Which countries in Europe to visit in December?

[Oldermumhum]

I want to book a holiday in December to travel to some European countries mainly - Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and Austria. I am not sure realistically which of these I should plan to visit as we have a 2 yo toddler. This holiday would be over the Christmas period.
Please suggest from your experiences, which of these would you recommend?

Be aware of how much is closed (and when) over Christmas for starters.

It varies from country to country.

I think the country you visit is possibly less important than the type of place you book - as RedToothBrush suggests, lots of cities will just close down altogether for several days over Christmas, whereas a specific resort that relies on winter tourists us more likely to cater for them as normal. Here in Germany, in a large city, things close down at midday on the 24th and don’t open again until the 27th (or 28th if that’s a Sunday). Everyone is at home with their families, so things would be pretty dull for a tourist.
In that respect I‘d probably recommend a skiing resort in the German, Austrian, French or Swiss Alps. Even if you don’t ski at least some of the restaurants will be open, and you can go up in cable cars, go for walks etc. Prices will be pretty high for that week though, even if the snow conditions aren’t the best that early in the season.

The biggest issue I've had when travelling in Europe over Christmas is food. You need to be in either a decent hotel or go self catering and give good thought to when and how you go shopping. And work out what you want to do (and whether it will be open when you want to do it!).

Going with a two year old, isn't remotely an issue though.

It can be cheaper to go on city breaks for that week than the previous week for this reason.

If you can travel and return BEFORE the 24th there's loads more to do (but its more expensive). And ime travelling on the 26th/27th (provided you don't expect to eat when you arrive on the 26th) isn't a bad call as you don't end up with 'dead days'.

Do you mean over the 24-26th December?

We have done december city breaks for the last 20 years but we always come home before christmas.

Unless you are happy to spend a lot of time in your hotel/air bnb or just walking around - be prepared for most places to be closed on Dec 25th itself and shorter opening hours, restricted transport in the days either side.

In Brussels the Xmas market will be open Xmas day and public transport running. Restaurants will be open, but it might be wise to make a reservation. Boxing day is not a public holiday in Belgium but some places might be closed. Xmas Eve and NYE are the biggies, where most restaurants will be laying on a long, multi-course and expensive extravaganza.

Finland

Germany closes down between the 24th and 26th. Some restaurants will be open 25/26th but mainly with reservations done far in advance.

If you consider it, then choose a city like Berlin or Munich were more will be open but typical sightseeing will still be closed.

A ski resort may offer packages with full board and activities. A colleague did it, I think Austria, and she said she was glad as s/c would have meant severe planning issues.

If you travel after Christmas, so 27th onwards you are in better luck but then again the 31st and 1st Jan are closed down again.

We sometimes visit family in Hamburg and even there the 1st Jan is absolute dead.

I would see to travel the week 16th and come back before Christmas.

The best Xmas we had was in Austria in a ski resort. Lovely food, not the hideous glitter Xmas obsession, just lovely and quiet! Went skiing on Xmas day, lovely!

I agree that a ski resort is the best option as these will run during the christmas period. jungfrau region in Switzerland is good but fairly expensive

Slovenia! Christmas is not a big deal here. Lots of nice things to do but no major shut down. The 25th is a holiday, but restaurants will still be open. And you have both the Alps and the Adriatic coast.