Make Christmas dreams come true with new food, fun, traditions

 

Christmas morning on Hawaii, "the Big Island," presents a double rainbow to passengers aboard
a Body Glove trip down the Kona coast. Today begins a two-part series on holiday wish lists.  
                                                                                                                                                             bodyglovehawaii.com

YULETIDE GREETINGS FROM AROUND THE WORLD! CONSIDER PLANNING A BUCKET LIST TRIP AS THE OLD YEAR ENDS AND A NEW ONE BECKONS DREAMS

Bruce Keller and Christene
"Cookie" Meyers afloat but
not stranded last Christmas.

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS

PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER

The holidays in Hawaii are always colorful.
 In downtown Honolulu, Nutcrackers surround
a  merry Christmas tree and shop windows
 herald the arrival of Santa and his reindeer.

IF YOU'RE HOME this Christmas, enjoy! But if you're yearning to kick the holiday up a notch, consider spending Christmas elsewhere next year.  Start planning now to get the best prices. Holiday hotels often sell out and prices increase for air as time gets closer. Here are a few ideas to jump start your dream.

At Oscar's in Palm Springs,
every day is a holiday with
great shows and lively crowds.
 

MUSEUMS and aquariums make wonderful family outings during the holidays and two of the finest we've visited are in Hawaii and New Zealand:                                                         New Zealand's Te Papa Museum

Honolulu's Bishop Museum 
IF YOU love music, Vienna has one of the world's most famous chorales, the Vienna Boys' Choir. Their Christmas concerts will give you happy goosebumps. This venerable Austrian city offers a



Skiing is a huge winter draw and favorite holiday
pursuit in many western states, here Montana.

 delightful old-fashioned Christmas with sparkling holiday decorations and warming, fragrant gluhwein. The city boasts gorgeous imperial architecture. Outdoor Christmas markets display hand crafted ornaments and a bounty of tasty snacks. www.wien.info        Yuletide worldwide

A tour guide in the
tropics dons his Santa
hat for a holiday tour.

IN PALM Springs, the Living Desert Zoo and Botanical Garden in nearby Palm Desert is a magical place. 

More than 750,000 twinkling lights illuminate the park after dark, and it's a wonderful way to see the critters. The city's WildLights Holiday Festival is a drive-through holiday tradition to delight locals, tourists and families.

Our favorite venue there is Oscar's Bar and Cafe, a lively cabaret fun any time.  The yuletide is special, though, with a delightful docket of drag shows with holiday flair. livingdesert.org; oscarspalmsprings.org

Las Vegas was our choice for a recent
New Year's Eve, here at the Bellagio. 

IN MY HOME state of Montana, skiing is a big winter attraction. Everyone knows Colorado has a lucrative corner on winter sports, but the Treasure State also offers resorts, B&Bs and a wide range of lodging at Big Sky, Whitefish, Bridger Bowl, Red Lodge and elsewhere. Lift tickets are cheaper, too, than in more famous resorts.
SINCE KEVIN Costner's TV's smash "Yellowstone," my beloved state has become a "bucket list" favorite for tourists, but there are still sanctuaries and unspoiled terrain to be found if you do your homework.  If you're a cross-country skier, Whitefish is close to Glacier National Park and its spectacular mountains. Glacier's breathtaking switchbacks and splendid cross-country skiing are tops. Happily, it's not yet "discovered."  In nearby Wyoming, Jackson Hole

Fireworks are a big draw
in many destinations,
here on Waikiki Beach.

Mountain Resort is a beautiful ski destination in the spectacular Grand Tetons. To access skiing in these two states, you can easily fly into Billings or Cody and rent a car. And Bozeman has many flights now, including a non-stop from Atlanta which my southern family uses. www.visitmt.com; jacksonhole.com

Vienna is a wonderful place for a holiday visit.
Palaces, parks and churches are aglow and a
renowned choir awaits to serenade you.
 

LOOK ON the internet for fun Christmas vacation ideas for families.  You'll find hundreds of ideas, of cities, towns and villages across the world offering everything from beach basking to winter sports.  Most tourist destinations have winter festivals and an opportunity to visit Santa. There are movie nights with holiday themes, tree lighting and fireworks festivals on New Year's Eve. One of the most spectacular fireworks events we've experienced is in Hawaii, on Waikiki Beach at Hilton's Hawaiian Resort. www.hiltonhawaiianresort.com

Strasbourg in France goes all
out for holiday light displays.

