I was looking at trips to Iceland and came across the Celebrate Christmas in Iceland section. It looked very nice. I always spend it at home with family and have never really considered going elsewhere.

With that in mind where have you been to celebrate Christmas? I suppose the colder and snowier the better!

Err no, off to Cape Town sun and beach then 2 weeks MTB.

The only Christmases away I’ve had have been in-

Australia (lived there)

and

Florida (wife’s from there)

It’s weird. Both places still have snowmen etc and snow themed decorations. But it’s hot. Hotter than it had been all year. But it’s still Christmas, it’s still nice.

In a previous life I would have a month in Australia for Christmas.
Happy days.

yeah I can understand the strangeness of snowmen in summer in Austrailia!

I suppose I mean where have people gone or taken their family to celebrate Christmas?

MTBing in darkest mid Wales since erm 1996

Clear off Boxing Day come back New Year’s day

I like to come back to the UK for Christmas, nothing better than spending the day at my mums and doing nothing but sitting around eating and catching up with relatives, all the more that I will not see them again for another year.

Did Thailand once with the wife, it was tosh.

Zimbabwe (94), Turkey (98) and India (02) not specifically for xmas but as part of 6 months+ trips abroad.

India was the best 😀 , i loved that country but often found myself hating it (obscene poverty) at the same time

Sydney – same as above, there are Xmas decs about, even a few mad souls in Santa Suits, but it’s in the 40s, lots of Aussies take their Summer Hols over the Xmas period too so the city was quieter than it had been in the 4 months I’d been there.

It was a mad juxtaposition to see pics of my family and friends at home eating xmas dinner wearing jumpers and taking walks in what looked like an eclipse it was so dark, whilst I was trying not to melt into my chair on a rooftop garden drinking beer and eating 5 minute noodles I borrowed off a mate (forgot to buy food, all shops closed) looking off a quiet, unbelievably pretty city, big party that night too.

Have to admit, I think, deep down, I would have preferred to be home in cold, wet Wales that day.

Still, standing in the street singing at Midnight on NYE is a lot more palatable when it’s still in the high 20s in the middle of the night.

I’m sorely thinking of heading off to Canadia for Christmas and getting some boarding in. If my wife can sort her shit out and she and I are still together, she can come with me, otherwise it will be my way of escaping for a couple of weeks.

I’m going to the Pyrenees this year. The whole family are going down to my sisters place down there, there’ll probably be about 20 of us, should be good, hopefully be some snow.

We spent last Christmas in Vietnam and Cambodia. Christmas Day involved a dog bite (followed by rabies preventative treatment) and severe food poisoning. Other than that, it was excellent – Cambodia is a wonderful place.

Saying that, we’re staying at home this year… 😀

Kitesurfing in Morocco for me, gotta let the Mrs know I’m going though.

No, no shes not got an invite.. 8)

I have often slept on the floor due to too many house guests. That is away from my bed, of which I can be quite attached. 😉

Ideally as far away from all the crap that abounds it as possible.

Did California three years ago (brother-in-law lives there) with two three year old girls. I would have much rather have been at home.

Now my wife’s other brother has just emigrated with his family to Melbourne so there are already plans afoot to go there one Christmas soon. Deep joy.

Christmas is meant to be cold and dark and cosy. This year we will have our new log burner fitted and have some family around for a nice meal (I love to cook) and watching crap telly whilst eating left-overs even though we are still full then cracking open Port to wash down the cheese and pork pies we somehow manage to fit in on top.

Can’t think of anything worse.

I love it, great time of year. Loads of family time, good food, and puffer just around the corner.

Campervanning round the Highlands. Just me & the Mrs. Was perfect! Inverness on Xmas eve, Golspie to oursleves on Xmas day, lots of time in the evenings playing games & drinking whiskey together (dark at 4pm!), lots of sightseeing (waterfalls, whaling stations, ancient ruins) and hillwalking. Barely saw anyone. Only major downside was the lack of open pubs!

If airline workers are going to strike they seem to do it around Xmas. Or some other nonsense always seems to throw gremlins into peoples air travel plans. No thanks.

In the past the US, New York does Christmas very well

Have spent a few in the Alps, midnight mass in the mountains is quite special and also skiing on Christmas day of course.

Not quite going away for Christmas, but we’re heading out to Spain on Boxing Day. Went last year and had a great time, flew into Barcelona, hired a car and drove straight up to Logroño for Boxing Day tapas and wine. After a few days there drove down to Toledo, then over to Valencia for New Year. This year we’re just doing Toledo and Madrid.

Amsterdam at Christmas is one of the best Christmases I have ever had, It was superb. New year in Amsterdam is like being in a war zone! Even the police were setting off fireworks.

