Getting away from it all...

A lot of people seem to be going away for Christmas. I have a single friend who's booked on a coach holiday and a couple I know are off to Spain for Christmas.
I've never done it myself but certainly would think about it if we didn't have family coming to us.

Anybody on here been/going away for Christmas?

Re: Getting away from it all...

I haven't done so far, but it does appeal to me. I have my parents for Christmas dinner, so there's no way I'd just go off somewhere.

Re: Getting away from it all...

Having spent most of my life traveling around at Christmas and braving some horrendous driving conditions in order to please other people I am now pleasing myself and staying close to my own bed and hearth
So it's a no for me.

Re: Getting away from it all...

I prefer to stay home for Christmas, we either have our family here or we are invited to theirs. I agree it is a lot of work preparing everything on Christmas Day but I love doing it for others

Re: Getting away from it all...

I'd like to go away, preferably to somewhere where the weather is decent and where others do the work, but Sheila won't hear of it.

Re: Getting away from it all...

We have to stay home through necessity. My husband works nights for a supermarket and because this is one of their busiest times no holidays are allowed and he usually only gets one night off at Christmas and New Year.

So we make the most of the time we have together and don't visit anyone.

Re: Getting away from it all...

I like to stay at home and close the door on the world. If I went away somewhere for Christmas, unless it was a private cottage/villa, I would be surrounded by other people who were 'away for Christmas' so I don't think it would be getting away from it all!

Re: Getting away from it all...

We usually have a couple of nights away between Christmas and New Year just to blow the cobwebs off but never more than that. I love being around to see family and just generally flop and drop for a bit!

Re: Getting away from it all...

Well, it sounds very flash of me to be saying this but I spend the winters abroad in Florida. My OH and self pack our bags at the end of October, and stay away until the end of the following April. We have been doing this since 2000.
We are not rich, and it doesn't really cost much more to get away from the cold and the damp. The money we would spend on heating and lighting just about covers our American costs, and we have a better standard of living out there. We do have the advantages of being retired, and have no tight family commitments.
There are a lot of retired people who take up a long-term residency in Spanish hotels for three months or more over the winter. You can get some remarkable deals if you shop around. You get a nice room, cleaned daily, laundry, even meals. English newspapers and cable TV... Most importantly, the weather is a lot nicer. Why, you could even learn to speak Spanish.

My days of finding a romantic frost in the morning, and of Christmas card scenery has long gone. I just want to paddle on a white sand beach in a pair of ridiculous shorts and flipflops. I hate the cold...

Re: Getting away from it all...

I'm retired, life is one big holiday.

Not sure about Christmas because it is the middle of the long school summer holidays and it all depends on what my kids decide to do. Until this year they have always come here but they keep 'threatening' to have Christmas at their own place.