the Midnight Sun, a 24-hour period when the sun never sets.
- Penguin Mating Season – Also in the Southern Hemisphere summer, many penguin species begin their mating season with a display of unique, remarkable rituals, including calls, bowing, flipper waving, and even the offering of pebbles or stones as gifts. We can learn about these amazing animals and their unique evolutionary path, which today puts some species at risk of extinction due to climate change and loss of habitat.
- Winter Constellations – In December, when the air is crisp and clear, you can see incredible groups of stars in the night sky, including Orion: three bright stars forming the “belt” of Orion; Taurus: a v-shaped cluster of stars called the Hyades and the bright red star Aldebaran, marking the eye of the bull; and Gemini: two bright stars that appear close together, forming an “o” shape.
- Yellowstone in Winter – Wintertime in Yellowstone National Park can be magical. While temperatures will likely be quite cold, geothermal features remain hot, and the bubbling hot spots and rising steam can make for a gorgeous experience. December is also a great time for seeing wildlife in the park, including elk, bison, and wolves, as they forage for food.
Links We’re Loving…
- Hipcamp – Dubbed the Airbnb for camping, Hipcamp offers booking services for a diverse range of places to park your rig on public and private land, including RV parks, cabins, treehouses, and glamping sites. They help families, couples, and solo travelers get off the beaten path.
- Argosyodyssey – These travelers are one of the first Facebook accounts we followed when we were RVing full-time. Their Argosy, a vintage trailer that is part of the Airstream lineup, is the coolest we’ve ever seen. Plus, Cate and Chad travel with their pet goat, Frankie, whose cuteness is plastered across their Instagram account. CNN recently got wind of this unique traveling family, too.
- Lonely Planet – While this well-known travel company doesn’t need much explanation, we’re excited to highlight that Annika contributed a travel story about Egypt that appeared on the Lonely Planet Instagram page and currently has over 250,000 views. Her family loved sharing their experience to help inspire other travelers.
- Discover Corps – A Certified B Corporation, Discover Corps is a trailblazing company that understands the power of travel to make positive changes in both travelers and the communities they visit. We appreciate and admire their impact and share the desire to help traveling families deepen their understanding, empathy, and connection to people and communities around the world.
- Simple.adventurous.life – Follow this traveling family of five right now to catch them as they depart for eight months of full-time travel. First stop: New Zealand. They post often, so it might just feel like you’re going along for the ride.
We hope you found these updates and tips helpful! We wish you all the best in your worldschooling adventures, whether you’re planning your trip, are currently on the road, or have already returned and want to stay connected to the family travel community.
As always, we’d love your feedback. If you have any questions or comments about this newsletter, feel free to reach out to us at any of the emails below. Thank you!
Happy Trails,
Wonder Year Team
Annika: annika@wonderyear.com
Angela: angela@wonderyear.com
Julie: julie@wonderyear.com
