5 reasons I would love to celebrate Christmas abroad

5 reasons I would love to celebrate Christmas abroad

*collaborative post*

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas and I don’t mean white with snow. I’m dreaming of white sand between my toes, sitting on a beach looking out at a beautiful clear blue ocean with the hot sun beating down on me. Christmas in the UK is a bit meh when it comes to the weather isn’t it? It’s very rarely cold enough for us to wake up on Christmas morning with snow outside as well as presents under the tree, more often than not it’s just raining and cold. Of course, taking my boys to Lapland is on the ultimate Christmas bucket list, I would love for them to experience snow for the first time and have a truly authentic Christmas experience: sleigh rides, snow ball fights and visiting Santa in his grotto – the works. BUT celebrating Christmas abroad, somewhere hot, is also something I would like to do at least once as a family. Last April we were meant to go on a big family holiday to Mauritius, for lots of different reasons it didn’t happen and we spent 10 days in Italy instead. While our Italia holiday was amazing, I was disappointed we didn’t get to go relax on the beautiful beaches of Mauritius. So, if I could have my once in a lifetime Christmas Day in the sun, Mauritius would be my dream destination. Need convincing that celebrating Christmas abroad would be a great idea? Here are 5 reasons I would love to spend a Christmas Day in the sun.

Reasons I would love to celebrate Christmas abroad

No turkey dinner – I know, I sound crazy. Don’t get my wrong, I love Christmas dinner but eating the same thing year after year can get a little bit boring and of all the meats out there, turkey isn’t exactly my favourite. While you’re at home though it is nice to keep with tradition and to have a Christmas dinner with all the trimmings but imagine if just once we did something different. Picture yourself sat on a deckchair, it’s December 25th and you’re in a sun dress instead of thick pyjamas and a dressing gown and for your Christmas dinner you are eating a barbecue and sipping a cocktail instead of pretending you like sprouts so the kids will eat theirs.

Winter sun – Ignoring Christmas Day, I am not a big fan of December. It’s always cold and often rainy too and the dark mornings and dark evenings just make me feel a bit miserable. Oli and I travelled to Egypt one December and grabbing a week of winter sun was amazing. If you have school aged children like us then there is no other real opportunity to travel abroad in the winter than the Christmas holidays. I know it would probably feel a bit weird at first opening presents sat in our shorts in a hotel rather than cuddled up in our living room at home in our pjs but I think celebrating Christmas in the sun, just once, would be a really exciting experience for the whole family.

Less pressure – After the initial stress of getting everything booked , although even this can be made easy with holiday booking services like Destination2 , once you are on holiday all that is left for you to do is enjoy a relaxing Christmas with your family. I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds getting ready for a Christmas at home really stressful? There would be no worrying about will you have time to visit everyone because you’ll be out of the country and any family gatherings would have to wait until your back and feeling relaxed. You wouldn’t have to stress about buying the perfect size turkey and then cooking it with all the festive trimmings; with an all inclusive holiday you wouldn’t have to cook anything at all, bliss! Being abroad somewhere like Mauritius for Christmas would mean you get to spend more quality time with your kids, together somewhere beautiful without all the stresses that can so easily dampen our Christmas spirit leading up to the big day.

christmas abroad 1

Memories to last forever – Of course Christmas at home is a magical exciting time, they don’t say it’s the most wonderful time of the year for no reason. But as you get older Christmas Days can easily blur into one mass memory of wrapping paper, tinsel and Christmas songs on repeat. While your Christmas days for the past 5 years may seem pretty much exactly the same, you are never going to forget the Christmas where you swam in a crystal clear ocean, built snowmen made out of sand with the kids and wore a Santa hat and a bikini at the same time. A family Christmas spent abroad is bound to be one of those memories the whole family will cherish forever.

Less presents – Any kids reading this who may have been on board with the whole Christmas on the beach idea have probably now changed their mind but I actually think there is no harm having a few less presents for Christmas one year. Father Christmas knows where Mauritius is so the kids won’t miss out on any gifts from the big guy but traveling abroad would mean you are limited to the amount of presents you can take. My Leo is 4 and I’m not exaggerating when I say this, he has presents from last Christmas he hasn’t played with since last Christmas Day. It is so easy to want to spoil our kids and to fall into the trap of just buying everything on their Christmas list so they are not disappointed but, in reality, they don’t need or want half of what we buy them. What better excuse is there to break the news to your kids that their present pile might be smaller this year than it’s because they are going to have a week playing on the beach and escaping the freezing UK temperatures instead?

I am under no illusion that spending a Christmas Day on a beach in Mauritius would probably feel completely surreal. I’m sure there would be times where I’m floating about on a lilo missing my woolly Christmas jumper and turkey dinner but, for one year, I would be happy to sacrifice those Christmas traditions and to experience Christmas in a completely different way instead. Also, what better gift than a week of relaxation in the sun, a winter tan and kids that are reenergised after having a good old dose of natural vitamin D?

Santa if you’re reading, all I want for Christmas is to celebrate Christmas in Mauritius. I hope you and your elves can make it happen.

christmas abroad 2

Have you ever celebrated Christmas abroad? Did you like being away from home or did you miss all your usual Christmas traditions? If you could celebrate Christmas anywhere in the world, where would it be? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Disclaimer: This post is written in collaboration with Destination2. All words and opinions are my own.

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6 Comments

  1. November 13, 2017 / 11:06 am

    Less pressure, less presents and making memories definitely appeals to me! Thanks for linking up to #thesatsesh xx

  2. November 15, 2017 / 9:53 am

    We have thought about this loads too but not sure. I love the idea of the warmth and less stress but I think we would feel a bit weird! I’m not a huge fan of Christmas dinner either!! Thanks for sharing with #bloggersbest x

  3. November 16, 2017 / 6:44 pm

    Less presents is definitely a thing. This year I’ve been banned from buying my nieces toys. I can only buy clothes or books, which is what I normally love to get them. However, everyone else goes overboard on the toys and their house is full. #BloggersBest

  4. November 19, 2017 / 9:30 pm

    I do love christmas at home but we are planning to spend it with my sister in Dubai next year for all of the reasons you mention! I definitely will enjoy having less pressure and having to buy less presents! #bloggersbest