Sometimes jump-starting the holiday spirit means a short weekend trip to a destination packed with more yuletide flavor than a fruitcake. Or perhaps that same spot might serve as the perfect escape during Christmas break. Either way, several holiday vacation options sit beneath the proverbial tree ready to be opened and explored.
Asheville, N.C.
Biltmore Estate
The 8,000-acre estate and tourist attraction nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains still basks in its late 1800s grandeur. Yet during the holidays, the staff generously decks the halls of the Biltmore House, billed as the country’s largest privately owned home, taking its fairy-tale quality to another level. The Christmas at Biltmore daytime tour guides guests through the mansion and its grounds where hundreds of wreaths and poinsettias, and a wealth of Christmas trees, including the 35-foot Fraser fir in the Banquet Hall, command attention. Along the way, visitors can take a free gardening seminar and learn how to create a traditional Christmas wreath. The gratis winery tour includes complimentary tastings. The first thing guests see during the Candlelight Christmas Evenings tour is a 55-foot Norway spruce tree wrapped in 45,000 white lights standing out front. Inside you’ll find roaring fireplaces, lush, illuminated Christmas trees, glowing candles and staircases snaked with garland. The voices of the Winter Garden Choir echo through the halls. On the second floor, a soloist plays seasonal strains on a harp, guitar or flute. And although you can’t bunk in the Biltmore House, accommodations can be had on the grounds. The upscale Inn and the more casual Village Hotel offer a couple of different budget options. The latter will be available for stays beginning Dec. 1.
Daytime tours: Nov. 6-Jan. 10. Evening tours: Nov. 6-Jan. 2. Check online as ticket prices and packages vary. Biltmore Estate, 1 Lodge St., Asheville, N.C. 800-411-3812, biltmore.com.
Washington, D.C.
2015 National Christmas Tree
When the holiday season hits the nation’s capital, visitors from all over the world converge upon the National Christmas Tree. It glimmers to life in President’s Park, otherwise known as White House property. Head toward the Ellipse lawn just south of the White House, and you’ll see it twinkling in the night. Although all of the tickets to the Dec. 3 lighting featuring President Barack Obama and the first family have been distributed through a lottery, you can get up close and personal with the giant hunk of pine shortly thereafter. A date hasn’t been announced, but the tree should be available for public viewing a day to two after the ceremony. Don’t miss the model trains chugging beneath the National Christmas Tree. Guests walk around the tree along the Pathway to Peace where other trees representing all of the states and territories can be found. Each tree is decorated with handmade ornaments made by one of 56 individual artists. Music acts from around the country perform nightly.
10 a.m.-10 p.m. Early December through Jan. 1. Free. President's Park, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. S.W., Washington, D.C. thenationaltree.org.
Orlando, Fla.
Holidays at Universal Orlando Resort
Universal’s pair of theme parks lay on the holiday cheer thicker than a North Pole snowfall. Its staff of creatives re-create the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with its very own Macy’s Holiday Parade. The procession marches its way through the streets of its Universal Studios Florida park, complete with towering balloons used in the actual New York event. Select guests can even help handle the balloons during the parade. Live shows include holiday mainstay Mannheim Steamroller taking the park’s Music Plaza Stage Dec. 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20. The Islands of Adventure park throws its own seasonal soiree of the Grinchy kind. The green grump from the Dr. Seuss classic takes over the Seuss Landing section with a special show. Grinch meet-and-greet opportunities and cascading snow attempt to make things even more merry and bright. The concerts, shows, parades and special events are all included with park admission.
Dec. 5-Jan. 2. $97-$102 single park admission; $142-$147 two-park admission. Discounts available online for multi-day tickets. Universal Orlando Resort, 6000 Universal Blvd., Orlando, Fla. 407-363-8000, universalorlando.com.
Holidays at Walt Disney World Resort
Mickey must have an in with Santa. Walt Disney’s parks and resort properties roll out the kind of holiday pageantry you’d expect from the theme park giant. The special ticketed Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas event unwraps on select nights from 7 p.m.-midnight Nov. 8-Dec. 18 at the Magic Kingdom. Character shows, a parade, complimentary cookies and hot cocoa, and a snowfall on Main Street, U.S.A. bring the magic. From Nov. 6-Jan. 3, Disney’s Hollywood Studios shines on its own with the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights display, which covers several blocks of buildings throughout the park. Epcot rings in the season with its Candlelight Processional. Each night, a rotating roster of celebrity narrators, from Neil Patrick Harris to Whoopi Goldberg, tell the biblical Christmas story alongside a 50-piece orchestra and mass choir. It takes place nightly Nov. 27-Dec. 30.
Check online as ticket prices and packages vary. Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Fla. 407-939-5277, disneyworld.disney.go.com.
Nashville, Tenn.
Gaylord Opryland Resort’s A Country Christmas
The sprawling resort property in Music City strikes such a festive chord that it might cause even the Scroogiest of Scrooges to have sugarplums dancing in their heads. The property reportedly hauls out 2 million pounds of ice and strings up 2 million lights for the occasion. A stocking full of events spread from Nov. 20-Jan. 2. “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical” sets up shop at the Grand Ole Opry House for the first time. The Broadway production runs on select dates Nov. 20-Dec. 27. Country music stalwarts Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers serve as the resident icons Nov. 20-Dec. 26, performing a Christmas-themed dinner show on select dates. Although Nashville may not be a ski resort, the Gaylord Opryland Events Center Lawn transforms into the next best thing. Its Arctic Plunge Snow Tubing attraction, made of 1.5 million pounds of real snow, sends guests shooting down a massive, six-lane tubing hill. Others coast across the outdoor Glacier Glide Ice Skating Rink. That urge to hurl a snowball gets soothed with Santa’s Snowball Toss, a carnival-esque game that finds players throwing and launching pre-made snowballs at presents, elves and other moving targets. Ice, the resort’s hand-carved ice sculpture attraction, returns for 2015. This time, it tells the story of “The Nutcracker.” Bundle up to the max as you walk through an environment kept at a constant 9 degrees. Characters from the famed ballet take shape in ice with the Tchaikovsky score as the soundtrack. Other holiday experiences include riverboat cruises and a gift show. The resort offers packages with accommodations, event tickets and more.
Check online as ticket prices and packages vary. Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, 2800 Opryland Drive, Nashville, Tenn. 615-889-1000, marriott.com/hotels/travel/bnago-gaylord-opryland-resort-and-convention-center.
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