**** Christmas???!!!! We haven’t even set the bloody clocks back!

How vacuous is your life?

Tell you what, how about next Easter?

Will be in a big chateau on a hill overlooking Dresden with the wife’s family this year. Christmas markets will be good. Hoping for snow!

Easter, **** yeh. Bring on the mini eggs

Will be in Aus with the other half’s family, camping, sand boarding and lots of swimming are on the cards. Have spent a Christmas in the canaries before and it was lovely but then I get SAD in winter in UK so going abroad is a treat.

Easter is Xmas’s younger cooler Brother, I much, much prefer Easter – 2 bank holidays in quick succession like Xmas, but I’ve only got to drop a couple of quid on eggs for the kids and the weather is usually on the turn by then, it’s usually my little crew’s first road trip of the year too!

Only once, Queenstown, New Zealand, it was amazing, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. However, my wife is very family orientated do it’ll not happen for the foreseeable.

We went to Thailand last year, swimming in the pool with my daughter whilst Mrs Coolhandluke sunbathed, in Bangkok adjacent to the River. New Year was in Krabi.

Splendid.

This year it’s Goa.

Three years ago we stayed in Levi (Finish Lapland) for the week over Christmas. Had a great skiing holiday in a very Christmassy setting. I would do it again but my wife missed being at home.

La Mer de Glace with Champagne and err, it was so cold we drank one glass, packed up and headed back down. These days the ice is 20m or so lower.

Skiing is the default. when I worked in the UK I spent Christmas on call as I didn’t have a family and didn’t drink. Paid double time and days off in the Summer instead.

Usually head to Austria, France or Italy where hopefully it will be snowy. The amount of Christmas cheer can be questionable. Although one year we bumped in to 50 drunk Belgians dressed as Santa doing Gang Nam style – possible a touch too much cheer that day.

Euro Disney with the kids when they were younger. We got there on 23rd and it was snowing and it continued for 3 days. It was very magical with real snow and all the fountains were frozen solid. It was quite an experience but never to be repeated!

Spent 10 days over Christmas in Winter Park, Colorado. Skiing, snowmobiling and such like, with the Mrs and then 13 year old son. Was ace.

Also had a week in Austria skiing. Pretty good too. Had dinner in the evening at the mountain top restaurant, with a snow cat trip in the dark.

Great to get proper snow.

I don’t like Christmas much, and I’m not really family orientated, much to my mothers chagrin!

Would like to go somewhere warm and sunny one year, just to get the whole snowflake decorations and stuff when it’s 30 degrees and we have a Barbie on the beach

I’m spending Christmas at Chiang Mai in Thailand with MrsDummy (we live in Hong Kong).

This will hopefully avoid the various things I can happily miss about Christmas:

– excessive eating
– a week of sitting about indoors
– analysis of Strictly Come Dancing
– Quality Street selection buckets
– chilly rain

We’ll see. I’m looking forward to it. The riding is ace. 🙂

With that in mind where have you been to celebrate Christmas?

Work.

In an upside down cars in ditches trying to save someone or at least long enough for their loved ones to say goodbye, standing in a living room full of cards and presents breaking the news that their mother hasn’t made it (Happy Xmas), in the back of a vehicle trying to console someone who they and their daughter had been assaulted by her husband.

Yeah there’s a reason I want off the clinical side.

Happy Xmas everyone.

We spent a month in Peru over Xmas for our honeymoon a few years ago

I loved it as my wife would never ditch the family at Xmas otherwise

Xmas day, reaching the sun gate above macchu pichu was pretty mental, tho not because it was Xmas.

New years eve was bonkers fun, proper fiesta, hangover on the Altiplano was unbelievably painful tho

Now we’ve got kids, more than happy to spend it at home with relatives etc

http://bikingandalucia.com/category/news-and-offers/
Join us this Christmas and New Year for road or mountain biking, we have the best climate in mainland Europe, here in this area, Sierra Nevada, Andalucia, Spain, cool nights and warm days, ideal biking conditions, during the day in winter you can often bike in a short sleeved top. (we all know what the weather can be like in the UK/northern Europe over the festive period, wet and cold with short days, still light here at 6.30 pm in the depths of winter!)

Pondering Switchbacks DH for a month – but have been for the last few years…

Might just need to get my head out of my ass, put my DH bike back together and book it

This is a proper STW boasting session.

We’re going for some cheap and cheerful food and beach living for a couple of weeks. We don’t go in for Xmas, and no real family commitments, so go away instead. Sri Lanka last year. Kerala, Nam, and Thailand are on the shortlist this year.

Anyone who’s been to any of those places previously for a relaxed beach type holidays I’m looking for recommendations!