One of our family’s traditions is to gift ourselves with a holiday getaway – and keep the destination a secret from the girls until Christmas morning.
A number of years ago, my husband and I thought that it might be fun for our family to go away for a few days after Christmas. That decision was the start of a family holiday tradition that we have continued ever since.
We had so much fun on that first holiday getaway to Chicago that I didn’t hesitate the following year to plan a trip to New York City for New Year’s Eve or the year after to plan a post-Christmas road trip to Montebello, Québec. Not long after that third trip it occurred to me that traveling was far better than unwrapping a lot of presents on Christmas morning and a plan began to form in my mind.
In the lead-up to Christmas in 2008, we decided to cut back on the number of gifts that we were buying for our family and to focus on a trip being our family gift. I thought that it would be fun to surprise Katie and Emma so I wrapped up clues to our destination for them to open on Christmas morning. The clues were a big hit, the girls were thrilled that we were returning to Chicago and since then our holiday trip has been a surprise gift that is opened on Christmas.
The reaction that I had been hoping for
Each passing year I become more frustrated with the commercialization of Christmas and try to cut back a little more on the buying in order to focus more on the travel experience that we will be having post-Christmas. We’re not perfect – we still buy more than we need – but we do make a conscious effort at reduction year over year and the most anticipated present under the tree is the one that contains the gift of travel.
For anyone else who is growing tired of the excessive shopping that takes place at this time of year, I would recommend giving family members the gift of an experience this Christmas – whether it’s travel, a membership for the local museum, or a family trip to the zoo – it will be far more meaningful than anything that is for sale at the mall.
These photos represent a few of our holiday memories – far better than a soon-forgotten toy!
Chicago 2005
In 2005 we traveled to Chicago and visited favourites like the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum as well as American Girl Place where the girls posed with their dolls in front of this exquisite Christmas tree.
At American Girl Place in Chicago
New York City 2006
In 2006 we visited New York City for the first time and saw the magnificent Christmas tree in Rockefeller Plaza, shopped on 5th Avenue, attended a performance of Mary Poppins on Broadway and went for a carriage ride in Central Park.
Rockefeller Plaza
Montebello, Quebec 2007
We stayed in Canada for the 2007 holidays and drove to Québec to spend a few days at Fairmont Le Château Montebello where we learned to cross-country ski, had a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the woods, went dogsledding and introduced the kids to the great Canadian sport of curling. We spent New Year’s Eve in the nation’s capital, Ottawa, and watched fireworks near Parliament Hill at an early evening celebration.
Checking out the ice sculpture at Fairmont Le Château Montebello
Chicago 2008
We returned to Chicago in 2008 – a city that we go back to again and again without ever tiring of it. This time we visited Millennium Park to see our reflections in the Cloud Gate sculpture, browsed some famous works of art at The Art Institute of Chicago, and, believe it or not, managed to fit in yet another visit to American Girl Place.
The Art Institute of Chicago
New York City 2009
It was oh so cold when we flew to New York City for the 2009/10 holidays but we still had fun sightseeing, shopping, searching for Sacagawea at the American Museum of Natural History, and seeing Shrek and his pals on Broadway.
Outside The Plaza in NYC – it was really cold!!
San Diego, California 2010
For our 2010 holiday trip we headed west to sunny southern California and spent 6 nights in San Diego at the Hotel del Coronado where we enjoyed the break from a Canadian winter even though the natives thought that it was too cold to play on the beach. Our visit seemed to fly by as we packed in visits to the San Diego Zoo, Legoland, Sea World, Balboa Park and even a day trip to Disneyland. We had such an amazing time that a return trip to this beautiful coastal city is definitely in our future.
On the beach at the Hotel del Coronado
Orlando, Florida 2011
Last year there was a fair bit of jumping up and down and squealing when the girls opened their Christmas present and pieced together the clues to discover that we were heading to Orlando for several nights. Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom were all decked out in their holiday finery and Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter was nothing short of magical – a dream come true for both Katie and Emma.
Katie at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Of course, holiday 2012 is still TBA but the kids are going to think it’s awesome and, truth be told, I’m just a little excited myself!! I’ll post a note on Facebook about what we are doing after the Christmas presents have been opened on the 25th.
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Disney Cruise 2012
Our 2012 holidays were spent aboard the Disney Magic sailing out of Galveston, Texas with stops in the Cayman Islands and Cozumel, Mexico.
Southern Caribbean Cruise 2013
Our 2013 holiday trip was another cruise – this time on the Crown Princess out of Florida sailing to the Southern Caribbean with stops at the private island of Princess Cays, Aruba and Curaçao.
Montebello, Quebec 2014
Plans are well underway for our 2014 trip which takes place in just over a month. Neither of my daughters need to be surprised any more so we now include them in the planning. This year we are returning to Montebello, Québec to spend a few days enjoying the Canadian winter at Château Montebello – hopefully there will be snow!
