Six stress-free seasonal breaks

published 14 November 2008

Whether you're elbowing your way through the shopping hordes, or trying to squeeze 20 people around a dining table that seats six, it's easy to run out of goodwill at Christmas. So here are six festive trips that could help make this Christmas a lot less stressful.

Christmas shopping

Vienna is home to one of the world's best Christmas markets, selling seasonal food, decorations and handmade toys. Voyages Jules Verne's 'Christmas Markets and Music' is a tour of Vienna that takes in Beethoven's house, a Mozart lecture and a performance of Gypsy music. You also get to cruise along the Danube to Baden, "where more seasonal stalls groan with goodies", says Simone Kane in The Independent on Sunday. The trip costs £549 per person (see www.vjv.com, or call 0845-166 7003 for more).

For a treat closer to home, Lincoln hosts the biggest traditional Christmas market in Europe between 4 and 7 December. There are 300 stalls selling everything from candles to leather goods. A day trip to Lincoln from London on the Orient Express British Pullman costs £310 per person, including a bellini brunch and four-course supper on the train. Book at www.orient-express.com, or call 0845-077 2222.

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Meet Father Christmas

If you want to meet the 'genuine' Father Christmas, you need to head to Lapland. "For a reliably twinkly trip", book with Canterbury Travel (www.santa-holidays.com; 01923-822388), says Vincent Crump in The Sunday Times. A five-day trip to Oslo includes rides on snowmobiles, dog sleds and reindeer, with accommodation provided in a picturesque log cabin. Prices start from £1,305 per person.

For a cheaper Father Christmas meet and greet, visit the Reindeer Centre at Capralama Farm in Bethersden, says The Guardian. Children will also get to see baby reindeer and less festive animals, including donkeys, llamas and wallabies. Entry for children costs £9.50, adults £6. Visit www.reindeercentre.co.uk or call 01233-820545 for more.

A family-free Christmas

Get a tan for Christmas with a trip to Mauritius. The Club Med resort at La Pointe aux Canonniers offers a poolside Nativity, a Christmas Eve beach party and Father Christmas dropping in by parachute, says Crump. A week in a deluxe sea-view room from 20 December costs £3,058 (£2,809 for children), with flights from Heathrow. Call 0871-424 4004, or see www.clubmed.co.uk.

Or you can escape the relatives by hiring a remote Scottish cottage for the festive period. Duncaan Cottage near Plockton (where Hamish Macbeth was filmed) in Ross-shire is a one-bedroom traditional cottage in a crofting hamlet. When you've returned from a Christmas walk you can curl up by the woodburner and have your pick of the Quality Street. For more on Scottish hideaways, try www.unique-cottages.co.uk; 01835-822277.

Ruth Jackson-Kirby is a freelance personal finance journalist with 17 years’ experience, writing about everything from savings accounts and credit cards to pensions, property and pet insurance.

Ruth started her career at MoneyWeek after graduating with an MA from the University of St Andrews, and she continues to contribute regular articles to our personal finance section. After leaving MoneyWeek she went on to become deputy editor of Moneywise before becoming a freelance journalist.

Ruth writes regularly for national publications including The Sunday Times, The Times, The Mail on Sunday and Good Housekeeping, among many other titles both online and offline.