I am looking for some Christmastime Travel Inspiration. Here is a little bit about us:
DH & I are in our late 40's/early 50's.
We live in the Pacific Northwest.
We love to travel and are going to Hawaii in a couple of days.
We enjoy history, museums, strolling, shopping, dining, theater/concerts.

We both get the week between Christmas & New Years off and like to take a trip within the US during that time (preferable someplace warm, but I'm willing to consider NYC at Xmastime). Last year we took a cruise r/t from NOLA and had a great time, so a cruise is one option we are thinking about.

So basically I am looking for some travel ideas. We've been to NOLA, and LA/Disneyland.
Other ideas have been a road trip to San Diego, or fly to Phoenix, or Miami. So far nothing has really tickled our fancy.

Experienced Fodorites, what are some of your favorite travel ideas?

Santa Fe is magical at Christmas.

What about either New York ( we just made reservations ourselves there) for excitement, or either Death Valley or Joshua Tree National Parks for warmth and beauty. We also once spent a wonderful Christmas in a B and B outside Tucson. I like the Santa Fe idea as well.

How about Florida? You can go to Miami like you mentioned or the Florida Keys will have nice weather and is so beautiful as well. We used to go to Florida every January and it was great to relax and be by the beach.

With your interests, NYC is the obvious choice even though it won't be warm.

Your description of what you want is a perfect match for NYC - except for warm weather. That is a great week to be in the city - since business travel is way down and hotel rates are not as bad as earlier in Dec (although nothing like Jan rates).

Sarasota, Fl and Savannah, Ga are some other ideas. http://savannahvisit.com/groups/itin...he-season-tour

My suggestions for a shopping/dining/history trip: San Francisco (with a side-trips to Carmel, Napa/Sonoma and/or Yosemite - snowy but beautiful). I love SF at Christmas - shopping in Union Square with the big tree, going for a holiday tea at one of the fancy hotels, wine tasting, dining and visiting museums. You could probably catch a ballet or concert too. I like Tucson and San Diego/La Jolla as options too. I was going to say Santa Fe but it is actually pretty cold in late December.

As for the road trip. We have done the PNW to SoCal road trip at Christmas several times - usually we drive as far as we can and stop to make the trip in two days. It sometimes has snow (especially through Shasta), fog (be very careful of the Tully fog near Sacramento), and frequently we are driving in the rain. Though we have had a few years that were beautiful and enjoyed our stops in Ashland, Sacramento and other places you might not choose to go for a full week.