Holidays Somewhere Else

I saw this post about Christmas in London over at About’s Travel With Kids, and I got to thinkin’….Do we always have to spend our holidays in our hometown?

Yes, I’m all for tradition and continuity, and waking up to Santa or whatever in my own cozy abode, but take a moment to consider going somewhere for a holiday.

It can build great memories and make that year a real standout for the kids.

Maybe lots of you already do this, and I’d love to hear your comments about how you make it work.

If not, let me suggest that you consider going someplace wonderful with the kids to celebrate Thanksgiving, New Year’s, or whichever winter holiday you celebrate in your family. Someplace that you’ve been meaning to go anyway, or someplace that you love already but would like to see all dressed up in lights and holiday cheer.

I’ve been to London and Key West for New Year’s, and let me tell you we all had a marvelous time (especially when Big Ben rang at midnight.) Many places now have First Night celebrations that are kid-friendly, so that helps. We were in London with family friends and Key West with grandparents, so there were plenty of jollies to go around.

Kinda spooked about breaking tradition? I vote for starting with the Thanksgiving holiday, as long as you aren’t really enamored with cooking some giant meal in your own kitchen every year. So many hotels and restaurants now put on a delicious spread that you don’t need to cook or clean up after; you can relax, enjoy and be thankful for the company of family and friends, which is the whole point of the holiday, right?

You probably want to go to a Thanksgiving destination within decent driving distance, since I can’t imagine more hell than wrestling with kids and luggage in an airport during that time of year. We popped down to New York City from Rhode Island one year — with the sparkling lights and decorations already up in most places it was like a holiday two-fer.

Just think about it, maybe not for this year unless you move fast, but maybe next year (if Aunt Mabel or whomever needs time to get used to the idea that you’re going to miss the annual trek to her place, just this once.)

Update 01 December 2006: There are apparently a lot of Australians who travel for the holidays as well (and many do it to escape the non-fun of family events that have become a raging pain in the ^#$%. I’m starting to really appreciate my own fairly low-impact family!)