In 2016, Washington D.C. resident Alexandra Perrotti was trying to find the best way to get herself and her parents, who live in Warminster, to Texas to visit her brothers, when the nonprofit education strategist noticed something curious about the plane ticket prices, writes Sebastian Modak for The Wall Street Journal.

While prices from within the country were exorbitant, they started to drop farther afield.

“I told my mom—kind of kidding, but kind of not—that it would be cheaper for the whole family to fly to Paris,” she said.

After they both laughed about it, they realized this was a great idea. From that year, a new tradition was born. Since then, Perrotti and her family have enjoyed Thanksgiving everywhere from Barcelona and Jordan to Istanbul and Mexico.

They choose where to travel based on practical considerations.

“We’re really motivated to choose locations based on the cost of flights,” said Perrotti.

To keep track of discounted fares even before the holiday rush, she subscribes to flight-deal newsletters.

In essence, the family’s approach is driven by a love of traveling to different places and “being open to so many options.”

Read more about the family’s tradition in The Wall Street Journal.

Thanksgiving travel rush gets underway with 55 million on the move