Escape from Christmas

Leaving for Las Vegas
Las Vegas has a bit of a Christmas vibe going all year round – those lights, that sparkle. It's what makes it the perfect place to fool Yule. There's so much kitsch here permanently you'd be hard pressed to notice the festive season. In fact, December is the quiet period here, so some of the biggest shows will be closed. Other than that, December 25th is pretty much business as usual. Just don't forget to make your Christmas dinner reservations in advance or you could end up not eating at all, which is a step too far even for Christmas escape artists. At the time of writing Aer Lingus had return flights to Las Vegas from €681, going out on Monday, December 23rd and back on the 27th, by which stage Slade will have been well and truly banished from the airwaves, promise. aerlingus.com

To Russia with haste
You could fly through enough datelines to ensure you miss December 25th altogether but it's just simpler to go to St Petersburg. Thanks to the fact that the Russian Orthodox Church follows the Julian calendar, Christmas Day here falls on January 7th. So, instead of spending December 25th lolling by the fire sucking toffee from your fillings, you could be wandering Russia's second largest city and its Unesco World Heritage Site, the Hermitage. Winter is the very best time to see it all, when it's crisply covered in snow. Yes there'll be the odd reindeer ride in its parks and Christmas markets in its squares, but you might find you enjoy all the trappings of Christmas so much more, safe in the knowledge that you'll be missing the main event. Stay at The Brothers Karamazov hotel, in the historical centre, where doubles cost from RUB 5,270, or €120 per night, through Christmas. karamazovhotel.com

You go for yoga
Put clear blue water between you and naked consumerism and head to Clare Island instead. The Retreat Centre here is offering a Christmas Yoga and Meditation course from December 22nd to 27th. There'll be no internet access, no email checking and, apart from the odd greeting, you may, or may not, want to send on the big day, the owners are hoping you'll ditch the mobile phone, too. You'll hardly find time in any case, with half an hour's meditation and two hours of yoga even before breakfast. You'll undertake five hours of yoga or more each day, so expect to come back in tip top condition both inside and out. The course costs €580.
yogaretreats.ie

Turkey for a change
No it's not just here for the pun value. In fact, Turkey is a great option for our purposes because, as a Muslim country, December 25th is just a day like any other. It's also the perfect time to visit Istanbul; everything is open, it's not hot (it's cold and likely wet) and there are no queues at its most famous historical sites. Don't panic if you spot decorations though. The city will be gearing up for New Year, its big holiday season, when the locals get together for family meals and exchange gifts. A week's stay at the Fors Hotel, within walking distance of Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace, costs from €927 for two, including return flights, departing on December 20th. gohop.ie

Go Poirot in Egypt
There's no avoiding the fact that tourism in Egypt took a hit as a result of recent political tensions in the region, resulting in many governments cautioning their citizens against going there for anything other than essential travel. As of this month, however, the UK foreign office has lifted its travel advisory while our own Department of Foreign Affairs has given the go-ahead for trips to certain, very specific, areas – including Nile cruises. This is very good news for Christmas avoiders, because December is a great time to explore the treasures of Luxor and Aswan. There are no queues, no stultifying heat and, best of all, no mozzies. A four-night, five-day luxury cruise, departing December 24th, costs from $599 (€444) per person sharing.
sonesta.com

No angels but snow angels
Cut through the snow storm of festive advertising, jangling cash registers and jingling bells and go skiing instead. Sure there will be decorations, traditional dinners and, inevitably, skiers in Santa hats, but one day up on a mountain is very much like the next. Indeed to avid powder hounds, the only thing remarkable about Christmas day is whether or not it will bring more snow. There's something satisfying too about being out under blue skies, basking in sunshine and sunscreen, instead of at home wondering if there's still a Christmas Top of the Pops.

Spend Christmas week at the Gartenhotel Theresia, a family hotel in Saalbach Hinterglemm in Salzburg, half board, including a six-day ski pass and a lift offering access to 200km of slopes right outside your door, for €1,244 per person.
hotel-theresia.com

Cruise through Christmas
For a total change of scene catch a Caribbean cruise. This one is guaranteed to keep your sunny side up and only partially because of the weather.

The real reason it'll put a smile on your nicely bronzing face is because you won't have to lift a finger. No crowded supermarket shopping; no trying to calculate 20 minutes per pound with a metric turkey, and no washing up. And if it's tense family situations you want to avoid, relax. You'd be amazed how easy it is to raise a glass to all of them when you're safely on the other side of the globe, preferably on a sun lounger. Celebrity Cruises has a 10-night Ultimate Caribbean Christmas, in an inside stateroom, departing December 20th from Fort Lauderdale in Florida and taking in St Thomas, Barbados and St Maarten, from €1,449, cruise only.
celebritycruises.ie

Have a Thai time
With more than 85 per cent of the population Buddhist, Christmas is a non event in most of South East Asia, making it the perfect place to go if you really want to get away from it all.

Commercial centres in cities such as Bangkok will have decorations up, but only to celebrate the King’s Birthday on December 5th, celebrations for which carry on for most of the month, at which point it merges with New Year. Late December is a busy time here, so high season rates apply in the cities.

All the more reason to get out in the countryside and do something completely different, like stay in a tree house in Khao Sok, a nature park in southern Thailand blanketed with the oldest evergreen rainforest in the world. Give yourself a Christmas gift and spend your time trekking, elephant riding and river canoeing. Tree houses sleep two and cost THB 1,200 a night (€28).
Khaosok-treehouse.com

No lows for solos
Singles dreading the thoughts of the festive season can avoid the whole ordeal and spend time instead with like-minded people in much more exotic climes, from Goa to the Persian Gulf, with UK company Solitair.

An eight-day all inclusive Christmas holiday in Lanzarote includes festive dinner, ice-breaker drinks events, half-day excursions and, best of all, no one to ask if you’re seeing anyone.

Stay in a three-star hotel, departing December 19th for eight days, for £999 (€1,193) including flights. The company's website has a social networking option, so you can sign up to see who else is going, post pictures and chat with other travellers before you go.
solitairhols.co.uk

Give something back
Christmas is a time for giving, so why not give of yourself and sign up for a little voluntourism. Specialist provider African Impact has Christmas volunteering breaks in either Livingstone, Zambia or KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, for placements of between one and four weeks' duration, working on a range of community initiatives.

In South Africa, for example, you could spend the holidays on a wildlife conservation project at a private game reserve, monitoring the animals and collecting data. In Zambia, help out at after-school clubs for kids or in care homes for the elderly. Christmas volunteering options start from £660 including transfers, meals, accommodation, support from the African Impact team, and the chance to experience a traditional African Christmas. Flights are extra.
africanimpact.com