Christmas at home versus going on holiday

Christmas is a special time of year…

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, leftover turkey and the return of Mariah Carey.

What more could you want? 

For some, it’s travelling abroad!

But somewhere between the high cost of a holiday and the pressure to stay local to friends and family, not everyone wants to hit the road during Christmas.

So, what really is the best choice?

Read on as we debate Christmas at home versus going on holiday…

Going on holiday 

Santa looks good on the beach

• One of the biggest benefit of travelling abroad during Christmas is the same as it would be at any time of year: you get the chance to experience a new culture firsthand! This can be especially exciting if you’re travelling to a country with prominent Christmas celebrations, such as the Vatican City, or New York.
• Travelling abroad also lets you decide the weather. You can choose Christmas on the beach in Australia, or visit Santa himself in snow-filled Lapland.
• Don’t like the queues that come with Christmas? You can visit a country which doesn’t really celebrate Christmas – like Japan.
• There’s practical benefits to travelling during Christmas. While everyone loves to eat a big Christmas dinner, staying home often means you’ve got to prepare it and deal with cleaning up! Leaving the cooking to the professional chefs lets you spend more time enjoying the holiday, and less time planning logistics.
• Travelling during Christmas also gives you the chance to spend the holiday with friends and family who don’t live nearby. Even if it’s just at their house, it’s nice to connect with people who you don’t get to see often!

Staying at home

There’s no place quite like it

• For one thing, it’s almost always cheaper to stay home. Especially, when tourist destinations skyrockets their prices during Christmas season. You can save the money for another holiday – like during the January blues, when you really need it!
• While organising a trip with your immediate family isn’t too hard, how many relatives should you actually invite? There might be one or two unhappy at not making the cut!
• Does a Christmas tree really look the same outside of your living room? For many the idea of Christmas and home are tied together. It’s not the same if Santa’s stuck in someone else’s chimney.
• If you have children, it’s likely they enjoy getting a lot of presents for Christmas. Travelling with a large numbers of presents is unpractical, and you might not want to risk buying the presents when you arrive?? Staying at home solves that problem.
• Is it really Christmas if you don’t fall asleep in the afternoon wearing a party hat? Probably best to keep it indoors!

Clearly, there’s benefits to both staying home and travelling abroad during Christmas.

But maybe it’s time to experiment?

Or maybe you already know the real winner?

Let us know in the comments.

Merry Christmas!