Fed up with spending the festive season stuck in traffic jams with irritable toddlers as you struggle to drive to every relation in your family tree? We’ve picked out some fabulous alternatives to make your Christmas break a very merry one!

Spend Christmas with Santa!

How many children would object to spending Christmas with a big jolly man in a red outfit? (And we’re not talking about uncle Mervyn either.) Treat yourself and your little ones to a five-night stay in Lapland. Departing on 23 December from one of three UK airports, you’ll fly to Lapland and stay either in a log cabin or in a child-friendly hotel.

From then on, you’ll have three days filled with exciting activities such as reindeer or husky sleigh rides, in search of Santa, meetings with Elves and snow games. On Christmas Day, there will be a special Christmas service for all the family, followed by more snow fun and a special Christmas dinner, complete with the traditional Xmas pud and cake. On Boxing Day,
the pace slows down a bit but there will still be plenty of fun things to do out and about. Return home on 27 December.

Cost: from £1200 per adult, £100 less for children. This includes return flights, local transfers, accommodation, all meals and activities (but not drinks) and a Christmas present for each child up to 11 years old!

Company info: Santa Holidays www.santa-holidays.com

Mickey Mouse at Michaelmas

Christmas starts early at Disneyland Resort Paris. From 5th November 2005 – 8th January 2006, not only will Father Christmas and his reindeer be on site to greet you each day, but also you will be guaranteed a white Christmas with snow sprinkled on the resort with fairy festive dust five times a day! In the Disneyland Park, kids can watch their favourite Disneyland characters in seasonal costumes during the famous Christmas parade, while
Father Christmas, Santa Goofy and their reindeer lead the procession along Main Street USA spreading Christmas cheer to all! Meanwhile, Walt Disney Studios Park is throwing a glamorous ‘Hollywood Christmas’ theme, in which holidaymakers can become a star of their very own Christmas-themed movie!

The magic doesn’t stop as the sun sets though. Each night, the popular Fantillusion parade will take place, with Disney characters, tales and legends coming to life in both sight and sound. The Enchanted Fairytale Ceremony brings the Christmas nights to a magical end with a little help from Tinkerbell and a burst of pixie dust!

Cost: Prices start from £299 per adult and £149 per child for a two-night Classic Package staying at Disney’s Hotel Santa Fe, based on two adults and two children (3-11 years inclusive) sharing a family room. It includes two nights’ accommodation, continental breakfast, direct return travel on Eurostar’s new high-speed link and
unlimited access to both Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park.

Company info: For further details and reservations call 08705 030303 or visit the website at www.disneylandparis.com

Santa in the Sun

Not all of us like cold winter days or the prospect of snow. So why not take the family away somewhere hot for the week? First Choice Holidays is recommending their Holiday Village Sun Tropical resort in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote to families who crave some warmth over the festive period. With fantastic pools, open areas (perfect for energy-filled toddlers), great
food and fabulous entertainment, you will be hard pressed to feel bored. Accommodation is in typical, Spanish-style villa apartments and catering consists of buffet restaurants, Italian and Mexican cuisine and snack bars, plus there’s also a mini-mart on site if you want to stick to self-catering.

Relaxation for adults consists of special gym and health club, where you can indulge in some pampering. Choose from sporting activities such as tennis, volleyball, archery, swimming or relax with a sauna or Jacuzzi. Children are well catered for too, with a crèche, kids’ club and Wavelength, a special club for teenagers, with plenty of opportunities to learn new skills and meet friends.

Cost: Prices over Christmas start
from £425 per adult and £404 per child, staying 7 nights on a self-catering
basis at the 4 sun Holiday Village Sun Tropical. This price includes flights
and transfers. All-inclusive accommodation is also available.

Company info: For further information, or to make a booking, please contact First Choice on 0870 850 3938 or visit www.firstchoice.co.uk.

Forget reindeer … see Wales!

Granted, you won’t be seeing these huge mammals but, by spending Christmas in Wales, you will be having a pretty marvellous experience. Celebration Breaks is offering special family packages to Pembrokeshire for the festive season if you fancy either something different to your normal day at home or if you want to take more of the extended family with you.

Accommodation comes in a variety of forms, from log cabins with roaring fires to cosy apartments in period houses, most of which are either by or near the sea, perfect for a bracing walk on Christmas Day before tucking into a feast! The cottages will even have Christmas trees and decorations waiting for you – and you can choose whether to have it all done or decorate them yourselves!

Cost: Cottages start from around £300 per week, for a two-bedroom cottage, on a self-catering basis.

Company info: For further information, contact Celebration Breaks on 01437 767600 or visit www.celebrationbreaks.co.uk

Themed family fun!

According to hotel chain Best Western, mums spend approximately five hours cooking Christmas dinner, 59% are stressed by having relatives to stay and that the clearing up was the most likely cause of a festive family fight. Unsurprising then that hotel bookings for the holiday are up by 85%! To meet the demand for mums wanting to get away from it all, Best
Western has launched a series of breaks throughout the UK so families can enjoy the festivities altogether, rather than fight about who’s going to scour the turkey dish.

One of the breaks on offer is a two-day stay at the three-star Best Western Park Hotel in Chorley, Preston. You will arrive on Christmas Eve and enjoy some pre-dinner cocktails before having a candlelit meal in the restaurant, followed by an evening of musical entertainment and dancing. On Christmas Day, after breakfast you can either take a stroll around the hotel’s grounds or relax in the leisure club before tucking into a traditional Christmas lunch. The man in red may even make an appearance!

Spend the afternoon relaxing, enjoy a game of bingo and watch the Queen’s
speech, if you wish, before tea and Christmas cake. A buffet dinner will
be served in the evening, followed by music and entertainment.

On Boxing Day, have a hearty breakfast before setting out for a day at Blackpool Tower – seven floors of indoor entertainment with thrilling attractions including Undersea World, Jungle Jim’s huge adventure playground and the spectacular Christmas Circus [own transport required]. After making your own arrangements for lunch, return to the hotel in the evening for a family medieval banquet with optional fancy dress and a prize for the best costume. Depart on 27th December after a full English breakfast.

Cost: Two-night break from 24th December, including dinner, bed and breakfast is £285 per person (based on two sharing). Children cost £62 per child per night. Themed family rooms are available for £50 per adult for the two days.

Company info: For further information tel: 0845 3300 120 or visit: www.bestwestern.co.uk/festivebreaks