Oh Boy, all these great suggestions! Maybe I should put them all in a hat and pick one out.

Melissa, you've definately put a bug in my head about Las Vegas. It would be a busy , fun place to be.
I've heard just seeing the hotels is worth the trip!

In my experience and opinion, the best thing a single person with no family can do during Christmas week is to stock up on provisions and videos or books, lock the doors, and spend some quality time at home alone.

Over the years I have taken trips to Hawaii, Death Valley, and Las Vegas during that week. I certainly had the desire to escape to somewhere interesting, and also to take advantage of my employer's holiday shutdown to conserve my extremely limited and precious vacation time. But I eventually decided that the hassles and premium prices of travel during that very crowded season were simply not worth it. Any destination that isn't frozen will be packed with families and kids, which is always less than pleasant for a solo traveler. And these days, with airlines running full flights with no room for contingencies even during ordinary times, any weather disruption is likely to mean spending one or more days camped out in an airport terminal waiting for the first available seat or hotel room (or, if you're lucky, sitting at home waiting for the first available seat on an outbound flight).

Save your travel for the spring and autumn, the most pleasant seasons for the solo traveler. Leave Christmas to the hordes of people who feel compelled to go &quot;home for the holidays.&quot; Celebrate at home with friends who also lack families, or by yourself. No single person should be forced to stay home for the lack of a travel companion, but if there's ever a time a single person should <i>choose</i> to stay home, Christmas is it.

But that's just my opinion.

Yes, JB, you've made a valid point.
I wouldn't mind at all spending some quiet time at home at Christmas. Trouble is, my friends won't let me. They think no one should be alone.And I'm a terrible liar or I'd just pretend to be away, and stay home.

What really doesn't appeal to me at all is joining friends and their families. It is such a family time, and no matter what, I feel like it should be just for families. My friends make me very very welcome, but still, I'm there because I'm on my own. Plain and simple, I wouldn't be invited otherwise.

So I have found going away is the answer. I've really enjoyed the last couple of years being away.

Any other suggestions?

I absolutely get this Kodi! While I'm not entirely alone, my husband and I take off at Christmas every year. When we look at the cost of traveling at this time of the year and the stress of the travel, we shake our heads - but the one year we decided to skip the Christmas trip, we vowed never to stay home again. It's more irritating to be home.

We've cruised many times, but that doesn't work for a single traveler. We've gone to Hawaii too. I actually like to be in a warm weather destination because it helps me &quot;skip&quot; Christmas since my brain seems to link weather to the memories of the holiday.

Las Vegas or Key West make great sense! No matter what your choice, here's wishing you happy holidays!

Ah, Shae, thank you. I'm NOT nuts!
Sounds like Las Vegas is the least Christmasy. I'd never thought of going there... but it's sounding better all the time.
I wonder if Key West would have enough to do? It's not really a beachy place is it?

kodi, I totally &quot;get&quot; going away too. Tho like others I shake my head at the prices. Last year 2 wks earlier and accoms were literally 40% off in S FL!

Key West isn't beach at all, more of a pool place I think, but there's lots to do for a few days.

I spent Christmas Day itself biking the Shark Valley trail in Everglades Nat'l Park. Amazing amount of animals there! It's a completely flat trail but if you're not into biking you could take the train/tram they have. In the afternoon I headed to the other side of the park and walked the short Ahinga Trail - that was fabulous too. I was in Key West the next day.

Headed up to South Beach to bring in the New Year and it's such a street party being single wouldn't be a big deal.

I love Vegas and think it would be a hoot over the holidays too.

Enjoy-la!

Kodi, I first noticed this post on the Lounge board but for some reason that thread is frozen in a weird way, so I'm responding here.
I'm sort of stuck (in a GOOD way) with spending Christmas in Toronto every year with my kids. But if things were otherwise, I'd want to go to Santa Fe at Christmas. When we were there a few years ago in the summer, we chatted with people who told us that the place was just magical at Christmas. There is a Luminaria procession during the season that sounds lovely, and there is something exciting about spending Christmas in a place that's so different from Ontario - especially if you've never been there! I'd check it out as a possibility, if I were you.

Again, thank you eveyone. Great ideas.
Hugs to Meesthare.
I had pretty well decided on Santa Fe. I've always wanted to go there, and thought Christmas would be a good time. But everyone started to ask why in the world I would go there. ( I know, I can go where ever I want). But it made me start to think... and now I'm just plain confused.

I'm going away tomorrow for a few days.. I'll sleep on it while I'm away.

Hey, Kodi! Hugs back! I hope you do go to Santa Fe - because I want to hear what it was like. :)

I think the thread is still alive, Kodi. Have a good trip. Santa Fe would be marvelous!

Thanks ladies. My heart is still going to Santa Fe. So we'll see. I'll let you know..

Cmcfong. I can't post on the other post... so I started a Part 2 on the lounge.

