There are so many great places to visit during the holiday season, I couldn’t just limit myself to one! Thus, in this post I’ll be giving you four other festive options to further check out in your future travels. The first one is Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland, where you’ll practically be in the North Pole with the Clause’s. This destination is perfect for kids, there’s elf school, gingerbread making with Mrs. Clause, and calligraphy class to write the perfect Christmas list for Santa. For adults, there’s an observatory where you can watch the Northern Lights, as well as learn the scientific phenomenon behind it. A must-do activity is a visit to the Ranua Wildlife Park, where you can spot polar bears, wolverines, and moose. For a very immersive experience, I’d recommend staying at the Arctic Snow Hotel, where the entire infrastructure is made out of snow and ice. But not to fear, there’s plenty of hot tubs, saunas, and vodka to warm you up.
The second holiday destination for you and your family to check out is on the warmer side, Queenstown, New Zealand. Here, you can spend your Christmas vacation getting a nice tan relaxing by the beach, and hang out by New Zealand’s version of a Christmas tree – the pohutukawa tree as seen in the picture below. Christmas dinner in New Zealand is a barbeque on a beach, with roasted lamb and seafood to devour. There’s a big holiday parade each year, featuring Santa Claus himself, that will be sure to put you in the Christmas spirit.
For a more traditional Christmas, head over to Quebec City, Canada. Here you’ll find streets decorated to the nines with garland, big red bows, and white twinkly lights. The neighborhood of Old Quebec is converted into an old-timey picturesque Christmas village, where there are vendors selling homemade gifts and treats, as well as roasted chestnuts sure to make your mouth water. This village is said to be the spitting image of the setting described in Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. The close-by mountain ranges offer some winter sports for you and your family to enjoy such as skiing, hiking, snowboarding, and snowshoeing.
A final place worthy of a holiday visit is Nuremburg, Germany, one of the most popular European destinations to spend Christmas at. The Nuremburg Christmas market brings in more than two million visitors each year, with over 200 vendors selling handmade gifts and home cooked holiday dishes. There’s even a competition for the most beautifully decorated vendor stall, so you know that each one is a sight to see. When you’re not wandering the aisles of the market, be sure to check out the huge wooden-carved Ferris wheel, toy museum, German Railway museum, and even take a ride on the steam train.
If you’re looking to try somewhere new for your holiday vacation, give any of these places a visit for a truly magical experience.
The Road Most (Knowledgeably) Traveled 
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