Check out these christmas vacation ideas To Find the Best U.S. Cities to visit for holiday cheer, wintry fun and postcard-perfect scenery.
Have you lost that holiday feeling? I totally get it. The holidays can be a hassle when you’re already feeling frazzled and your to-do list starts getting longer. (Hello: gift shopping, holiday cards, school parties, work potlucks and decorating the house). If you find yourself sympathizing more with the Grinch this year, I know exactly what you need: a big, fat dose of Christmas magic. It won’t be enough to watch the Hallmark movies this year – you need to feel like you’re in one!
Best U.S. Cities for Getting in the Christmas Spirit
Take a weekend off from chores and the holiday runaround to just bond with your family, enjoy the season and get the holiday warm-and-fuzzies all over again in these cities:
#1: Chicago, Illinois
Chi-town is the quintessential Christmas city. It’s been the backdrop of so many holiday movies like Planes, Trains and Automobiles, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and Home Alone. And why? Because this city dazzles at Christmastime: Blanketed in snow, high rises illuminated against a dark night sky, people pacing sidewalks, tufts of breath floating on frozen air, ducking into cozy bars and dimly lit restaurants and big-box shops.
Chicago also has one of the best traditional holiday markets in the U.S. Fashioned after the ones held in Germany this time of year, the Christkindlmarket is a sugar-plum fantasy. Sip hot spiced wine while you listen to carolers and browse wooden huts filled with holiday wares – from cuckoo clocks to handmade ornaments to roasted nuts and gingerbread cookies the size of your head.
You can also glide around the outdoor skating rink in downtown Millennium Park, marvel at the 2.5 million lights that set Lincoln Park Zoo aglow and finally find that green leather purse your sister wants in one of the shops on Miracle Mile (Michigan Avenue). But, when all is said and done, the best spot to be in Chicago just may be next to a crackling fire sipping a boozy hot chocolate or an eggnog shot at one of the city’s winter pop-up bars.
Learn more about Favorite Chicago Christmas Events and Traditions.
#2: Greenville, South Carolina
Just because there’s no snow in Greenville doesn’t mean there isn’t a ton of holiday spirit. Santa drives a pretty sweet ride (an electric sleigh) and everyone is invited to go for a spin past downtown’s tree-lined sidewalks that twinkle with white lights. Inside four downtown hotels, you can check out giant Christmas trees all Martha-Stewarted with amazing decorations for the annual Festival of Trees competition.
If you want to do some shopping, Greenville hosts a Christmas market, a vintage market and has lots of cute boutiques. But the place people like best? The little outdoor skating rink on Main Street, where you can watch tots teeter around on skates and not freeze your booty off (December temps hover around 55 degrees).
Want to go? Check out 75 Things to Do to Celebrate the Holidays in Greenville.
#3: Leavenworth, Washington
Families love Leavenworth in the winter when this Bavarian village lookalike nestled in the Cascade Mountains seems pulled straight out of a snow globe. Strung with lights and a dusting of snow, the town is the perfect setting for a storybook weekend complete with feeding reindeer at the Leavenworth Reindeer Farm.
Visit the Nutcracker Museum and the Gingerbread Factory (where you can sip a spiced latte with your cookie) and hit the slopes for skiing or tubing at Leavenworth Ski Hill. If you really want to feel like you’re living in a fairytale, take advantage of the one-horse open sleigh rides through snow-covered meadows and forest, too.
Discover all the fun things to do during Christmas in Leavenworth.
#4: Ann Arbor, Michigan
This college town is best known for its fall football scene, but I love it at Christmastime. The tree-lined streets of the historic downtown sparkle with white lights, the shops are filled with one-of-a-kind gifts and there’s a lively night scene with your pick of amazing restaurants, live music shows and cocktail stops (speakeasies, fancy bars and distilleries).
In early December, you can stroll Kindlefest, an open-air Christmas market and attend a holiday symphony – Handel’s Messiah at the University of Michigan.
Get a detailed list and links to all of the Best Things to do in Ann Arbor.
#5: Newport Beach, California
If you’d rather see Santa on a surfboard than a sleigh, Newport Beach is the perfect getaway for you. Here, people gather near the water to watch the Christmas Boat Parade. For five nights, yachts, boats, kayaks and canoes decked out in lights and holiday decorations cruise around the harbor.
You can watch the show from Marina Park or from a waterfront restaurant like The Rusty Pelican. (Request a window table in the upstairs lounge where they have live music on Fridays and Saturdays, too.) Of course, you can get on the water too as either a part of the parade on a public cruise or during the day to go whale watching. December is ideal for spotting grey whales.
Have some people you still need to shop for? Spend an afternoon browsing Fashion Island, a big outdoor mall. You can also head to nearby Anaheim to go to Disneyland. The park is decorated with hundreds of poinsettias, Christmas trees and lights, and features toy soldiers and reindeer in its twice-daily parade. But what you absolutely don’t want to miss is The Haunted Mansion ride. This time of year, the theme changes to “Nightmare Before Christmas.”
Check out this Guide to Christmas in Orange County.
#6: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pack your parka and head to the “City of Love” for a classic Christmas weekend. Because there are a bunch of family-friendly activities near each other, it’s easy to see a lot of sights in a short amount of time especially with little ones in tow.
At the historic Macy’s department store in downtown, kids get a kick out of the light show that runs every two hours in the atrium. You can also stroll through Dicken’s Village, a walk-through version of The Christmas Story with cobblestone streets and animatronic characters on the store’s third story.
If your family has a thing for trains, be sure to stop at the Reading Terminal Market, an indoor food market with more than 80 vendors selling everything from Philly cheesesteaks to Peking duck to donuts. It’s fun to walk through any day of the week, but during the holidays they set up interactive train displays (you can control the trains and lights!) and village scenes.
Another special market to visit on weekends in December is the outdoor “Made in Philadelphia” marketplace, where local crafters sell their wares from white tents surrounding an ice-skating rink.
Read more about Christmas in Philadelphia: Free and Fun Ways to Celebrate.
#7: Fredericksburg, Texas
An offbeat mix of German heritage and cowboy attitude, Fredericksburg is a quirky Christmas getaway. For example, where else are you going to find cowhide stockings? And forget milk and cookies – here you can sip spiced wine while you pop in and out of shops and art galleries along Main Street.
Of course, you can’t leave without snapping a picture of the town’s 26-foot tall, hand-carved wood Christmas pyramid or ducking into The Christmas Store to purchase some new ornaments. And when you want a break from twinkly town square lights, you can hike the 425-foot pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area (about 17 miles north of Fredericksburg) for a stunning view of “hill country.”
Getting out of town for a quick weekend getaway at Christmas can help you focus on just being together with the ones you love (minus the chores!). After all, isn’t that what matters most?
Happy travels,
P.S. Naughty, nice, who’s to say? But what I do know: You deserve some really good gifts this year. Don’t leave it up to you-know-who. Add a few of these 16 Fun Gift Ideas for Women Who Love to Travel to your list!
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