Christmas and New Year
Sweetgrass Golf Club makes ideal holiday gift
What do golfers crave this holiday season? Spring. The Island Resort & Casino suggests placing the gift of golf under the Christmas tree this year with 2009 golf stay-and-play packages.
Christmas survival guide
A new guide to a stress-free Christmas holidays has been launched by the Yorkshire Moors and Coast Tourism Partnership (YMCTP). Alongside survival tips for the big day are ideas to help lower anxiety levels during December, including non-commercial Christmas shopping and presents, and ways to find some serenity and even get a bit silly during the Christmas season.
Christmas shopping at its best in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket
Edinburgh’s Grassmarket has never been a better place to shop for unique Christmas presents for the whole family with late opening and special offers on selected days and a new look for the whole area.
Have lunch under the mountains this Christmas
The quandary of what to do during the school Christmas holidays, once Santa has long departed, is resolved by letting off steam, according to England’s most exquisite steam railway – the Ravenglass and Eskdale.
Get your festive fix at one of Europe’s Christmas markets
Get into the Christmas spirit at one of Europe’s many Christmas Markets. Quaff mulled wine, scoff hot mince pies, shop for festive gifts and then sing-along with carol choristers. Flight search engine Skyscanner (Skyscanner.net) takes a look at some of the best places to get your festive fix.
An unlikely pairing under the mistletoe
In an unlikely pairing, America's sprawling Oklahoma City (population 1.2 million) is to twin with Worcestershire's picturesque Tenbury Wells (population 3,786) for the Christmas season at least.
Candlelit Christmas carols at Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral’s much loved candlelit carol service The Christmas Procession is on Sunday 21 and Monday 22 December at 7.00pm. This service is a combination of readings interspersed with carols sung by both the choir and congregation, and for the first time they will be joined by a marvellous ensemble of trumpets, trombones and tuba.
Dive into Iceland
To celebrate the season and the fact that the pound is nearly 50% stronger against the Icelandic Krona than last winter, Icelandair invites the UK to Dive into Iceland with a £199 City Break, the lowest priced package offered by Icelandair this year. It makes an ideal Christmas present and features return flights from London Heathrow or Manchester to Reykjavik, 3 nights hotel accommodation and entrance into Laugardalslaug, Reykjavik’s largest thermal pool complex.
Christmas gifts for walkers
Wiltshire based walking specialist Foot Trails has launched a Christmas gift voucher with a difference. Not only are the vouchers redeemable against walking holidays with Foot Trails but each voucher comes with a complimentary gift pack.
Top New Year party places
2008 may not have been the most cheerful year, but despite the gloom, it seems Brits are determined to welcome in 2009 with a big party, and there's been no reduction in flight search traffic for the New Year break. Leading flight search engine, Skyscanner.net) reveals the most popular* New Year destinations for Brits.
Newcastle and Gateshead host winter festival
After-dark fairy tales, striking light projections and glowing art cars will brighten the long nights of December as part of the NewcastleGateshead Winter Festival. The festival, which forms part of NewcastleGateshead’s world-class festivals and events programme developed by culture10, returns this year with three inspiring highlights: Enchanted Parks, Glow and Glowmobiles – all of which are free.
Caledonia is calling you
Sir Sean Connery, Lulu, Chris Hoy, Sam Torrance and Amy MacDonald are just a few of the stars appearing in a new television advert encouraging anyone with a love of Scotland to take part in Homecoming Scotland celebrations in 2009.
Enjoy a magical day out with Santa down at the farm
A fabulous blend of traditional and modern and magical Christmas experiences awaits visitors to rural attraction, Down At the Farm, at Houghton-le-Spring near Sunderland, where the perfect family Christmas day out has been devised.
Indian Christmas and New Year
Britain didn’t have an Indian summer this year, however, there is an opportunity to head off on an Indian Christmas and New Year. Ride the famous Marwari horses across beautiful and varied landscapes of Rajasthan - through forest, across semi-desert, over rocky hills and passing tribal villages, staying in forts, palaces and under canvas – the perfect horseback adventure.
Christmas is wrapped up at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
Inspirational ideas for hard-to-buy-for presents and a refreshing blast of sea air make Portsmouth Historic Dockyard an ideal choice to visit this Christmas period. The retailers on site including Nauticalia, the Mary Rose shop, the Royal Naval Museum shop and Antiques Storehouse stock ideal Christmas present solutions for those tricky to-buy-for friends and relatives from weather stations to thermometers, Action Man figures to books on naval history.