Kodi, if you do go, may I make a couple of suggestions? Lots of people have hotels that they recommend but our absolute favourite is the St. Francis. It's about a block away from the Plaza and it's lovely. They do a very nice afternoon tea, too - at least they do in the summer. I don't know what happens at Christmas. It's a boutique-type hotel, small and intimate, and very affordable. The other recommendation actually came originally from one of the front desk staff at the St. Francis; it's a restaurant called Julian's. It's about a block away from the hotel. Some of the best upscale Italian food we ever tasted and the chef-owner is a sweetheart. I had asked him about one of the dishes we were eating and he gave me the recipe, first asking how many people I wanted to serve, and adjusting the amounts accordingly.

kodi, all I can say is that you're very lucky indeed to have friends who care about you enough to want to include you in their family holiday plans. There are plenty of single people who dread the holidays. They have no choice but to be alone because they have no family and their friends are scattered all over the place visiting their own families. Under those circumstances, the relentless months-long barrage of media messages about &quot;the holidays are for families&quot; can be very disheartening.

But you're fortunate to have a choice of going somewhere alone or joining the festivities of friends who care about you. If you prefer to spend the holidays traveling alone, even with the expense and the throngs of families, that's great. But you asked for recommendations and I gave you mine. I avoid traveling during the summer for the same reason, and take my trips in the spring and fall.

Meesthare, Thank you so much for the recommendations. The hotel sounds great and the restaurant too.
DO you think there is enough in the area for 5 days?... I mean without renting a car?
I may have to end up renting one.

JB, I am indeed one of the luckiest people I know when it comes to friends. I have the best and I know it. They are my true treasures.

It's rather hard to explain ( I've tried) but being with another family even though it's good friends makes me sad at Christmas. It reminds me too much that I don't have a family anymore, and I miss them more.

It's much easier for me to have a happy holiday and sort of skip the Christmas thing altogether.

Staying home on my own would not bother me, but I can't make my wonderful friends understand that it's sadder to be with a happy family. THey think staying home is sad for me... but it isn't. My friends just care and I know that they want the best for me.

Kodi, I actually googled &quot;Santa Fe Christmas&quot; and found quite a bit of information about what goes on there at Christmas time. You might need to rent a car anyway, because planes don't fly to that airport; they fly to Albuquerque. There is a bus that goes into Santa Fe from ABQ; it only takes about an hour. But depending on the weather, you might want to rent a car just to see some of the surrounding area. We went up to Sandia Peak on the cable car (that's just outside of Albuquerque) and it was incredible.

I know this betrays my ignorance but I'm not sure what it's like in Santa Fe in the winter. I know it's in the mountains, so it's going to be cold, but I don't know about snow. I'm sure it's easy enough to find out. Hey, living in Victoria, I feel like snow is a relic of the dim distant past!

I would do Taos over Santa Fe..

There is likely to be snow in Santa Fe, as well as Sandia Peak (10,000 ft. elevation) at Christmas. You could take the tram from Albuquerque to the top; there's a restaurant called High Finance which is OK - it's a nice place for a drink and dessert.

Julian's is closed, and another restaurant called Amavi has just opened in its old building, according to http://www.localflavormagazine.com .

Oddly enough, I've never gone to Santa Fe around Christmas, even though I live in the area - but I would love to meet up with you, Kodi, if you come! :-)

Lee Ann

Well, I have visited Las Vegas around Christmas several times. I have gotten REALLY good prices but my experience is several years old. Las Vegas is a little less frenetic and a good time to visit. It is cold and windy, though. You have to get out before the ramp up to New Years starts.

After that my LV years, I started inviting all the singles without a place to go to my house for the holiday. It has been quite a collection year after year. My youngest guest is 18 and my oldest is 86. No one has any family living in the area. Everyone hs a story- widowed, challenged, no relatives (me), etc. I get a chance to deck my house out in all its Christmas splendor. I decorate with new items every year and then each person at the table gets one of the decorations to take home and a small gift at the place setting. (I am not talking big gifts but rather things like Rainx or a funny kitchen utensil). Every person eats, takes home leftovers, and 2 gifts. I have people in August saying, &quot;We are having Christmas this year, right?&quot;. I am now married. My husband has adopted this Christmas group, too. We have talked about Christmas in Switzerland or the Dolomites but we have decided we will have to wait until the 86 year old is no more.

Thank you guys..
Lee Ann I was hoping you'd see this post.
Meesthare... maybe a car will give me the freedom to see more.
Lyn... your Christmas's sound great.

SOrry, guys to be abrupt. I'm leaving for Minneapolis this morning, and I'm preoccupied trying to find out if my friend is ok.. so, I've got that on my mind. What a horrible thing to happen. The poor families who still have missing relatives.

Ok, gotta run..... to be continued later next week.
Everyone have a good long weekend...well Canadian long weekend.

Kodi: Mexico doesn't QUITE qualify for &quot;North America&quot; but we are going to Oaxaca this Christmas. We've decided that getting away from all the fol-de-rol and confusion is worth it. There are lots of festivals, etc. in Oaxaca, and Christmas is a big deal, but very different from what we do in New England. Just a thought for you if Santa Fe doesn't work out. Have a wonderful holiday wherever you go.