Christmas Family Vacations: Europe or Canada for Those Holiday Traditions
If you’re planning to break away from the traditional stay-at-home Christmas but are looking for a family Christmas vacation where you can still experience the spirit of Christmas, here are 2 great ideas:
Family Christmas Holidays: Enjoying the Christmas Spirit in Lapland
Lapland in Scandinavia is the home of Santa Claus and there are many family Christmas holiday packages available for the season there. Things to watch out for include the Northern Lights in clear skies. Finnish Lapland hosts Santa-themed activities, and many hotels are in the Christmas spirit of family vacations.
There are plenty of activities for the whole family, from winter sleigh rides to ski slopes. Some package deals will include these activities for free, so once you’ve paid your money up front, you won’t have to worry about paying for activities for the rest of your trip. There are also several options open when it comes to accommodation, with log cabins among the places to stay in hotels. Some of the log cabins even have their own saunas. It is highly recommended to bring your thermal clothing with you on any trip this far north.
Reindeer and husky sleigh rides are offered. Some family Christmas vacation packages will include a visit to a reindeer farm. Snowboarding and downhill skiing are also available in some locations, as well as more challenging cross-country skiing for those who want to keep fit. There are also opportunities to learn about the Sami people, the indigenous people of Lapland.
Family Christmas Vacation: A Trip to Northern Canada
A trip to Lapland or anywhere else in Europe may seem like a luxury too good to afford, but what if you want a spirit-filled family Christmas vacation that won’t break the bank?
If you live in a region that gets a lot of snow at Christmas, you may feel like a family sleigh ride is something you can do every day. But what if snow doesn’t fall as often as you’d like? How far do you have to travel to enjoy a white Christmas?
There are many places in Canada that promote themselves as traditional Christmas getaways. White Christmases in northern Canada are common, and a family White Christmas vacation to a Canadian ski resort can bring a little more Christmas cheer than you might at home in a cold but snowless environment. With snowmobile and husky rides, you can have a great family Christmas vacation that won’t cost as much as a trip to Europe. Ice skating and skiing can also be included.
In fact, some Canadian destinations market themselves as celebrating a traditional Old World Christmas. White Christmases are much easier to come by north of the border. According to the Canadian Weather Service, Quebec City has a 100 percent chance of having a white Christmas every year. Since Quebec is a French-speaking region, you can add that Old World tint to a family Christmas vacation that you’re looking for and you won’t have to travel across an ocean to get it.
Other Canadian cities likely to see snow on Christmas Day include Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg. So why not take the family to Canada for that Christmas family vacation you’ve all been dreaming of?