(Editor’s Update: All did not go according to plan on our Christmas vacation. A warm spell in the days leading up to Christmas melted all the snow and the grass was green when we arrived in Montebello. We spent a couple of days at the resort and then checked out early and headed to Ottawa to spend the remainder of our trip sightseeing in the nation’s capital instead.)
Disney World 2015
In 2015 we spent Christmas at Disney World in Orlando, Florida staying at the Grand Floridian and enjoying a magical Disney holiday.
San Francisco 2016
I celebrated a milestone birthday during the Christmas holidays in 2016 which we spent in San Francisco – I city that I had wanted to visit for year!
New York City 2017
In 2017 we had a difficult time deciding what we wanted to do for the holidays so made a last minute decision to fly to New York City for a few days to take in some Broadway shows and see the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular.
Related Links
9 Favourite Holiday Experiences at Disney World
Holiday Gift Guide: The Best Books for Travelers
Christmas Ornaments as Travel Souvenirs
Tonya
I love the idea of giving the gift of travel. That suits me perfectly. Unfortunately, I can’t get my children on board with the idea. They are willing to travel at other times, just not around Christmas. And they aren’t willing to forgo gifts for a trip. Little do they know, that’s what happens anyway. 🙂 We don’t go all out at Christmas with gifts, that’s not what Christmas is about anyway.
Can’t wait to see where you’re headed this year!
Lisa Goodmurphy
Thanks, Tonya – I think the secret for us was starting when the kids were quite young so now they expect it as part of what we do for the holidays.
Michele @ Malaysian Meanders
I’ll have to check your FB after Christmas to see where you’re headed. We’ve always traveled for Christmas, but it’s always been back to our hometown to spend it with my parents and in-laws. I’ve never spent a Christmas in my own home since I moved out of my parent’s house — until this year. For the first time in my life, I won’t see my mom for the holidays. However, we do have a dream post-Christmas trip to Australia. The kids were part of the planning, so it’s not a surprise for them.
InACents
Oh how I love this idea. I have been pitching it to my family the past couple of years, and eventually, when I’m not there Christmas morning, one year the family will get the idea that I was serious. Have a great time, as it’s a terrific tradition!
jan
What a wonderful tradition. I can imagine the excitement of reading the clues and then the anticipation of the trip.
Leigh
You are such a cool mother. What a great idea with the clues. I don’t know if I could resist giving away the destination because I’d be so excited. Now I’ll be curious to hear where you’re going in a few weeks time. Love looking at the photos of your girls as they get taller and taller every year.
Mary {The World Is A Book}
I love this idea and a wonderful family tradition! The gift of travel is something to look forward to and enjoy for many years even after they’ve outgrown the American Girl dolls 🙂 Part of my kids travel gift this year is their Disneyland Annual Pass. We’re staying home after the holidays this year. Since I know where you’re going (I feel so honored, BTW), I know you’re going to have such a wonderful time on this trip and I can’t wait to see/hear Emma’s reaction 🙂
Muza-chan
Beautiful ice sculpture 🙂
jenny@atasteoftravel
What a great idea and how wonderful that the girls love it and get excited by it each year. I can’t wait to see where your’re going this Xmas
Katja
This is the best idea. We prefer to share experiences too, but haven’t worked it into a Christmas tradition. Yet.
Cheryl @ KidsOnAPlane
I love this idea and will be giving some memberships and passes to some local attractions as gifts this year. Can’t wait to read what you’ve planned for your family in a few days! That first photo is adorable. 🙂
Family Travels on a Budget
We have done the same thing for years, marking special days and holidays with travel instead of gifts. We all have plenty of junk — making memories is much more fun!!! We pack Christmas lights and decorate the hotel room balcony!!! Quite fun!
InsideJourneys
What a lovely idea — a gift that the whole family can share and memories that will last a lifetime. Beautiful!
Lisa Goodmurphy
Michele, I’m sorry you won’t be seeing your mom at Christmas this year – that must be the hardest part of being an expat. At least you have that amazing trip to Australia to look forward to – the kids must be so excited! Can’t wait to see your photos!
Lisa Goodmurphy
Good luck convincing your family – as soon as they have agreed to it once then they’ll never go back! Thus far we have chosen trips that we knew the kids would get really excited about – I really want them to agree that it’s better than getting a lot of presents.
Lisa Goodmurphy
It’s my favourite part of Christmas morning – and we always save it for last!
Lisa Goodmurphy
Thanks, Leigh! 🙂 I have to admit that I do have a really hard time keeping the secret but the opening of the clues is so much fun to watch! My husband wondered this year if it would be more fun to have the anticipation of the trip but we asked Emma what she thought and she said that she did not want to know – she loves the surprise!!
