THERE’S still time to book a festive get-together with friends and family for December.
However big your party, there are lots of accommodation options for a short break in the UK.
You could be by the sea, in the countryside or at a holiday or theme park.
Trisha Harbord discovers ten top deals for before and during the Christmas break . . .
Theme dream
THOSE famed bricks are loved by both young and old so meeting at Legoland is a winner.
From tongue scraping to saying no, here are 12 health trends to try in 2023
The Windsor theme park will be brimming with Christmas cheer from the end of next month.
Take a group photo in front of the giant DUPLO tree, watch out for Santa roaming the park and see a puppet panto and live show.
There are more than 55 rides and attractions including two spinning-drop tower rides, a build-your-own Ferrari race car experience and a walk in a magical forest.
Stay at the on-site hotel where rooms sleep up to two adults, three children and one infant, with a kids’ sleeping area.
GET-TOGETHER: A room at the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort Hotel, on December 1, 8 or 15 for two adults and two children, including breakfast and one-day park tickets, costs from £425. See legoland.co.uk.
Hideaway haven
GETTING family and friends to leave this beautifully converted grain store in the Norfolk countryside might be a problem.
With a TV cinema room, table tennis and pool tables, hot tub and roof terrace, The Grain Store Reepham is a dream luxury hideaway. The eco-friendly property has six bedrooms, sleeping 12, and four-night breaks cost from just £45 a night per person.
Comfort is key. The ultra-modern kitchen has two ovens and dishwashers, and there’s underfloor heating and a wood burner.
Walk to market town Reepham, home to antique shops and restaurants. Or take in a Christmas market in Norwich.
GET-TOGETHER: Get four nights’ self-catering for 12 people from £2,157 and seven nights from £2,674. Welcome pack provided and two dogs welcome. See thegrainstorereepham.co.uk.
How to de-clutter if you have a beauty stash to last you a lifetime
Trusted cottages
TWO of the National Trust’s newest cottages in Cheshire are perfect for big gatherings.
They are on the Dunham Massey estate, near Altrincham, with its glorious Georgian house, gardens and 300-acre deer park.
The 18th-century Village Farmhouse has six bedrooms, for up to 12 guests. Restored two-bedroom Hempfield Stables sleeps four. Two dogs welcome in each.
Enjoy Dunham Massey’s Christmas lights trail, plus food stalls, from November 17. The village pub is walkable, too.
Visit Christmas markets and Cathedral Gardens ice rink in nearby Manchester.
GET-TOGETHER: Two nights’ self-catering is from £1,155 in the Village Farmhouse and from £495 in Hempfield Stables, with availability from December 11 to 23. See nationaltrust.org.uk/holidays/cheshire.
River revels
CELEBRATE a reunion in riverside lodges and cabins with private decks and hot tubs.
Ten stylish properties by the River Perry, near Ruyton-XI-Towns, Shrops sleep up to four or six, and dogs are welcome. All have underfloor heating, a fully equipped kitchen and a firepit for toasting marshmallows.
Head for Nesscliffe, a heritage woodland site with heather-covered ridge offering panoramic views, and lunch at the Three Pigeons pub. If you love stargazing, this is the place to be. You can also borrow kayaks.
For festive fun, at Alderford Lake you’ll find ice-skating, a magical light trail and Christmas village with food and gift chalets.
GET-TOGETHER: Three nights’ self-catering in a four-person lodge, weeks of December 4 or 11, costs from £378. Six-person lodge is from £545. See riverside-cabins.co.uk.
White wonder
THERE’S snow better fun than at Butlin’s. It might not be real, but the white stuff will fall on three and four-night Christmas Festive Wonderland breaks at Skegness, Minehead and Bognor Regis.
And this year the best Redcoat ever, Father Christmas, has a new grotto – which is free.
There’s entertainment for kids and adults with Skyline snowstorms, live shows including a panto, film nights, Splash Waterworld pools with slides and flumes, fairground rides and character photoshoots.
