Check this out, Mom:

http://www.brugesinfo.com/christmas-and-new-year.php

Mom, why not go to Brugge for a day while you're there. You may not want to be away from your family Christmas day but why not pick another day.

MomDD:

Bruges is absolutely beautiful - it was one of our favorite stops this summer. If you have the time, I would definitely try to go there!

I took my children to EuroDisney a couple of summers ago. My daughter especially wanted to go there. We have been to Disney World twice and they both enjoyed it so we went to EuroDisney to say we had been there. Because it is so much smaller we were able to do the park in a shorter amount of time. It was enjoyable, but nothing like Disney World. It was fun to compare to what we remembered at Disney World. Just go, plan on having a good time, stay as long as necessary, and then leave. We try to do a theme park when we travel...especially for my daughter who loves them. We went to one in Germany last summer and will probably go to one in Montreal next summer.

StCirq - you torture me. :-)

It does indicate it will be closed up on Christmas (as to be expected, I know people should be with their families as well) - but so dreamy. I think my family is missing the boat.

Judy - I sure might do just that... I really want to see it... even if only for the day.

Shopping tips for Paris:

The Department Stores (Printemps or Galeries Lafayette on the Right Bank or Bon Marche on the Left Bank) are a very efficient way to accomplish a lot of shopping in a short period of time. You can also consolidate your purchases to qualify for the tax refund. Your daughters will be able to see a good range of designer, boutique and mainstream labels in the department stores. Imagine a Bloomgingdales where you could also find Banana Republic, J Crew and other stores' boutiques in the department store.

The other shopping area I'd recommend is the Marais, and this is a good choice for a Sunday in Paris since the Marais is one of the old Jewish neighbourhoods and has shops open on Sunday. There are branches of trendy shops as well as one of a kind shops in a range of prices. It's a lively neighbourhood with some nice cafes.

PS - In light of your wife's and daughters' preferences for holidays, it sounds like the better plan would be to drop them off in the Canary Islands and bring one of the fodorites on this trip.

What is closed up on Christmas Day - Euro Disney or Bruges or what?

sorry Bruge. Disney is a live and well :-)

If Disney is open on Chrismas Day it's one way to pass the time rather than wandering around Paris, bearing in mind sights and museums will be closed (though if it's a bright day, wandering round Paris could be magical!). But it does beg the question why are you bothering flying across the Atlantic at all, esp. at an expensive time for flights? There is so much to see in Paris and you have so little time. And it's not as if your kids are pre-teens. Surely there is something else apart from the shopping that would interest them? Hanging around Montmartre, going up the Eiffel Tower? We spent over a week in Paris one Easter with our son and only one day in Disney (some of my husband's colleagues thought we were mean!)and he was 7 years old at the time. And we hadn't crossed the Atlantic to get there either! Science Museum, Louvre (antiquities collections), Rodin and Picasso Museums all went down well. Might the latter two hold some appeal art least? I vaguely remember a museum of costume or fashion too.

Yes in Bruges or any city on Christmas Day i think everything save perhaps a few restaurants would be closed and there would be a ghost town feeling - heck even the famous Frites wagons on the main square could be closed.

Yet wandering around this so romantic ancient Flemish town with no one else there could have its own rare charm

I talked to the family about it yesterday and they seemed interested in going with me on one day - we are in Paris for 10 nights in an apartment. We were going to do one over night trip to London but we decided against it.

It seems to me that you want to go to Europe while the other members of family would prefer a sunny isle. So let them go to Hawaii or what ever and you go solo to Europe doing what you want.