7 Joyful Benefits of a Christmas Holiday Abroad

December is just around the corner and the list of things that have to be done in preparation of the arrival of the big man, that is Father Christmas not my Father in Law, is growing by the day. The invitations to various Christmas festivities, carol services, children’s nativities, the pantomime, Christmas parties and so on and so on, are building up too. The calendar and the bank balance are already looking difficult to balance.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Christmas but as the end of November looms the stress builds up, that is until the festive cheer, usually aided by mulled wine, properly kicks in. Is it all worth it? Of course it is, it is a great time of year. The Christmas holidays is when family and friends all seem to take time out of their busy lives to spend quality time together.

This is brought home to me as I drive around  the streets of the city and notice that the accommodation in Southampton is all starting to look just a little bit twinkly with Christmas trees beginning to peep through the windows. You just can’t help trying to steal just a little glimpse of what is going on inside the glowing rooms of the houses.

Every year I imagine that I would love to escape the hustle and bustle of the festive season and avoid, what can sometimes can only be described as family torture, in favour of sitting on a beach somewhere, dreaming of the lucky people living in Monaco and other luxury places. Could I really do it? Could I really go on a Christmas Holiday Getaway? There are some very good reasons too.

If you have booked to go away for Christmas chances are you will be leaving quite a few days before Christmas. So, you have to make sure that you have everything prepared before you go, meaning that you avoid the last minute shopping dash.

You could be the most organised shopper in the world, but still you have to face the last minute supermarket rush for the fresh groceries. And isn’t there just one thing that sells out every year that then results in a supermarket crawl to find it. It is a mission that you cannot fail. Going on a Christmas holiday lets you avoid this panic, as well as the endless queueing at the tills as people put through two and three trolleys of shopping at a time.

It’s great that all the family finds time to get together over Christmas, but does it have to be at my little house in Southampton? The house has to be cleaned throughout and there will be piles of laundry to do too. Just to do it all again after the gathering. I would escape this if I was on holiday, in fact someone else would be doing it for me. Bliss!

What seems to be the most important meal of the whole year, Christmas Dinner, takes a great deal of time and effort as well as planning and coordination. If you were on a christmas holiday abroad this would all be done for you too, you would simply need to dress for the occasion and eat your obligatory sprouts. Pure luxury, especially as you wouldn’t have to do the washing up either.

We all dream of a white Christmas, but in reality it is usually a bleak, wet and windy one. Escape the British winter for just a while. Escape on a Christmas holiday abroad and enjoy the winter sunshine whether it be on a luxury Monaco beach or in the snow capped mountains of a ski resort. A little vitamin D can work miracles.

The pressure of planning the perfect Christmas can be overwhelming and it is all over in just two days. Escape on holiday and your Christmas suddenly becomes a week or more long but without the stress. It is suddenly sounding very appealing.

I will conquer the stress of this Christmas, enjoy the time with my family and take some time out in January to look at some Christmas holiday trip ideas and seriously consider going away next year. It’s certainly worth considering, but will I do it, and miss out on the traditions and expectations of my family? I’m not sure.

Are you going away for Christmas or is it something you could never do? Please share you views with us in the comments.