4 seniors are planning a holiday to Massachusetts in December 08 for 14 days from the UK. We would like to be in a New England village for Christmas arriving first weekend in December. Is Nantucket, Christmas Walkabout the best and worth the journey or please recommend other villages.

Nantucket's "Christmas Stroll" is absolutely the best - it is the original stroll that all the others have tried to imitate. This 18th Century whaling village is transformed into something so beautiful you'd swear it came straight out of a Dickens novel. Christmas cheer abounds and you find yourself imbued with the Christmas spirit. The town center is tastefully decorated with many Christmas trees and decorations. Stroll weekend is always the weekend following our Thanksgiving, which in December 08 begins on Friday (12/5). My husband and I like to enjoy a long weekend and arrive on Thursday and stay through Monday. By doing so, you avoid the busy travel dates and get to enjoy the island when it is less crowded. There are many events throughout the weekend, such as house tours, historic walking tours, caroling, a huge food tent on Saturday and craft fairs. The main street it town is closed to traffic on Saturday and crowds "stroll" along and enjoy the shopping and festivities. All of the restaurants and shops are open for this weekend. Have you been to Nantucket before? Please post back if you need information for lodging and dining. You will need to get lodging in advance as the B&Bs and inns book up for this weekend. Dining reservations for Friday/Saturday night are also a good idea.

Yes Nantucket does it right....but if you are in Mass. and the area for 14 days, you could also find Newport, RI charming too....the mansions are all decorated for Christmas, and the town is charming all decorated for the holidays as well.

Back in the day, Nantucket had a very short "season" - July 4th through Labor Day.

The "Christmas Stroll", "Daffodil Weekend" (in April), and other festivities have been dreamed up over the years to attract visitors in the "off" season.

And, lately "Nantucket Noel" November 28-December 31, with "Christmas Walk" December 5-7, 2008. Rates for accomodations will be significantly lower weekends other than "Christmas Stroll" for which (to me) the rates are outrageous. And, if you do book, it's critical to note cancellation policies, which are very strict. You can only get to/from Nantucket by ferry or plane, so if you cannot arrive on time, or at all, for some good reason, like the weather, you're out of luck.

The year we attended "Christmas Stroll" (back before the rates tripled), it was bitterly cold and windy and difficult to enjoy being out and about. Because Nantucket is a small island, the winds can be brutal in the winter.

If you do decide to go, be sure make reservations for dining well ahead of time. There are typically more visitors than restaurant availability, and if you wait until you arrive, it will be a struggle to get into any of the better restaurants.

Better bets would be Stockbridge, Lenox, or others in the Berkshires of Western Massachussets, Stowe or someplace in the Green Mountains of Vermont, Jackson Village or someplace in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Or, Portsmouth, NH, Newburyport or Salem, MA would be good seaside villages.

I love the Christmas stroll in Nantucket, but it is not where I would send you coming all the way from the UK.
There are many other lovely villages that do a "stroll" with the shops open, music, restaurants, singing, activities, etc - that would not mean you having to get to the Cape, take the ferry across , etc (or fly from Boston) - either way, I think the getting there takes too much time from your trip when you can get the same elsewhere.

While Newport,RI may not have just one small Main Street to walk up and down, their "main street" (Thames/Avenue of Americas) is wider and longer, they have nights when the shops are open, cafes, a tree lighting, etc and as someone mentioned you can also see a mansion in all its splendor and plenty of music and other activities -

If you look up Fairs, Festivals, Christmas Strolls, Christmas Walks, holiday walks, December Calendar of Events - in New ENgland towns like the ones DJBOoks mentioned, I think you will be as happy, same atmosphere and closer to other things.

As DJ said, it can be bitter on the water, and just last week the ferry was cancelled for the day to Martha's Vineyard because of weather - imagine if that happened in December and I would hate to see that mess you up -

plus that time of year, to me, coming as far as you are, you should see more than what you will see in the days on Nantucket - and I believe most places require a 2 or 3 night minimum on stroll weekend.

Thank you for your help, which now needs a get together with a bottle of wine and some questions to answer.

If we forget Nantucket, we are flying into Boston, which we know well, where should we go ?

Thanks

I would look into some of the towns mentioned above -
but I would also suggest some more if you could share what else you would like to do while there - what your other interests are - and how long you wanted to stay there -

For example, do you want to spend 2 or 3 nights, do you want to be in the mountains with shopping, restaurants, local theater, sleigh rides- and outdoor activities or not?

Or, would you rather be on a coastal town - closer to city offerings?

Will you be driving from Boston? or do you want something on a bus/ train line or another flight ?

Here are some thoughts for you to look at:

a tiny url link to info on Christmas festivals

http://preview.tinyurl.com/2cd8vh

If you want a short drive, I would look into the cities in western Mass (Lenox, Sturbridge (quinessential New England area) and see what they offer.

