Hi Everyone,

I want to surprise my wife and kids (3 & 4 girls) by taking them someplace special at Christma time. I need snow, festive atmosphere,shopping and restaurants in an old time towm setting, preferably not a city and not more than a couple of hours flying time from Orlando, Florida. Any suggestions would be gratly appreciated.

Tony - no offense, but if you want guaranteed snow at Christmas a 2 hour flight from Orlando, you're not going to find much of anything. You might want to rethink this.

The Hawaiian is right -- for (almost) guaranteed snow in late Dec., you'll need to go to western New York state or northern VT or NH.

Guaranteed snow would be in CO Rockies, but that's too far away. I'll pile on with the others and say that you're not going to find anywhere within a 2 hour flight that is guaranteed to have snow.

Ok guys you will have to pardon my ignorance. But we are from Ireland and spend two months every two months on vacation in Florida. Which explains my ignorance of snowfall in the US. Any suggestions for anywhere in the US would be appreciated.

Tony

I'm not very familiar with New England, but Southwest has non-stop flights to Manchester, NH that are under 3 hours in length. There certainly must be a picturesque town within a short driving distance of the airport.

I have always wanted to go to VT and NH and have had this link saved to my computer for a few years now! Perhaps it will have some ideas for you...

http://travelandleisure.com/Invoke.c...A40002B3309983

Can't guarantee you the snow, but if you want a wonderful weekend complete with Santa, a sleigh ride, roaring fires, just everything festive...check out The Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC.

a sleigh ride at the Grove Park??? Where? on their golf course? Chances are slim that there will be snow but there will be Santa and a big roaring fire in the lobby...

How about Kennebunkport, Maine? Easy drive from Portland, Maine, airport.

The places that come to my mind aren't that easy to get to. Adirondacks - no good airports, no good shopping really. Escept, maybe, Lake Placid - still, not exactly a regional airport. I would think Vermont, but I don't know where...Woodtock Vermont is pretty. Burlington Vermont?

How about Quebec City - can be quite charming.

Western NY is iffy - we're just as likely to have a TON of snow as none at all.

You can do sleigh rides outside Boone, NC. And, if there is no snow, they run the sleigh on wheels. A little strange, but sometimes the best the SE can manage.

1) Aspen, Colorado
2) Telluride, Colorado
3) Breckenridge, Colorado

in that order. There will be snow. And there will be shopping, especially in Aspen.

Does it have to be in the US? If there are no problems with visas, what about Quebec City. It's very charming with plenty of shops and restaurants in a quaint European setting and there would likely be snow. I'm not sure about flying time from Florida but it's only a three-hour flight between Florida and Toronto and I can't imagine that Quebec City would be much longer.

as a lifelong new england skier, i can tell you no one can promise you snow in new england by Christmas. The ski mountains in new england will have snow, but most of it might be man made and once you leave the mountain base there could be little to nothing on the ground anywhere else - or, we could have 3 feet. but that would be unusual.
If you want guaranteed snow I agree with poster who told you to head to Colorado/out west - although flights might already be hard to come by. Or try Canada. Decorations and activities will be fun in many places in New England, but the now can not be guaranteed. And it sounds like you want a destination near the airport, and some in new england that might have snow, would be a drive from most major airport.

You could fly into Manchester, NH and drive up to the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods.
http://www.mtwashington.com/hotelinformation/index.cfm

Or fly into Burlington, VT and stay at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe.
http://www.trappfamily.com/index.html

Further info on both can be found on-line. Unfortunately, snow not guaranteed... Best Wishes!

Dreamer2 has given you good ideas. Another one is to fly to Manchester, NH and drive north to Jackson, NH. There are several lovely Inns there that I would think would be all decked out for Christmas. And you could shop to your hearts delight in nearby North Conway, NH (where there are lots of lodging options as well). Another lovely spot is Woodstock, VT (accessible from Manchester as well) but the shopping is more boutiques not the great deals you might want before going back to Ireland.

I would like to live in the town that looks storybook at Christmas. The kind you see on TV (Home Alone) where he runs to the store and back to his big beautiful house...aahhh....
I wish you luck in finding your town. Let me know if you do!! I may go next year!

There are lots of very charming small towns in VT & NH. Naturally. the further north and into the mountains you go, the greater chance of snow. I've lived up here for 25 years, and about 20 Christmas' have been white. As others have mentioned, fly into Manchester NH or Burlington Vt. If you want someplace with shopping and restaurants, that narrows down your choices considerably. In Vt, look into Montpelier, Woodstock, Stowe, Chester, & Manchester(don't confuse Manchester NH which is a big city, with Manchester VT). In NH there are Jackson, Littleton, Sunapee, New London. Hanover, Conway.

girl, I think that was in New Jersey

Nope, I was wrong -

Home Alone
The family's house is located on Lincoln Ave. in the city of Winnetka, IL. It has maintained the same exact look as it was in the movie. The house is located a few streets from its creator, John Hughes. His home and offices are both there.