Going away for Christmas??

[Osceola1728]

So, the wife mentioned the other day that we should just go away for Christmas and take a trip. Leave all the hustle, bustle, family get togethers, gift buying and chaos of Christmas. So my question is........do any of you just leave all of the chaos behind and take a trip? Sounds very inviting.

 

[FSUTribe76]

I guess it depends on how well you get along with your family. I always look forward to getting together with family but I only have one SIL that I don't care for out of both my and my wife's families. Everyone else is fantastic.

 

[Osceola1728]

I guess it depends on how well you get along with your family. I always look forward to getting together with family but I only have one SIL that I don't care for out of both my and my wife's families. Everyone else is fantastic.

I get along with everyone and enjoy seeing them. Its just all of the running, gift buying, cooking, have to be here today....there tomorrow etc.

 

[seminoledq]

We have done it twice and loved it both times. Once we left Christmas Eve to Anaheim and another time we left for Cancun on Christmas morning. I wish we could do it every year and I would recommend it to anyone who will listen.

 

[runkpanole]

I'm looking forward to trying out this year by staying at home. My family lives in Ohio and my better half's family is in Key West. We usually split time between the two by traveling to them. This year we decided to just stay at home. Just us and our son. I am looking forward to laying on the couch and watching some movies and playing with the new toys for the kid. We will try it out this year and see how much we want to travel next year.

 

[OrlandNole]

My parents are flying to Japan next week to meet up with my sister and her family. From there, they'll fly to Hong Kong and hop on a cruise ship that will take them to Viet Nam, Bangkok and end up in Singapore. They'll spend Christmas and New Years on the cruise.

 

[squiffynole]

We know an older couple who drives up to Williamsburg Virginia every Christmas.

 

[zlloyd1]

My wife and I, along with her parents and sister started doing this 2 years ago with a trip to Hawaii rather than all of us buying gifts for each other and it was the best vacation I've ever been on. We celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my family then left for the airport, returned New Years Eve. Leaving this year the day after Christmas for a Cruise to Cozumel and the Caymans. Best part about it for me was Christmas was truly back to being about family, I didn't stress about gift buying for my wife we just got to enjoy the holiday. (Oh and we have no kids, so there is that)

 

[AdNole]

Worked out pretty good for Luther Krank. Have fun!

 

[Nole Lou]

We usually have Christmas at home because we do our family get together on New Years instead. I was thinking about going somewhere drivable from Atlanta, but couldn't really settle on something that seemed worth it. A big airfare trip really isn't in the cards, not sure there's anywhere drivable we'd really want to be if the weather doesn't turn out being nice.

 

[surfnole]

My family took a cruise over Thanksgiving rather than deal with all the hassle, travel, expectations etc. Another year we went ot St. Georges Island over Thanksgiving week. Sometimes its easier to bug out and spend time with your close family than spend time meeting others expectations and suffering the consequences if you don't.

 

[BrianNole09]

My family took a cruise over Thanksgiving rather than deal with all the hassle, travel, expectations etc. Another year we went ot St. Georges Island over Thanksgiving week. Sometimes its easier to bug out and spend time with your close family than spend time meeting others expectations and suffering the consequences if you don't.

How was Thanksgiving dinner?

What cruise line was it?

 

[BrianNole09]

It sounds like a great idea if one can avoid the holiday traffic...something new rather than the same old stuff.

 

[T-NOLE]

I have never done it before, but this year we are flying to NYC on Christmas day and will be there for 5 nights. My daughters (14,12) have been wanting to go so my wife and I thought it would be a good Christmas present for them. It will be different for sure.

 

[kj9127]

My wife and I are moving from Florida to Tennessee over Christmas week. It will be us and hundreds of boxes.

 

[BrianNole09]

I have never done it before, but this year we are flying to NYC on Christmas day and will be there for 5 nights. My daughters (14,12) have been wanting to go so my wife and I thought it would be a good Christmas present for them. It will be different for sure.

I hope you like crowds, brah.

 

[T-NOLE]

I hope you like crowds, brah.

Taking one for the team.

 

[1fsu1966]

I have never done it before, but this year we are flying to NYC on Christmas day and will be there for 5 nights. My daughters (14,12) have been wanting to go so my wife and I thought it would be a good Christmas present for them. It will be different for sure.

We did this two years ago, it was great. Crowds weren't that bad, but we left before New Years. Your Daughters will have a blast

 

[cfbfan23]

I think you'll be ok in NYC. The real crowds are in the weeks leading up to Christmas. You'll be getting there when it all done, plus you get to avoid New Years. Well-planned, IMO.

 

[T-NOLE]

I think you'll be ok in NYC. The real crowds are in the weeks leading up to Christmas. You'll be getting there when it all done, plus you get to avoid New Years. Well-planned, IMO.

I did put some thought into the timing. No way I would be there on NYE.

 

[pink shizzle]

I get along with my family extremely well. And since I moved to California I'll only make it back to the midwest on rare occasions. I haven't been back since the move in January, so I look forward to seeing everyone at Christmas.

 

[BrianNole09]

Taking one for the team.

You're a saint.

I went to NYC 10 years ago for thanksgiving with my parents. It was pretty fun although I went to see the Macy's Christmas tree and the elevator was so crowded I think I squashed an 8 year old kid to death.

 

[jamnolfin]

We are thinking about if we go to the Peach Bowl going ahead and driving up to Atlanta Christmas Day and flying to DC until the 29 or 30th. 2 flights from Atlanta on Southwest would cost us less than 12,000 points and the hotel rates are dirt cheap. I have a offer for the Marriott Marquis downtown for $103 a night, stay 3 get 4th free. Fly back in time for booster parties in Atlanta for game. Probably do it if we get Peach

 

[LT4PLY]

Cruises are popular. We did Disney one year for Thanksgiving. The only strange thing is not coming home to leftovers and a messy house.

 

[DFSNOLE]

The wife and I are leaving for a week in Belize on Sunday. We'll be home on Christmas day for the first time in a while. We have been in South Florida for the past several years with my mom but she passed away last May.

 

[surfnole]

How was Thanksgiving dinner?

What cruise line was it?

It was a Carnival cruise. I built a spreadsheet of all the different cruises that week leaving out of Tampa, Port Caneveral, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. There were about 20 options. Carnival uses nicer ships for their week long cruises than their 2-3 day cruises, and this was my kids first cruise so the experience would be fantastic for them regardless. We looked at RC, Norwegian, Celebrity, Carnival and one other. It was a pretty good deal overall, maybe 450 or 500 a person.

Food was decent to good overall. The Thanksgiving dinner was terrible...do not recommend. I avoid the pool area on all cruises except to get a drink since its way overcrowded. I go up a deck and find a more quiet place. We stopped at 4 world class dive locations, but I did not dive because I felt bad about abandoning the family the entire day. In retrospect, I should have gone diving one day.

 

[BelemNole]

We prefer to spend it at home. Family tends to come into town and stay with my folks so we get all the benefits of family in town with none of the draw-backs. Sister invited us to come up to Tahoe with her but we're in Tahoe all the time and I know it would just stress my wife out. I think next year we'll have to take a trip to see her family in Ohio, we haven't gone in years and it sounds like she's missing it. She'll remember why we don't go after 2 days and then I won't have to go back for another 5-6 years.