Great tidings of comfort and joy

AppId is over the quota

Every year, more and more families are changing the habit of, perhaps, several lifetimes and opting to spend the festive period away from home.

With many businesses shutting down over Christmas and the New Year, December is often a perfect time for busy employees or the self-employed to take time out to spend with family and friends without impacting on their clients (or the bottom line). And whilst a Christmas break may once have been confined to a night or two in a local hotel, increasingly families are looking further afield for that all important winter wonderland. So what holiday delights might you unwrap this Christmas?

For families with children, Norway is always a firm Christmas favourite, with the chance to visit Lapland with its reindeer, snowy landscape and, of course, Santa's grotto. A white Christmas in Scandinavia or in the alpine or North American ski resorts can also be a big hit for skiing, sledging, skating and ice-fishing enthusiasts. Or, for those who want to explore the places closely associated with the birth of Christ, a trip to the Holy Land can offer a once in a lifetime encounter with the true spirit of Christmas and the chance to foster community with other Christians.

To see in the New Year, you may wish to opt for traditional Scottish Hogmanay celebrations, along with the obligatory "wee dram" and choruses of Auld Lang Syne, which are sure to put a spring in your step for the coming year. Or, if your idea of a perfect New Year getaway is to escape the winter weather, maybe you should raise a glass to old acquaintance in glorious winter sun in Dubai, be on the look-out for elephant in the Kruger Park or be dazzled by a pyrotechnic extravaganza in Hong Kong or Sydney harbour?

However, for a romantic Christmas away with the one you love, there can be little to compete with spending the holiday season in Paris, the City of Light. December in the French capital can offer a heady cocktail of moonlit walks along classic boulevards, gentle cruising along the Seine on a brightly lit bateau-mouche and fine wine and cuisine in the infectious festive atmosphere of a warm, bustling bistro. The Paris accommodation of choice for a festive break is increasingly to rent a Paris holiday apartment in one of the charming central arondissements, ideally complete with open fire, Christmas tree - and a fridge ready to keep the champagne on ice. Perfect for couples who want to getaway from it all, or to bring the whole family together for quality time and a longed-for Christmas trip to Eurodisney, if the two of you can bear to share your Paris rental even for a night!

For details of luxury Paris accommodation, including Paris holiday apartments with availability over the Christmas and New Year period, please contact http://www.pad-a-terre.com.

View the original article here