EUROPEAN CITIES and villages have celebrated the holidays for centuries. You'll find Christmas Markets from Vienna, Austria, to Cologne, Nuremberg and Freiburg in Germany, Ghent and Brussels in Belgium, and Prague in Czech Republic. Copenhagen in Denmark and many small Norwegian towns also have fabulous holiday displays.  We spent one yuletide in Bergen and Alesund on a Viking cruise and loved the festive immersion. Strasbourg in France shows off its local wares and goodies at Europe's oldest and most lavish market with Christkindelsmarik, dating to 1570. Performers tell the "Christ story" in elaborate costumes making the city a top Christmas destination. www.europeanbestdestinations.com/christmas-markets/

About to tuck into trdlenik
in Czech Republic are
Bruce Keller and Cookie.

Vienna and Prague offer delightful old-fashioned Austrian and Czech Christmas spirit. Both are known for magnificent Gothic architecture, a spirit of gracious welcome and unique folkloric traditions. These two magnificent cities create an other-worldly feeling at their famed Christmas markets. Shoppers find beautifully decorated wooden huts filled with treats, unique craft gift items and ornaments for next year's tree. My favorite delicacy is spit-roasted ham. Keller loved trdelnik, a traditional hot sugar-coated pastry with nuts and cinnamon.

IF YOU really want to feel close to old Santa, head for Rovaniemi - Lapland, Finland. Rovaniemi is just north of the Arctic Circle and Finns believe it makes a better home for Santa than the North Pole. You'll meet Kris Kringle in this frozen winter wonderland of deep snow and pine forests where kids make cookies with Mrs. Claus and enroll in Elf School. Families enjoy husky-dog rides, tobogganing and the Northern Lights. For a super frosty stay, check into the Arctic Snowhotel, made entirely of ice, with has an ice bar, ice restaurant, ice chapel, Finnish sauna, and snow sauna. Are you packed yet? www.arcticsnowhotel.fi/en/

Cygnet Theatre's multi-talented Sean Murray
plays an endearing Scrooge in the theater's
popular "A Christmas Carol." Soon, Cygnet
 moves to a new home to be known as "The Joan." 

BEST BETS: Two holiday shows up through Christmas Eve deserve special attention in the San Diego area. "Miracle on 34th Street" is playing at Carlsbad's New Village Arts Theatre. It's a delightful radio-play musical take on the beloved 1947 movie about a young girl and Santa. Inspirational, moving and fast paced, with a strong cast, it is a lively production about a little girl's yearnings, the need to believe and the uplifting power of love. Favorite holiday tunes are cleverly interwoven in this revamp of the beloved film classic. Then Sean Murray creates the world's most endearing Scrooge in Cygnet Theatre's "A Christmas Carol." 

Dancing, singing, comedy, lively
staging and a heartwarming story
 make "Miracle on 34th Street" a hit
 at New Village Arts in Carlsbad.

The venerable Old Town venue features director Sean Murray's poignant adaptation and his portrayal of the irascible but ultimately endearing Scrooge. A fine 7-person ensemble puts magic, music and imagination in this beautifully rendered production. As Cygnet wraps its tenure in Old Town, it prepares for its new larger home at the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Performing Arts Center at Liberty Station. It will be known as "The Joan," in honor of its major donors. For tickets to both: newvillagearts.org; cygnettheatre.org 

Start now to make your bucket list 
a reality, here on the Queen Mary 2.

UP NEXT: New horizons for 2025. Why not take the trip or cruise you've been longing for? Start planning now for next year's holiday and you can make it work. Whether it's a summer or fall trip, or a goal for next Christmas, you can make it happen. If you're single, consider a low-interest loan or sharing a cabin. If you're a couple or family, figure ways to save and cut back on other areas and start a trip savings account.  Cruise lines sometimes offer deals for traveling with the family, as a single, or with generations. We'll offer ideas for holiday travel, and for fulfilling a bucket list dream.  It's possible to make a lifelong wish come true in the new year.  Think outside the box and remember, as a wise man said, "Everything you've ever wanted is sitting on the other side of fear.” — So don't be afraid to embrace an idea and make it a goal. Meanwhile, remember to explore, learn and live and catch us weekly for a fresh spin on travel, performance, nature and the arts. www.whereiscookie.com