Need To Relax This Festive Season? Try A Christmas Hotel Break!

Christmas is unavoidable, so coming up with a plan of action is a must. No sooner have the stores taken down their Halloween displays than they're replacing them with huge icicles, gold stars and beaming Santas. Even those with a real love for Christmas can struggle to keep up with the pace for that long - there's no escape.

Or maybe there is, if you dare to try something different and break from the normal, society imposed, traditions...

Celebrating Christmas away from home doesn't mean that you have to lose the festive atmosphere - unless, of course, you want to! The possibilities are endless. All it takes is a bit of imagination and planning - and, if you stay at home, aren't you doing enough of that anyway?

How about, for example, a city break? Not only are they reasonably priced, but you get to have a break whilst still being back at home for the majority of the festive season. Prague and Vienna are ideal for such a break, as both are rich in history and wonderfully beautiful. You'll be able to walk around the Christmas markets, sample the various delicious types of foods and, of course, have a festive drink or two.

Curiously, although renowned as one of the most romantic and magical places in the world, Venice is comparatively overlooked when it comes to spending Christmas away from home. Gone are the souvenir stalls and sweltering August crowds, as the population seeps to just half of its summer size. Spending Christmas in Venice gives the visitor a chance to enjoy the real city, with its wonderful architecture fully on show and evening concerts in its vast, albeit chilly basilicas.

Or, how about a guaranteed white Christmas? The ski resorts in Switzerland, Austria and France will not only guarantee you snow, but they, with their pine-covered mountains and crackling log fires, will also give you the complete and perfect Christmas scene. There's no need to even ski whilst you're there if you don't want to, as there is enough in the way of restaurants, bars and shops to keep you entertained.

But for a Christmas with an even bigger difference, imagine being out in the deep, silent snow at night, lying on a reindeer skin as amazing colours dance and shimmer their way across the sky. Imagine the spectacular Northern Lights. Several destinations offer a great chance to see the Aurora Borealis in all its magnificent glory, including Finland, Norway, Sweden and The Yukon.

There really is something for everyone in the range of Christmas hotel breaks available. So, before you dig out those fairy lights for another year, stop for a moment. Do you really want to spend another Christmas half asleep on the sofa with indigestion?