7 great places to celebrate Christmas

With the Christmas season approaching, I'm thinking quite a bit about the holidays right now. This year, we're not going away for Christmas, instead, my parents are coming to stay with us. Can't say I mind not having to travel by plane right around Christmas and New Years!

I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to where I'd like to spend Christmas: at home, with family us my preferred spot. But in recent years I have occasionally considered other options, and here are some places I wouldn't mind celebrating Christmas.

About to go dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh.

Northern Sweden
This is a bit of a cheat, because we have already celebrated Christmas here several times. I was born and grew up in Sweden, and when we do travel for the Christmas holidays, this is where we go: to my parents' place in northern Sweden. It is a great place for traditional Christmas celebrations though: snow is usually in place, it's cold, and there are a lot of nice Swedish traditions to experience. Last year on our Swedish Christmas-trip we went for a sleigh-ride in the snow, we went tobogganing, the kids tried out cross-country skiing, and we had lots of delicious gingerbread cookies, peppermint candy, glögg (Swedish mulled wine), and the kids got their presents on the evening of December 24th, since that's the tradition over there.

Maui
I love, love, love Maui. I would go back there every week if I only could afford it. In the past I haven't been too crazy about the idea of celebrating Christmas somewhere warm and sunny and without any chance of snow, but I would actually love to try this in Maui. At least once!


Santa Claus village in Finland
For a traditionally snowy and cold Christmas, Finland is a pretty sure bet. And going to the Santa Claus village constructed in Rovaniemi at the Arctic Circle, would definitely be a lot of fun with the kids.

Australia
Celebrating Christmas in Australia would of course mean celebrating it in the middle of summer in the southern hemisphere. And that's kind of the charm of it, right? To see the world from the other side, see the starry Christmas skies with all different stars than at home, and go to the beach instead of for a sleigh-ride.

Banff, in the Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies is a spectacular destination any time of the year, but I do think that it would be really special to celebrate Christmas up there. The slopes certainly add to the attraction: there are worse ways to spend Christmas morning than going for some skiing down a mountain.

Gran Canaria: there are worse places to spend Christmas, I'm sure!

The Canary Islands
My family visited Gran Canaria last year in the spring, staying in the town of Arguinegin, and it was a fantastic trip. For many Europeans, going to the Canary Islands is nothing all that special: it's like Canadians and Americans going to Mexico for some beaches and sunshine. But if you're coming all the way from North America, it certainly felt very special. Parts of the islands are too touristified to really appeal to me, but the place we stayed was fantastic. I definitely would not mind going back there for some Christmas cheer.

New York City
I have never been to New York City, but of course I have seen the city in so many movies and TV-shows that I feel strangely familiar with the place anyway. Not sure if Christmas-time is necessarily the best time to visit, but in my head I have this vision of gentle snowfall, sightseeing with the kids, and just a good time had by all as we explore the city. Christmas-fantasy? Probably, but I wouldn't mind giving it a try in real life.

Accommodation for traveling kids: Best Western Airport Executel, Seattle

On our trip to Sweden this past summer we stayed overnight in Seattle before taking our Iceland Air flight from Sea-Tac to Stockholm, through Keflavik. The hotel we chose was the Best Western Airport Executel, located outside downtown Seattle.

At Sea-Tac airport.

The room
Our double-queen room was nice and big with two very comfortable queen-sized beds, a fridge, coffee maker, kettle, TV, bathroom with bath-tub, and plenty of space for our many suitcases and bags.

Having a fridge was handy for storing some milk, yogourt and snacks in for the kids. The bathtub got a complete workout since my children entertained themselves by having 2 baths each in that one day, and why not? There are worse ways to spend the time than having baths and watching TV!

Free wireless internet was provided and worked well during our stay. (I really hope every hotel is providing this service free by now: I keep reading that some hotels charge for it, but I really don't understand the reasoning behind that.)

Amenities
One of the selling points when I chose this hotel for our stay was that it had a pool. It was easy to get to and had a small change room/washroom adjacent to the pool and gym area. We had a nice dip and if I hadn't been by myself with the kids, I would have also used the gym. We spent most of our time in the hot-tub and the kids really loved that.

There are a lot of restaurants in the surrounding area, but we ate both dinner and breakfast in the hotel restaurant and the food was very good. For dinner, the kids' menu had a good selection, service was great and the food arrived promptly. The breakfast buffet had a nice selection of hot and cold foods (make your own waffles!), and it was a great way to start off a long day of travel.

The hotel provides a free shuttle-service to the airport, and even though the first shuttle bus had some technical difficulties, another bus was brought out quickly and we made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare.

Service
The staff was unfailingly helpful, polite, and friendly. I felt very welcome with my kids, and little touches like a supply of free, fresh fruit in the lobby, and helpful service in the restaurant made things even better. Checking in and out was a breeze.

Verdict
I'd stay at this hotel again in a heartbeat. It was a good deal, and a perfect fit for our needs. The kids had fun, and we got a good night's sleep which really helped get us on our way for the long flight to Sweden.

5 camping trips I'd love to do with my kids

It's almost summer time where we live on Canada's west coast, and camping season is definitely here, or at least on the horizon. Lots of kids, including mine, really love the whole idea of camping out, having a campfire, cooking your food outdoors, and generally hanging out close to nature. I'm hoping to head out for a camping road-trip later this year, but I'm not quite sure where we'll end up for that.

Here are some places, near and far, where I'd love to go camping with my kids. (And if you think I favor western North America, that's because I'm thinking of places close enough to drive to with our camping gear!)

1. Yellowstone National Park
My husband and I camped in Yellowstone before we had kids, and I thought the park was absolutely amazing. It's one of those places you think might be over-hyped, but nothing can beat the reality of hot springs, boiling rivers, geysers, buffalo roaming the landscape, and bubbling, colorful mud flats. I'm hoping to take my kids here some time in the next few years. And what a great place to introduce them to some very exciting geology and natural history!

2. Redwood National Park
My kids love the woods, and they love hiking in the woods. That's a couple of reasons why I'd love to take them to Redwood National Park and see the tallest trees on Earth. I also think a road-trip to California would be pretty cool to do with them.

3. The Canadian Rockies
I've camped near Banff and near Jasper up in the Canadian Rockies, and it's an amazing place to be. The drive alone when you're coming from British Columbia is absolutely fantastic. Those peaks, the glaciers, the animals, and just the majestic scale of everything is literally breathtaking. I think my kids would have a blast up here, and if we managed to spot a bear (at a very, very safe distance), that would be icing on the cake.

4. Long Beach, Vancouver Island
We visited Long Beach when my son was only a couple of year's old, but I'd love to go back soon with both the kids. The scenery along Vancouver Island's west coast is so beautiful, and there's some serious beach-combing and hiking to do out here as well.

5. The Oregon coast
I have never been to Oregon myself, but so many friends and family race about the beaches, the sand dunes, the camping, and the cheese that I would really love to visit. It would make a great drive from British Columbia as well, and since my family is very much in love with sand and ocean, it seems like it would be a great fit!

There are lots of other places I'd love to go camping, including several of the places mentioned in these two articles:

• From USA Today: 10 most beautiful places to camp in BC, Canada
• From The Vancouver Sun: A guide to B.C.'s best camping parks

Also, for more camping with kids resources, I love to check out Tales of Mountain Mama.