If you do the upstate New Hampshire trip, your girls would love Santa's Village. It's geared toward their ages, with rides all Christmas themed, cooking making with the elves, a visit with Santa, and so on. There's even real reindeer. It's about half an hour north of North Conway. They have a website. I believe it's santasvillage.com.

Also in the area is the Polar Express train ride. We've never done it, but I believe it's run by the Mt. Washington Cogg Railroad. As I recall, tickets are hard to come by, but it might be worth a try.

It's alot longer than 2 hours away but Tahoe is very Chritmasy. Incline Village, Tahoe City and Truckee all have a nice holiday feeling. Northstar ski resort has sleigh rides and of corse great skiing.

starrsville, I grew up in NJ. I thought when I read NJ, where??? I thought I heard that it was in Illinois. What a pretty town it looks like.

If I remember correctly, they used fake snow in that movie. (Might have been filmed some other time of year for all I know.) But it's more common for us NOT to have a White Christmas than to have one. And if our present drought conditions continue, it's unlikely we'll have one this year!

It was predicted that this Winter would be a harsh one..so we all could have a "White Christmas".;)

Christie ((T))

Tony,
I have been through NH during Christmas..and I passed alot of little quaint towns that were decorated very cute and traditionally.Try looking around Concord..maybe Keene or Hillsboro.

Christie

Lot of good ideas for you! I'll add Santa Fe. It's a dream at Christmas time. Luminaria, the smell of Pinon burning all over town, great food, a very festive atmosphere - skiing not that far away.

If you are restricted to the two hours from Orlando, Asheville or its environs would be great, although probably not white. Quebec City would be my choice.

And may I add: what a great dad/husband you are, to plan this lovely treat for your family. Have a wonderful time wherever you end up! ((G))

Thanks everyone for taking the time to give me such excellent suggestions. You have genuinely given me some great choices. 'girlonthego' reminded me of Home Alone in her reply. When my 17 year old daughter Lauren was six years old she just loved that movie. She would watch it over and over. So I took her to New York that Christmas and we drove around in a limo while she ate pizza. We went to the Rockefeller Center and stood under the christmas tree where Kevins mom finds him eventually. We went to FAO Schwarz where we got toys and then back to The Plaza where we stayed The staff told Lauren about the making of the movie. I can still see her face. Even today she thinks it is an incredible memory. I'm sure everyone will agree whatever pleasure our partners and kids get from those experiences it does not come close to how good we feel just looking at them experiencing it.

Meredith, NH would be a perfect fit for you vacation. It is a picturesque little town, right on a lake and all the trimmings of Christmas. You could stay at one of the hotels, or B&Bs in the area, and I am sure find a nice fireplace with Christmas Tree.

There is skating on a local pond and Santa's Village is not far away.

You can fly into Boston and drive north from there, (2 hour drive) or fly into Manchester.

Your girls would love the Annalee Doll Factory (www.annalee.com) and dinner at Hartz Turkey Farm is a must.

Have a wonderful time.

You have some great suggestions, but you might also look west. Orlando to Denver, then 2 hours to Vail, Colorado.

Is Santa's Village even open in the winter? I thought it was seasonal. Maybe it stays open weekends for the holiday season from Thanksgiving to Xmas, but I would check before coming!

http://www.santasvillage.com/calendar.html

Of course Santa's Village is only open on weekends at Christmas - It's his busiest time of year :-)

Tony

You're guaranteed snow in Estes Park, CO. It's right on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park and with an elevation of 9000 ft+, it will definitely have snow around Christmas. Unlike some of the other CO towns that have been mentioned, you won't have to drive over the mountains to get to it - which could be a factor if there's any bad weather and the mountain passes are temporarily closed. It's about 1.5 hours from Denver.

Tony
I don't know about guaranteed snow as our weather in the States has been unusually warm so far but I was looking around the net and found this:
http://www.mcadenville-christmastown.com/
I am from Illinois so I don't know anything about this state but thought it might be what you are looking for.
Good luck!

Tony, that was such a lovely story about you and your daughter. What a nice man and good father you must be.

My vote is for Quebec City. Really compact, small historical center with loads of shops and restaurants, and I bet the Hotel Frontenac (I don't know the exact name)would be really dressed up for the holidays.

Chateau Frontenac

Thanks, hdm. It's been awhile since I've been to Quebec.

Me too but all this talk about it has given me a yen to go.

TonyL, I believe there are a lot of nice small hotels and B&Bs too.

Any suggestions as far as ski resorts? There is a catch, I have to drive from florida :-(, I have a 15 year old pet, that goes everywhere with me...and he can't fly at this age. Last spring break we went to Tennessee, and the year before we drove to VA. But there's no snow left around march 26th! Help!!! My 14 year daughter is driving me crazy that she wants to ski!!! But I don't want to drive forever...Thanks...