Going Away for Christmas

[LinManuelMirandaIsAGenius]

I hope I’m not going to get slated for mentioning Christmas in June, but…

My lovely MIL passed away a few weeks ago. It was a sudden illness and we only had two weeks from diagnosis to her death. It’s been a really horrible time, especially for DH and our DD’s who were very close to her (we only live five minutes from her house).

She spent the last six Christmasses with us after FIL died. DH and I have both said that we don’t want to spend Christmas at home this year. The DD’s (16 and 10) heard us talking about it and were quite excited at the thought of it.

We’ve never been away for Christmas itself. We usually have a short city break (UK) just before it to get some Christmas atmosphere etc, but never over Christmas itself.

So, those of you who have been away for it, what have you done, what’s it like? Does it “spoil” it for DC (thinking of our 10yo - this could likely be her last ‘magical’ Christmas).

We don’t want to go eg, in a cottage or something like that where we will still be on our own, we want to be around other people (not with them, just around them).

Options I’ve thought of so far are:

3/4 night break in a nice hotel with everything laid on (meals, activities etc)
New York (DH and I love it, but we’ve not been since 2005 and not sure about it with DD’s).
A week somewhere warm (Canaries?)
A week’s cruise (never done one before, thought it might be fun at Christmas).

I am tempted by a few days in London. We love London but only visit once a year or so (we live hours away). What’s London like over the actual Christmas period (say, 23rd - 27th) are most restaurants open on Christmas day itself?

One thing I know I (personally) don’t want to do is Center Parcs. We’ve been before and I have a bit of an aversion to it….

Has anyone done any of these or got any other suggestions?

Sorry for long post….

We've been to new York at Christmas and it was brilliant!

It what you make of it in terms of your 10yo, so maybe have a think about Christmas day and what would make it magical for her, wherever you go.

Sounds like a fab idea, I totally understand why you don't want Christmas at home under those circumstances. You'll just be thinking about who is missing.

Sorry for your loss.

Renting a lodge at Crieff Hydro? That way you can join in with activities you want to do and use their pool but have your own space.

It sounds like a great idea and a good celebration of her life.
New York would be great
Caribbean would be utter bliss
Cruise would be good, especially if you can guarantee other kids that age - friends with teens swore by cruises with 'kids activities'
Are you up for a trip to Thailand, Malaysia or similar? That could be very special.

Cape Verde - gorgeous weather
New York & Paris - bot amazing for Christmas

cruise - your dc will need to be fully vaccinated.

Oops. I meant Paris & New York are BOTH amazing for Christmas

I love a European city at Christmas, especially as museums & galleries are usually open on 25th. Venice & Vienna both excellent at that time of year. But I don't have any kids, and want to get away from the whole Xmas "thing", so may not be what you're looking for.

Thanks for your replies…

@JuneOsborne thank you for the flowers. DH and I went to New York the first time just before Christmas (think we got back round about 21st Dec) and that was when we fell in love with it, it was fantastic. I remember it being absolutely heaving though so wonder if it might be a bit overwhelming for DD2. I do think they’d both love it, in fact I know DD1 would!

@TequilaSunriseforme Oh, Crieff Hydro is a good shout! I know of it and it’s not too far from us (2-3 hour drive I think, so perfect distance away). Funnily enough a friend of DH’s spent Christmas there a few years ago, again after a bereavement. I had forgotten that. I’ll get DH to ask him about it. It’s definitely the kind of place I was thinking of if we do a hotel break, thank you!

@bare I’m really tempted by a cruise. I think I’ve found one that fits our dates etc and it’s the Canaries, so the weather would hopefully be good. I think the DD’s would really like it (DH has never been keen on a cruise, but could be persuaded I think).

I love the idea of the Caribbean, I think the whole atmosphere would be so different. Not sure about just a week though it is doable. Similarly Thailand/Malaysia. I think if we were going to do either of those we’d want longer time (we can only spare a week). Friends of ours (with similar aged DC) are due to go to Malaysia in the summer holidays, so we might wait and see what they say about it and if they rave about it, who knows…?

@Louise0701 Would our 10yo need to be fully vaccinated for a cruise? DD1 has had 2 doses of vaccine, but DD2 hasn’t had any yet. We would consider getting her vaccinated though if she needed to be.

@Hbh17 We love city breaks. DH and I loved Vienna (visited in summer, pre-DC). DD1 also loves cities and DD2 is pretty good when we visit them too. Definitely something to consider, thank you.

Yes she would. We had our Caribbean cruise cancelled earlier this year as our DC weren’t vaccinated (8,5&3)

We went to Boston for Christmas a few years ago and it was brilliant! It’s less busy than New York, easy to walk around and loads of stuff for kids. We did the aquarium, science museum, natural history museum at Harvard and walked the freedom trail.
Everywhere was decorated nicely and there was even a bit of snow!

