According to priceline, the current national average airfare for Thanksgiving travel is $383, only once in the last eight years has the average Thanksgiving airfare been higher ($385 in 2007).

Nostalgia fans may want to look back on 2004, when the average airfare was a bargain $313.

For Christmas, the 2010 average airfare is $444, compared to $452 in 2008 (and $361 in 2003). National average airfares for the 2010 holiday season were calculated based on fares booked in October through priceline.com's airline ticketing service.

What's a holiday traveler to do? "You can dramatically reduce your airfare by being choosy with your travel dates," said Priceline Senior Travel Analyst Brian Ek. "Pick days when fewer people are flying and the fares will be cheaper. For example, the average fare on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, when everyone wants to fly, is $409. If you wait and fly on the following Monday, the fare drops to $341. Likewise in December, the average fare for a flight on the Saturday before Christmas is $523. If you fly on Christmas Eve day, the fare drops to $436. So you can actually save quite a bit by adjusting your travel days."

The best days to fly over the Thanksgiving holiday are November 22, 23, 25 (Thanksgiving Day) and 30.

The best days to fly over the Christmas holiday are December 20, 21, 24 (Christmas Eve), 28, 29, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Priceline's regularly updated Best Days To Fly calendar for the holidays can be viewed at http://travela.priceline.com/promo/deals/winter_holidays/flights.html

Ek also had some additional tips to help find cheaper airfare and keep those travel costs down after the airfare is booked.