Whether you want a holiday experience with Christmas shopping opportunities and holiday parades or want to enjoy winter sports like ice skating, there are plenty of vacation choices available for December holidays. Hotels in popular holiday locations, like New York City and Orlando, often fill up early, so book your December vacation as soon as possible.
With crackling fires, snowy streets and plenty of holiday festivities, London offers a classic holiday experience in December. Fans of Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" can take a walking tour of the places Tiny Tim, Pickwick and Scrooge supposedly lived. Oxford Street lights up during the holidays, with an extensive display of Christmas lights, as well as 300 shops selling a variety of wares. Ice-skating rinks appear all over London from mid-November to mid-January at famous spots like the Tower of London and the Natural History Museum. These rinks offer scenic skating, as well as special holiday events.
Disney's Magic Kingdom theme park transforms into a winter wonderland during the month of December, complete with snow, Santa and Yule-dressed characters. The mild weather, with plenty of sunshine, means you can spend your days and nights out and about enjoying the parades, fireworks and other attractions. Visit Epcot's Holidays Around the World, where you can get a peek at the holiday celebrations of other cultures without leaving Florida. Universal Studios also gets into the holiday act, with daily parades featuring inflatable characters from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.
New York City erects a huge Christmas tree in Rockefeller square surrounded by five miles of Christmas lights, which you can admire from the city's ice-skating rink. The city's most famous department stores, including Macy's, Barney's, Bergdorf's and Sak's, choose a holiday theme and adorn their windows each December. Other special New York festivities include Nutcracker performances by the New York City Ballet and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes.
Nuremberg holds one of Germany's largest Christmas markets from late November to Christmas Eve. You can ride a giant wooden Ferris wheel at the market, play carnival games or shop at one of the stalls selling handmade nativity scenes, ornaments and other Christmas items. Other city attractions include the German Railway Museum and the Toy Museum. The city also has three castles, which afford views of the German countryside and the historic city of Nuremberg.
