Made your Christmas holiday plans yet? Hmm; right. So I’m here to help. You can start saving now. Remember: there are only 200-and-something days left… and by the time you read this, there could be even less.
Improbable as it might sound, the nicest place in the world to spend Christmas could well be Rovaniemi. I don’t say this from experience. Sadly, I’ve never been there, but I’ve been combing the ’net on your behalf. Rovaniemi is a very small city in the Finnish part of Lapland. Cold, you might think, and you’d be right: it’s one of the snowiest places on Earth. That’s why it’s so brilliant at Christmas – it’s close to the North Pole, it has reindeer pulling sleighs, and a big man in a red suit. It has the Northern Lights, cross-country skiing, firesides, shimmering ice-lanterns and flickering candles on gravestones. It has reindeer and husky sleigh safaris. What’s more, it’s dark practically all day. Yes, it might just take the (Christmas) cake. I want to be part of it.
Photo by arcticroute.com
If you can imagine anywhere more romantic for Christmas, it’s possibly Iceland, or – more likely – New England (you’re thinking Bing Crosby and White Christmas, aren’t you?). Then there’s Germany with its gorgeous Christmas markets and Sweden with its lovely Lucia festival or, for a really amazing experience, the Ice Hotel. Actually, this is also in Lapland; the Swedish part, 200km north of the Arctic Circle in the village of Jukkasjärvi. Maybe you could nip across there from 
Rovaniemi.
England is a pretty nice place to be too at Christmas-time too, and New York is magical. However, there’s one Christmas destination that beats them all. Yes, you’ve guessed: Bethlehem. Last year’s celebrations were the most peaceful in years, enjoyed by pilgrims from around the world, but this can’t be guaranteed, as the “little town” is, of course, in Palestine. Many Christian Palestinians live there, and there are big Christmas celebrations, especially in Manger Square (pictured right). As well as December 24 and 25, more events are held for the major Orthodox Churches (January 7) and Armenian Orthodox (January 19).
Photo by nikolette22
But, obviously, Bethlehem isn’t a place you can slip away to at the last moment; probably Rovaniemi isn’t either. Even New England takes a bit of getting to, and Swedish Lapland is hardly on the beaten track. Advance planning is required; so, what are you waiting for?
Meanwhile, my recommendation is: forget about Christmas shopping. Do some Christmas travelling instead: especially if you’ve got a family. Those memories will last a lot longer than the latest toy.
Let the countdown begin … ho, ho, ho!