Lisa Goodmurphy
Disneyland Passes are such a great Christmas gift – I’m sure your kids will love that! I’m pretty sure Emma will do some jumping up and down Christmas morning! 😉
Lisa Goodmurphy
Thanks, Muza-chan! 🙂
Lisa Goodmurphy
I think it’s wonderful and I’m glad that the girls get excited too! Plus there’s the added bonus that my birthday falls between Christmas and New Year’s so I always get to be away someplace special for my big day. 🙂
Lisa Goodmurphy
Thanks, Katja! I highly recommend it – cuts way back on the amount of time that I have to spend in a mall too!
Lisa Goodmurphy
Thanks! Memberships and passes make great gifts, don’t they? I’m starting to think of giving experiences to my nieces and nephews too – I’m just not sure how they would react yet.
Lisa Goodmurphy
Oh, I would love to actually spend Christmas day somewhere and decorate the hotel room but my family won’t go for that – I think the grandparents would have a meltdown if I announced that we weren’t going to be around for Christmas morning!
Lisa Goodmurphy
Thank you! I definitely think that we all remember the experiences far longer than most other gifts.
Dick Jordan
Great Christmas gift idea!
Been to Chicago. What a great city to visit as a tourist!
Stayed at Le Chateau Montebello in the fall. A fabulous “log cabin”!
Sensibletravel
Growing up, we used to take a ski trip to the mountains instead of getting gifts. Our whole family loved it. Looking back, that may have set the tone for my passion for traveling.
Denise
how very true. Me and my partner stopped swapping physical gifts a while ago because we understood we didn’t need more stuff. We’ve been using our savings for trips ever since as gifts to each other.
Lisa wood
what a fantastic idea – giving with experiences instead of buying gifts that are soon forgotten.
We too are thinking the same…buying a trip instead of buying toys that we have no where to store, and yep Christmas has become all about spending the most amount of money. Taking it back to basics sounds ideal for families.
femmefrugality
I absolutely love this idea! Building memories is so much better than showering loved ones with material goods.
Sophie
This is such a great idea, Lisa (and I’m very curious as to your 2012 destination). My youngest daughter only wants one thing for Christmas – a week at her favourite horse riding camp, and says she doesn’t care if there’s nothing else under the tree for her. We’ll see…
Sonja
That is truly a terrific idea. I wish I could pull that off! And I must say, your daughters have had some beautiful winter coats over the years (something my kids don’t have here in So Cal!) Have fun on your after Christmas trip.
Steve
I have a bad habit of scanning pictures in the story before going back and reading the details. I got to the picture of your girls on Christmas morning and was very impressed with how excited they were over getting $1 each. I mean, I know it was an American dollar, but still….
I’ve been paying some attention to your activities this month, and I have a guess as to where you’re headed. Can’t wait for Christmas to see if I’m right.
Margaret
What a great idea for a family Christmas gift! Less stuff, and more experiences together. After all, in the future, your girls will have fabulous memories of visiting different places around the world. I’m going to have to see if I can guess where Christmas 2012’s travel destination will be.
Lisa Goodmurphy
Thanks, Dick! We have been to Château Montebello in both summer and winter and it is one of my favourite family resorts!
Lisa Goodmurphy
I’m glad to hear that because, more than anything, I hope to inspire a passion for travel in my children!
Lisa Goodmurphy
That’s a great idea, Denise! I think most of us don’t really need any more stuff but it’s hard to break the habit that we need to buy our loved ones physical gifts!
Lisa Goodmurphy
I love the idea of just giving experiences and I think as my nieces and nephews get older that I will start gifting them with experiences as opposed to more stuff as well.
Lisa Goodmurphy
It is definitely better but buying more stuff is a hard habit to break! I’m working on it a little at a time.
Lisa Goodmurphy
A week at a horse riding camp would be an amazing gift – clearly your daughter knows what matters most to her!
Lisa Goodmurphy
Thanks, Sonja – the one benefit of our winter is that we can have pretty winter coats! 🙂
Lisa Goodmurphy
LOL – I’m pretty sure that it would take more than a dollar to get them excited these days!!
Lisa Goodmurphy
It’s going to be a very relaxing trip!! 🙂
Luísa Pinto
What a lovely ideia, the gift to travel. What a wonderful girls we are educating!
Sam
Family trips remain one of my strongest memories, and I loved to see the kids playing in the mountains chasing butterfly’s or playing in the sand in from of the resorts in Myrtle Beach – whether we’re camping or staying in a hotel, getting out of town should be like Christmas – I should be about the kids, and trips and time spent with the family is way more important than the latest smart device. Of course, there are plenty of places where everyone can have a ball – take a trip this year, and give your kids memories instead of things!
Lisa Goodmurphy
Thanks, Luisa!
Lisa Goodmurphy
My philosophy exactly, Sam!