I'd appreciate any suggestions for a vacation to escape (for) Christmas from the Washington, DC area, either driving or short plane trip. We're two adults, two pre-teens, interested in outdoorsy stuff, skiing, skating, sledding, swimming, some sightseeing. Two of us are not into big cities, so NYC and Philly are probably out.
Iif you have any specific suggestions, preferably based on your experience, please post with details on activities and resorts (rental cabins?).
Never been to the Poconos or beach in cold weather. Thanks!

Isn't there anyone that you know that you could ask?
Like your family or whomever you will be traveling with?
Shouldn't asking hundreds of strangers be the last resort?

I'm asking for a specific resort/place that others enjoyed who found themselves in a similar situation. Isn't this what this board is for?

Stow, or killington VT.. big ski resorts..

What about The Greenbrier in West Virginia? It is about 250 miles away from you.

Pocono's have many resorts that offer all that you seem interested in. You will have to check out the various resorts through the web that would sound appealing to you and your family. Even indoor pools for swimming.

Sheesh, When's the last time you got any? Sounds like it's been awhile....

Woodstock Inn Vermont has skating, it's own small ski area, indoor pool and fitness center and is in a quaint little town, For a quick dose of sun Sanibel/ Captiva in Florida at the Sout Seas REsort, Casa Ybel or lot's of resorts in the Bahamas.

Ingrid:

How about Southern Virginia. Williamsburg is decorated around the Christmas holiday.

Thanks for the positive replies and suggestions so far. Please keep them coming!
Is there anything that's not way too expensive? We have several vacations planned, so I don't want to spend thousands for a few days.

Ingrid, these are comments which are helpful if you make in the beginning to better enable people to help you with suggestions. Input is crucial. It sounds as if you are seeking snow type atmosphere. Not sure where there would be a lot of snow. How about upstate New York, the Hudson Vally area. There are ski resorts and usually snow by then. Not terribly far away.

Ingrid, ignore Sheesh, your question is exactly what this board is for. I don't know a whole alot about it, but south of Buffalo N.Y. is the town of Ellicottville which is a ski resort. I believe there is a resort called Peak 'n Peak which has condos for rent with an indoor pool. I think there is also a Holiday Inn in Ellicottville which is pretty nice. There would be lots of skiing, sledding, ice skating and the town has nice shops and restaurants.

Well, it doesn't have to be snow-related activities. The main reasoning is that the male members of the family like all kinds of outdoors activities (also non-snow related), but I can't imagine what else to do unless it's at least in the high 60s, so that my daughter can hop in a pool. We're also still considering Florida as an option if we can keep it not too expensive.
On the other hand, skiing in the northeast/mid atlantic is iffy, so we need other things to do.

What about heading up to Canada. More bang for the buck.

For someplace warm, how about Puerto Rico? Otherwise, I recommend Canada, either Toronto or Banff.

Caribbean flights are simply too expensive (about 600.00/person), otherwise PR would be great. was thinking about Quebec, but am worried about the temperatures.
I know it doesn't sound as exotic, but does anybody have any recommendations in the Poconos?