<p>This will be the first year we will not be home on Christmas in the snowy northeast. We will be visiting DS(24) who lives and works in San Antonio. Our DD is 15 and of course gets very excited for Christmas as well as our DS. Our extended family is spread out so our last 8-10 years we have always had the day to ourselves and spent it locked in our house with all the traditional Christmas activities - just the four of us.</p>
<p>We are going to Texas for Christmas week and will spend a few days in SA before driving to South Padre Island for 4 nights and staying in a condo on the beach. I plan on bringing the stockings, Christmas lights and of course presents. Does anyone have any ideas or experience in making Christmas away from home seem just as festive? We will cook in some favorites as well as dine out. I think I may be over thinking this. Help!</p>
<p>Have fun! And you’re overthinking it. Leave the lights at home–let your son decorate a bit! Or do it when you get there. Make sure your gifts are able to get through security at the airport–don’t wrap something you may have to unwrap!</p>
<p>We often traveled in December when our kids were younger. Since we celebrated St. Nicholas’s Day (Dec. 6th) with their stockings, I would also bring stuff to decorate the rental house. One cheap & easy thing they liked were the holiday window clings. I’d buy a dozen sheets of snowflakes (for Florida trips), candy canes, etc., and put them on the bathroom mirrors as well as on windows throughout the house. It only took a few minutes to remove them when it was time to leave. I also bought Christmas themed paper napkins & plates & plastic cups; we typically didn’t use disposables and the kids usually washed the dishes at home so this was a treat, too. ; ) </p>
<p>Maybe you could pick up some inexpensive red & white flowers at a grocery store or market near the condo. You might also find a small potted Norfolk Island Pine tree to decorate with your lights and some garland. They’re inexpensive, too. You could ask the rental mgt. if you could leave it behind on a patio or balcony instead of tossing it at the end of your stay.</p>
<p>Bring something on which to play your favorite Christmas music and maybe some DVDs of special movies (It’s a Wonderful Life or Christmas in Connecticut are two we love) to watch when you’re tuckered out from the beach.</p>
<p>It sounds like a great holiday. I’d love to visit San Antonio in December…maybe one day.</p>
<p>I grew up in Texas and I love San Antonio! For sure do the riverwalk at night - It is beautiful with all the decorations, carolers etc.</p>
<p>If your family is at least a little athletic and the weather is nice, I would also highly recommend renting bikes and do the ~25-30 mile missions tour. B Cycle has lots of drop off/pick up locations on the mission trail. WE only had to pay the $2 fee for over 30 minutes once. You also pass restaurants to grab lunch. I did it in July with my kids and nephews from 5am to noon to beat the heat - but in winter you can do it at much better hours(:. Also one of the missions has an indoor (thankfully air conditioned) museum. </p>
<p>WE don’t bike ride in my family so it was a great experience for them - especially crossing over/under the interstate!</p>
<p>Two of our family’s favorite Christmases were a-typical, without all of our traditional “stuff”. The first was spent in a rental apartment while waiting for our new home to be completed. We were supposed to be in by Late Oct, so we sent ALL of our Christmas stuff to storage. My kids were 10, 8, and 3 so I was worried they would be disappointed. We made homemade ornaments (we still use the rather garish toilet paper tube/coloring page star tree topper, complete with glitter (aka craft herpes!!)…much to DD’s chagrin. Her brothers LOVE it to this day). We bought a tiny tree, taught ourselves to make homemade tamales, and all in all had a very memorable holiday. The second a-typical was spent in a condo in a ski resort. My warm weather kids wanted a real, white Christmas. As they were still young, we had to transport all the presents, which we put in the roof cargo carrier. When we arrived in the midst of a snow storm, we found that our car wouldn’t fit in the underground parking garage. What fun trying to distract the kids from the packages that spilled out when the carrier popped open upon removal. The stop at a local discounter provided us with the most pitiful little prelit tree (really more of a Festivus pole, for you Seinfeld fans!) and we strung popcorn and cranberries and colored macaroni for decorations. It snowed on Christmas morning…priceless. My kids are now 23, 21, and 16, and still talk about these two Christmases, and how it wasn’t about the “stuff”.</p>
<p>My in-laws live on SPI. Don’t count on “beach” weather in December. This weekend’s forecast has highs in the low 50s; highs in the sixties are probably more typical. There is not a lot to do on the island. (We typically rendezvous with them at other vacation destinations.) I would pack a couple favorite games and include a new one among the gifts. Maybe take a jigsaw puzzle if that’s something your family might enjoy.</p>