In the last 2 years I have started a tradition of going away for a Christmas trip, this years trip was to Orlando which was the best trip of my life! I have gone on a few trips throughout my life, even when I was a child. And many of them where such great trips, I always knew when I got older I had to travel this time of year to see how other places celebrate! I hope to one day make it to Europe for Christmas, but I think that’s more of a long term goal.
Being that I have done some traveling already I have a few tips based on things I have learned, one is to book everything early, the cheaper rooms and tickets sell out first! And if there’s a specific place or restaurant you may need reservations for do that early because some places can fill up months in advance. Another tip is for my non Christmasy people, if you want a break from the festivities, that is more then possible I have done this in the past (though unintentionally), I went somewhere warm where they didn’t have many Christmasy events happening, so you can definitely get away from it if that’s your goal. If it’s not and you want to add some holiday cheer you can be like me and try to see all the decorations that they have in the area, and belt Christmas songs at the resorts karaoke night!
One of my favorite things to do while traveling, is check out the holiday decor, taking a drive to see all the lights, and see how its different or similar to how we do things back home. Last year, we went to Stockbridge, Mass. which is the town Norman Rockwell did most of his paintings in, so it has a very classic vibe to keep it looking more authentic and looking how it did when he painted it! When I was growing up my parents had a print of his Main Street at Christmas painting over the fireplace in the living room, so seeing it look exactly the same was just amazing! One of the best things there was the Norman Rockwell museum so you got to see all of The Saturday Evening Post’s Christmas covers! This was so different from a New York City Christmas which is so bright and a mix of classic and modern decor, I would say it’s a bit of an in your face style. Which I still love, it’s just nice to experience something different!
This years trip to Orlando had that in your face flare, but that’s if you went into the parks, and it was very in your face, you couldn’t miss it and it was amazing! I saw such a mix of things, from the lights shows and fireworks to the small town flare and shops! Now you maybe wondering what I mean by small town flare and by that I mean the town of Celebration, built by Disney that had nightly snowfall, adorably classic homes, and beautiful decorations. The main attraction was definitely the shows though! I have always thought of the Universal and Disney Parks to be more about rides and characters but on this trip we watched every end of the night show at each park we went to, as well as the Christmas shows they had and it was just the most amazing thing I had ever seen. From the effects to the fireworks just hands down phenomenal. And these were the things that I hadn’t even planned for. Which to me is the most important thing plan to an extent, but at the same time enjoy where you are because you may experience something you never would have imagined!