Problem: Article: Invite your extended family for a meal and a gift exchange. Do as many of your typical Christmas activities as you can, as this will keep you (or your kids) from feeling like you're missing out on the cruise. This will also let you avoid packing big gifts to give to your family while on the ship. Since this cruise is all about minimizing stress, try not to let things get out of control. Your mini-celebration doesn't have to be exactly like Christmas if that's going to be too much work! Just do whatever makes you and your family happy. As you're throwing clothes into your suitcase, don't forget to add some festive options. There will surely be holiday-themed dinners, dances, and entertainment on the cruise, and you'll want to fit in! Green or red clothing is perfect for the Christmas season. You can also pack gold or silver items if you're hoping for a fancier look. A Santa hat or some reindeer antlers can also be fun for children and adults. It can be tough to make space in your suitcase for lots of bulky gifts, especially when they're wrapped. Plan an exchange either before or after you leave home for bigger items. Bring just a few very tiny gifts to give each other on the cruise itself. Since the cruise may be your family's big gift this year, you can also skip gift-giving entirely! Cruise ships have a wide variety of shops with fun souvenirs and luxury items. You may even want to delay your holiday shopping. Leave about half of your suitcase empty if you plan on indulging in a shopping spree. You might want to bring your own bottle of champagne or wine to celebrate the holiday. Some cruise lines will allow you to bring your own alcohol aboard and others will not. Call the line directly to double check before you leave your house. Don't try to sneak it on. It probably won't work, and it may even prevent you from being allowed to board. At a minimum, your nice champagne is going to be confiscated and wasted. You'll likely need passports for all the members of your family that are traveling. As soon as you book the cruise, renew any passports that are set to expire and get new ones if you need to. On your departure day, check to make sure you've got everyone's passports before you leave your house and each time you stop. While the ship will be totally decked out in Christmas decor, your cabin may not have quite as many decorations. Bring a tiny tree, some twinkly Christmas lights, and a wreath to liven up your room. Having a few small decorations in your cabin could be especially comforting for small children who may miss home during the holiday. You can probably pick these things up in your departure city right before you get on board. This will make the packing process a little easier.
Summary: Have a small celebration at home before you leave. Bring special outfits for the holiday. Make a plan for gifts. Leave room in your suitcases for souvenirs. Check your cruise line's alcohol policy. Make sure you've packed your IDs before you leave. Get some small decorations for your cabin.

Problem: Article: Minecraft allows you to easily start multiplayer games if you are all connected to the same local network. If you're at home, chances are all of your computers are connected to one network. Things may be a little more complicated in a school or work environment. Click here for details on configuring a network. You can use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to connect multiple remote computers together on one network. This can be great for getting friends from different places together without having to create a server. Click here for details on setting up a VPN for you and your friends. In order to connect to the game, all players must be playing the same version of Minecraft. Decide which computer will be starting the game, and then use the profile editor on all the computers to set the version to match. Start the Minecraft Launcher and click the Edit Profile button. Select the correct version from the "Use version" drop-down menu. This computer will be referred to as the "host", and should probably be whichever computer is most powerful. Load up one of your worlds in single-player mode on the host. Once the world has loaded, you can open the game up to anyone on your local network through the Pause menu. This will begin the process for setting up the network game, and a new menu will appear. You can choose between Survival, Adventure, and Creative modes, as well as toggle cheat codes on or off. Click the buttons to switch between options. The other computers on your network will now be able to connect to your game. Make sure that the computer is connected to the network, and that it is running the same version of Minecraft that the host computer is running. Minecraft will scan your network for any active games. The host computer Minecraft game should appear on the list. If the game doesn't appear, click the Direct Connect button and then enter the local IP address for the host computer. Click here for details on finding the IP address of the host. Your display should say LAN World above the game name. After selecting and joining, the world will load and you can begin playing. Once all of the players have joined, they may find themselves far away from the host, especially if the host has done a lot of exploring in the game already. The host can teleport each of the players so that they can all play together. On the host computer, press T to open the chat window, and then type /tp PlayerName HostName and press Enter. This will teleport the player named PlayerName to the host. Repeat this for all of the players. Make sure each of the players sleeps in a bed in your new location. This will ensure that they spawn there if they die.
Summary:
Ensure that all of the computers are connected to the same local network. Ensure all players are running the same version of Minecraft. Start a game on one of the computers. Press the Escape key to open the Pause menu. Click Open to LAN. Decide on your multiplayer game settings. Click Start LAN World to begin the multiplayer session. Start Minecraft on the second computer. Click the Multiplayer button on the Minecraft main menu. Select the game and click Join Server. Have the host teleport all of the players together.