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….

Thanks again for the replies, lots of great ideas and food for thought…
Airport chaos is definitely a consideration, it’s why I’m considering London or a UK hotel. Disappointed to hear that London might not be the best idea, but had a feeling that might be the case which is why I asked.

Paris and Disney could be a good option, we could still avoid flying and the DD’s absolutely loved it (we’ve been once, three years ago.)

DD1 would love to go skiing, DH and DD2 are quite unco-ordinated and I have a hip problem so might struggle with it, but depending on where we went and what else there was to do it might work.

Efteling is a really interesting idea, thank you @Summerwhereareyou . I know people who have been, but hadn’t considered it. I definitely need to look into it!

I know a cruise could be tricky in the current climate, just liked the idea of having everything in one place and (hopefully) lots to do and no cooking for me.

Hadn’t considered Madeira or Iceland/Scandinavia, will explore those a bit.

Definitely think we need to decide between warm/hot and cold/snowy first of all…!

Op I've done Disney at Xmas and really enjoyed it, but efteling was far better!.
Disney combined with Paris id do but efteling is far more immersive, the location... the site...

Also can do Amsterdam from there or stop at Bruges/Ghent on the way

I’ve been to New York at Christmas and loved it, also Florida, not so much. Would love to go to Iceland.

Bruges - easy to get to by train, old and atmospheric, dinky enough to not feel overwhelming and lots of Belgian beer and chocolate! They do a good Christmas (or at least the lead up looked good in early December a few years back).

Also Venice or Rome?
Both quieter in winter but still buzzy and lots to see and do. Venice can be very unique in winter, foggy and mystical. You'd need to book ahead for Christmas day meals or eat in the hotel if it's got one, but otherwise great places over the holiday period.

Or for a warmer Christmas, I recommend southern Spain, we were in Estepona some years back, perhaps not so 'Christmassy' but we were in T Shirts on Christmas day and quote a few restaurants were open.

I think we need to know your budget.

Lapland? We went just before Christmas but believe that there are packages that take in Christmas eve and Christmas day (and the New Year!) as well.

I loved it. I adored the lights and the snow and the cold and the huskies and everything.

We drive to efteling and stop at Bruges, when we did our Xmas at efteling it was super pretty in Bruges. We wanted to get to Amsterdam but couldn't afford a night there unfortunately.