this will be our families (12 of us) 4th christmas in mexico.We have done playa del carmen and isla mujeres. This year we are going to try P.V.. I am struggling with a room. we want a pool and beachside or close proximity to beach a small restaurant on premises would be great. we dont know whether to be in town or out of town, like Sayulita. Walking in town would be fun but is P.V. too "Americanized" any suggestions would be helpful.

You will find 'in-town', especially the south side far less 'American' than the hotel strip or, even worse, Nuevo Vallarta. Of course Sayulita is less 'American', but a long way from PV and not much going on at night.
For accommodation, I humbly offer my site, which includes a lot of private rentals.
http://vallartainfo.com

As a frequent visitor to Puerto Vallarta, I love staying right in town, south of downtown (in a charming neighborhood that no one can decide on a name for i.e., Zona Romantica, Old Town, the southside). Cobblestone streets, red tile roofs, bouganvilla, black wrought iron trims, just lovely. Best of all, very friendly people.

El Centro (downtown proper) is a normal working Mexican town, busy and fun with loads of shops, galleries, regular stores, local people going about their lives.

Where it is Americanized is to the north, in the Hotel Zone, The Marina, and Nuevo Vallarta where you'll find standard resort hotels (Westin, Marriott, et al.)

In town or out of town is a totally personal decision. Sayulita is an entirely different experience than PV.

I've been in Puerto Vallarta for Christmas several times, it was wonderful fun!

We were in Sayulita last year for a week in February. I really loved it. We had spent a couple of nights in Puerto Vallarta (first time we had been back in 16 years) and really appreciated the quiet side of Sayulita. There are some gorgeous homes there, plus some nice restaurants. Nothing very glitzy, but we enjoyed ourselves. After Sayulita, we went to Guadalajara for a few days, so it was a nice mix of the beach and the city.

You might be interested in staying in a unique fishage village setting located south PV: www.lamanzanilla.biz