Or try archery, adventure golf, football, zip-wiring, trampolining and ten-pin bowling. Five restaurants serve everything from pizza and fish-and-chips to grills, and vegetarian and vegan options.
GET-TOGETHER: Three nights’ self-catering in a room for four at Skegness, from December 15, costs from £197. See butlins.com.
Beach bash
LAP up spectacular sea views from beach lodges on the beautiful South Coast.
Tucked into the cliffs of Boscombe Beach at Bournemouth, each sleeps up to four adults and two children, and has a shower room, TV and kitchenette.
The seaside resort is buzzing with festive attractions including a free trail of glittering trees and illuminations opening on November 17. Highlights include a 60ft 3D walk-through tree and 65ft twinkling tunnel.
There’s an ice rink in Victorian Lower Gardens, a big wheel, amusements, shopping in the Square’s Alpine Market and live music and entertainment throughout the town.
GET-TOGETHER: Three-nights’ self-catering until December 18 is from £400. A seven-night Christmas package from December 22 is from £1,000. See bournemouthbeachlodges.co.uk.
Tudor treat
PACK your turkeys and crackers for a Christmas stay with up to 18 family members or friends. You can hire 16th-century Tudor Barn for three nights for £56 per person per night.
The quirky barn conversion, beautifully lit up at Christmas, is in a walled garden on 500 acres of farmland, including woodlands, meadows and ponds, in Lavenham, Suffolk.
There’s oak banquet tables, a sitting area with a giant wood burner and a kitchen big enough to prepare lots of food. Kitchen is equipped with two dishwashers and fridges.
The games room has table tennis and table football, and you have the use of bikes.
Lavenham, a preserved medieval village, has lots of pubs, cafes and restaurants.
GET-TOGETHER: Three nights’ self-catering from December 24, for 18 people, is £3,000. See groupaccommodation.com.
Magic mill
ACTIVE families will love a stay on the North Yorkshire Moors. Low Costa Mill, a mix of eco-friendly cottages, offers activities for everyone.
There’s an indoor heated pool, cycle and running tracks, and the play area has a treehouse, climbing frame and giant games of draughts and snakes-and-ladders.
There’s plenty of grassland for football or cricket, and a woodland walk to find Winnie the Pooh’s house and Dr Who’s Tardis.
Children will also enjoy pygmy goats, sheep, horses and chickens.
For a Christmas treat, hop on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s Santa Express steam train, a couple of miles away.
GET-TOGETHER: Two nights’ self-catering from December 1 for a cottage sleeping two costs from £204 or, for up to eight people is from £560. See lowcostamill.co.uk.
Camper capers
DO something different – rent a couple of campervans and go on a festive trail.
CamperDays offers vehicles of various sizes, accommodating two to seven people, from a number of providers. You choose your pick-up destination and dates, and are given options of vans and motorhomes in the area.
Most have cooking facilities, fridge, shower and toilet and you can clock up as many miles as you want. Hit the road to see the best Christmas lights and the dancing Northern Lights from the Scottish islands. Or head for campsites near Christmas markets in cities such as Bath, Manchester and Oxford.
GET-TOGETHER: Three nights’ hire of a van for up to four people, from Oxford, on December 6 costs £163. A family motorhome for three adults and four children costs £416. See camperdays.co.uk.
Perfect port
OPEN your Christmas pressies by the coast in Cornwall. The picturesque harbour in Padstow, with fishermen’s cottages and merchants’ houses, shimmers with fairylights and lanterns reflecting in the water.
Around the port are cafes and restaurants serving Cornish pasties, cream teas and fish and chips. Walk off those calories along part of the 17-mile Camel Trail to Wenford Bridge.
You can access all of this from Padstow Holiday Village, which has a variety of holiday homes to choose from, sleeping two to six people. You’ll find lots of goodies inside – a 4ft Christmas tree, decorations, crackers, mince pies, chocolates and bubbly.
GET-TOGETHER: Five nights’ self-catering in a two-bedroom holiday home sleeping six people, from December 22, costs £720. See lovatparks.com.