Then I'd move to NH White Mountain area or alogn the coast, Portsmouth NH and up to Portland

do some searches on those areas

Nestlenook Farm, Jackson, NH (so you also are not far from NOrth Conway shopping, movies, restaurants, but also near a village with sleigh rides, ice skaing, decorations and stores- also not far drive from Boston.

www.middleburyinn.com

The Middlebury Inn and the Swift House Inn are both favorite of mine. Middlebury is a small, quintessential New England college town - (small liberal arts college)
it offers you several things:
beautiful mountain scenery on the way up from Boston, a small walkable village surrounded by the moutains and lakes, - also check out
www.midvermont.com to see what else is in the area and between Middlebury and Burlington, Vt on Route 7 - galleries, covered bridges, Sheldon museum, etc.

The von Trapp Family Lodge in VT: even if they do not have a specific 'festival' while you are there, to me it is like that all winter long -

www.trappfamily.com

www.easternslopeinn.com

www.stonehurstmanor.com/

Carol: You've gotten some other nice suggestions, but I would suggest that you not discount Nantucket so quickly. Yes, the weather can be cold (but everyplace in New England can be cold that time of year) and Nantucket is expensive because it is a popular and unique place (it does attract an affluent crowd). Restaurant reservations at the finer places do need to be made in advance, but there are also other good, casual spots that do not require reservations. As for having to take a ferry to get there, to my husband and I, being 30 miles out in the ocean is a big part of the adventure. The weather can be variable - we've been going to Stroll for 16 years and have encountered all types of weather - from a high of 65 degrees (Fahrenheit) to much colder, wintery weather. Nantucket has a great website (www.nantucket.net) that you can use to help you make your decision. Bear in mind that some of the places in northern New England may also have logistical issues in travel as you may encounter some snow or winter driving conditions. It seems from your initial post that you were intrigued by the Nantucket Stroll and we enjoy the Stroll so much that I wanted to encourage you not to dismiss it as you make your decision.

This is my first time on Fodor's and I am overwhelmed by all your advice.

Thank you all very much.

Carol: I think perhaps you should tell us what exactly you expect out of the Nantucket stroll - if you have any idea how big (or rather small) it is - and what your budget is.

While I have enjoyed the stroll many times b/c we have friends on island and I do enjoy Nantucket, we are there every summer for a week also - but the main part of Nantucket is small - it is basically one main street, with stores on either side, and some side streets with stores - all , in my opinon, high priced, -

in other areas/towns/villages - you would get many of the same actiivitites: Santa arrives (by boat, sleigh or fire truck depending on the New England town) - Mr & MRs. Clause, decorated trees, stores w/ open doors offering cider, etc - retaurants and cafes - carolers and music...

The same activities are offered elsewhere where you also have nearby a more variety of prices in stores and restaurants and lodging -
so be certain with your friends what you want , how much of it you want, and at what price. I just don't want you to travel from Boston to Nantucket for something you can get closer and with more variety.

If you walk past my summer cottage on Main St., please do NOT sit on my front porch and leave your Hershey Bar wrappers behind. People just love to sit on my porch, look through my windows (and leave fingerprints), and throw trash in my azalea bushes.

You are more than welcome to take photos as long as you don't brush up against my new paint job.

Cheers,
Thingorjus

Kennebunkport, Maine has a nice festive celebration as would the surrounding area of York and Ogunquit.

Christmas Stroll in Nantucket is pretty nice, though you can have any kind of weather from a howling gale to unseasonable warmth (20 C). The same, however, is true of all the other places that are recommended.

Yes, prices for restaurants and lodging are expensive compared with the mainland, but they will seem cheap to entirely reasonable to you coming from the UK. You do need to book well in advance.

Food in the better restaurants is world-class, with outstanding seafood, sometimes with Manhattan if not London prices, but there is also "the Strip", a range of takeaway joints along the Steamboat Wharf that feature American, Jamaican, and Latino specialties. There are also some good bars that serve pub type foods, notably the Atlantic Cafe and the Brotherhood of Thieves.

The town and shops are beautifully decorated as are the exteriors of many of the houses. Yes, there are only a few streets of shopping, but there are many, many streets of beautiful houses and cottages with interesting architectural details, all within easy walking distance of the centre of town. While the main style is late Georgian through Regency, we have a number of 17th century and very early 18th century houses.

There is an historical museum (with good shop!) and our beautiful library, the Atheneum, where you could easily while away a stormy afternoon with a magazine or book (or wifi). Saturday evening, we usually have Lessons and Carols at St Paul's Episcopal Church to which you would be happily welcomed.

Most of the merchants will close after Christmas for three or four months, so there are actually bargains to be had, especially in higher end clothing, as they try to clear their shelves for new merchandise in April.

It make quite a lot of sense to come here on an early ferry on Friday morning and to leave on Monday, mid day.

I live here so cannot advise on lodging, but I am happy to answer questions about restaurants and attractions.

By the way, I am mostly retired and have no commercial connections on the island, so I do not benefit if you come! The usual disclaimer!

While researching something for a friend relative to holidays/new england I thought of your post and that these threads might also be of interest in helping you in your search if you haven't found them yet.

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...d=1&tid=957068

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...1&tid=34770036

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=35103261

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...d=1&tid=879667