Christmas in the canaries

[Giraffeinaplane]

For the first time ever, I'm going away for Christmas! We'll be staying in a villa in the canaries with my 5 year old. What do we need to take to make sure it's still Christmassy?

I've got one of those pop up tinsel trees for the villa, and I'm planning to take my little ones presents and wrap them there, but guess I'm going to have to prioritise smaller presents - is there anything I can take that will look big under the tree but pack down small??

And if I want to take mince pies and Xmas pudding, I'm guessing I'll need to pack them, but does anyone know if I'll be able to buy some at Stansted instead?

How about something inflatable to play with in the water? That way you can take it flat and blow it up there?? There are also fun pop up play tents that pack small enough to fit flat in a suitcase

You could always take a large flat pack gift box in the bottom of your suitcase and then put a smaller gift inside it covered in colourful tissue paper.

A kite would be fun for holiday use or else this collapsible beach set or crayola drawing board…

Take one or two small Christmassy scented candles. Maybe a pine scented one.
Take a sachet of mulled wine spice. There’s no shortage of red wine in the Canaries so you could easily make your own once you’re out there.
Christmas pyjamas
If there’s a book that you always read on Christmas Eve (for us it’s The Night Before Christmas), don’t forget to pack that.

Pop up play tent is a great shout. We regularly took a micro maxi scooter with us in our hold luggage as it folds down and kept DD moving.

A few years back we went to Tenerife ( this was October half term week) there were shops in the shopping mall across the road getting fully geared up for Christmas 😆. Don’t know what choice there would be nearer the time but you can have a search at what shops will be near you .
Giant Father Christmas - I was impressed!

Canary Islander here.

Unless you're going to one of the really little islands (La Gomera, El Hierro) you'll be able to buy 95% of whatever you want here, especially if you're in a touristy zone.

Mulled wine is in the supermarkets, as are mince pies, Stollen, hot chocolate, pigs in blankets, gravy, etc etc.

To get things like tinsel, fairy lights, crackers etc. cheaply, ask a local where the nearest 'Chino' is – they're big shops run by the local Chinese community where they sell EVERYTHING you can imagine at low prices. Not very Mumsnet ethical / sustainable, but it'll save you suitcase space for other things!

You'll probably meet Santa on the beach at some point – I don't know how he doesn't melt into a puddle in a full suit, but he does the rounds regularly for the kids.

If you DO see him on the beach, it might be fun to sneak some sand back to the villa so you can do the 'snowy footprints' thing on Christmas morning but with sand 😄Maybe leave out a big bowl of cold water for the reindeer, since they're not used to high temperatures.

The only thing you might genuinely struggle with is a Christmas pudding, so good shout on bringing that one yourself.

@natura we are also going to Tenerife at Christmas. I was thinking full on Spanish Christmas but not sure what that entails 😄 or whether that's even possible in a tourist resort!

The locals celebrate Christmas on 6 January (Kings’ Day) rather than on Christmas Day, but given the amount of tourists I’m sure you will be either able to find the full Christmas dinner thing on Dec 25, or do something totally different, depending on your preference.

I would go for Turkey rather than Canaries... 🦃

Your coats in the corner...