If you want to fly somewhat, maybe hold off booking for a couple of months and see if they sort out the airport chaos? Trip of a lifetime spent queueing and wondering if you can get an alternative flight home due to 😞 sounds less than fun with kids in tow.

I would include your DC in your planning. It can be that children prefer spending Christmas at home so they have chance to relax and play with their new toys. If you are going abroad somewhere will you be easily able to transport everyone's presents there? As adults you can chose or not do presents but it's pretty non negotiable with children .

We have holidayed to Spain a few times travelling a couple of days after Christmas. This was a bit of a compromise for all of us - and even then DC would probably preferred to stay at home .

Before we had DC myself and DH always went away for Christmas. We mostly travelled to Gran Canaria for a week but also stayed in New York. We spent one Christmas in Prague,complete with snow, that
was amazing.

We spent Xmas on holiday a few years ago - it was fantastic and the kids (5&9) loved it.
Logistics were that we did a ‘mini’ Xmas just before we left where we had a roast, did family presents etc and so we just had to take a small stocking each in suitcases. Main presents that year were things that they’d want for a holiday (new rucksack, tablet, games etc).

@LinManuelMirandaIsAGenius I went to NY when I was 11, and loved it!
Another option (for me) would be Paris! Absolutely beautiful especially in winter, and could do a day trip to Disneyland Paris if that's your type of thing as it's really easy to get to via the train

A friend and her family went to Salzburg for Christmas once. Had a fabulous time

Efteling op! How old are the DC? The 10 year old will be in heaven. Look at acdmd in bosrijk,it's wooded by the lake or in forests...

They don't do Xmas quite like us but the park is stunning at Xmas! It's about a 3 hours drive from Calais/dunirk..or an hour from Amsterdam airport.

It's a beautiful theme park, relaxed in stunning grounds with a fairy tale wood in the heart of it which can take hours to explore. there are cute, quirky " ride's"... lovely restaurant and much nicer food than any other theme park.
It's all made out of real product's not fibres glass.

It's a magical place and where I will go.

We went to the Caribbean one year for Christmas. I don’t really remember anything too special about Christmases growing up, but I remember that one. I thought it was great.

Try to choose somewhere where they 'do' Christmas if you still want that vibe. We've spent a few Christmases in Madeira which is lovely at Christmas and is usually warm enough to sunbathe. It's got an exciting atmosphere and there are things for children but it depends on their age(s). A cruise that caters for children would be excellent if what's your kind of thing, cos they do go overboard (!) with decorations

The USA at Christmas is very meh. It isnt as big a festival as Thanksgiving.
I have been in New York until New Year Eve and then went to a hotel in Connecticut for Christmas and New Year but having spent 5 or 6 christmases on holiday in the Usa it is very light touch really.

Done London in Christmas as well. Went to the Cinnamon Club for lunch. Lots of places dont open for Christmas Day lunch including lots of hotels.

How about Iceland? We went close to Christmas a few years ago and it was lovely and festive. So much to do and you could have a nice Christmas morning then do something amazing like the blue lagoon or whale watching and then try hunt down the northern lights later on.

I’m very sorry for your loss.

I wouldn’t go anywhere near a cruise this winter - we don’t know what Covid has in store for us and as others say, it’d be tricky with vaccinations etc.

I’ve had Christmas abroad in v similar circumstances to yours and I think the main decision you need to make is between a warm country non-Christmassy Christmas, and a cold country Christmassy Christmas. Does that make sense?

I would go skiing.

A nice high ski resort at a hotel. They will fully cater for Christmas with everywhere decorated, nice meals, winter sleigh rides, events hosted, and all take up skiing.

Sorry to jump on this thread but I was actually looking at the Crieff hydro lodges myself this morning (not for Christmas). I've never been before. Would you recommend? Are there good activities etc for young children?

I hate London in December but especially just after Christmas. It's mayhem, 25th is utterly dead and on the 26th everthing Christmassy is gone and it's just about the sales. I always found it extremly depressing going back to work on the 27th.

For me it would be the decision between warm and not UK-Christmassy and cold. We looked originally for 2022 to go to Thailand (plans pre-Covid) as it's my 50th birthday in December but I just couldn't face a Christmas wearing shorts and T-Shirt.

I would go for a US one, it will be bitterly cold and not as cosy as here, the 26th is a working day, but more Christmas feeling than Caribbean or Asia and more of a distraction. You could look for a stay upstate with a hotel which decorates and offers Christmas lunch and things to do for children.

Austria and Switzerland are not necessarily snowy, you could end up with a green Christmas, if you want snow you may have to look for Scandinavia.