<p>Hidden Pond in Kennebunkport is lovely - the cabins are quite luxurious and all have large gas fireplaces.</p>
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<p>At Mystic you have a nice acquarium, with a performing dolphin show–if watching captives perform doesn’t bother you. [Mystic</a> Aquarium](<a href=“http://www.mysticaquarium.org/]Mystic”>http://www.mysticaquarium.org/)</p>
<p>You can also do the seaport, Williamsburg by the sea with tours of whaling boats, and a 19th century restored seaport village. [Mystic</a> Seaport, The Museum of America and the Sea](<a href=“http://www.mysticseaport.org/]Mystic”>http://www.mysticseaport.org/)</p>
<p>And there’s Mystic Pizza the location for the movie that made Julia Roberts a star. The pizza is meh, but I have New Haven/New York standards. (In Mystic, you’ll be less than an hour away from world class New Haven pizza.)</p>
<p>Ten minutes away you can tour the Groton Sub Base. [Submarine</a> Force Library & Museum: Submarine History, Gifts & Memorabilia](<a href=“http://www.ussnautilus.org/]Submarine”>http://www.ussnautilus.org/)</p>
<p>Within a half-hour are both the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos. Whether or not you’re into gambling, they are quite the spectacle. Take away the gambling and they are full-scale resorts with headline entertainers. And Foxwoods has a good Native American Museum.</p>
<p>Agree re: Washington DC. Spent the week between Christmas and New Years many years ago with the kids–less traffic, smaller crowds, had a great time. City decked out for the holidays was very nice.</p>
<p>I think the OP has probably ruled out DC . But good idea for others looking for ideas that have not spent much time there yet.</p>
<p>Mystic, CT
<a href=“Web Page Under Construction”>Web Page Under Construction;
I went a few years back and my whole family fell in love.</p>
<p>Another vote for Philly and environs. Could go to Winterthur and Longwood Gardens on that trip – which have special Christmas displays. Bucks County is also nearby and very nice (try to get Doyalstown to see Mercer Museum, Fonthill Castle and Moravian Pottery and Tile Works)</p>
<p>We love the Montreal area (ShawWife grew up there). On the way to Montreal are the Eastern Townships (probably a 4 to 4.5 hour drive). There is cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, snowshoeing (my favorite), skating, … . There is very good food in Montreal (5 hours from us). There is lots to do in Montreal, but we are more outdoors oriented. We drive just past Montreal to our house in the Laurentians (roughly 6 hours) which have the same attractions and are probably a little hillier. There is good food there as well. St. Sauveur-des-Monts has lots of activity. There’s an ashram in Val-Morin. There’s even a resort for cross-country skiing in Far Hills, I believe.</p>
<p>Quebec in December? I’ve been cold there in August. And I love Portland, but December?</p>
<p>I’d head toward DC and hope they don’t get snow (because their plowing is terrible). Baltimore/DC makes a great trip and, who knows, you can prettily easily extend to Civil War sites if someone is interested. I think Antietam is an amazing place to visit, even in winter. That’s pretty easy to combine with a day trip to Harper’s Ferry.</p>
<p>Yes, lergnorm, it is cold/snowy. You have to like winter sports plus crepes bretonnes.</p>
<p>If you can’t get someplace warm (and that’s really not possible as a drive of less than 12-15 hours south) I’d embrace the winter. Go North to Montreal or one of the Vermont lodges and sled, skate, have bonfires and do the hot tub-snow rolling thing. DC is a great destination but it’s better in the spring. In December you’ll still need to wear a heavy coat.</p>
<p>Oh my - lots of suggestions for me to look into. I am going to be busy this weekend on a short family trip, but will take a look at some of these suggestions later.</p>
<p>I am not too convinced about All inclusive resorts. One important fact that I didn’t mention - we are all vegetarians. A lot of the time, AI resorts don’t really work well for us.</p>
<p>Sue - you are absolutely right. We really want to get someplace warm, but unfortunately, don’t think we can do that in Dec driving. Typically, we would be out hiking, biking, going to a beach or hiking up to a waterfall - but all these are not very feasible if we stay in the north. Sigh.</p>
<p>Just a reminder since it’s more than your immediate family going, that if you choose Montreal, everyone will need a passport.</p>
<p>arisamp:</p>
<p>Someone mentioned a cruise out of NY/NJ…is that a possibility? You could save on the airfare and cruise down to Bermuda and maybe even further south than that. Bermuda may not be that warm in December but it’ll be better than Boston!! They have cruises out of Baltimore too that you could drive to get there…</p>
<p>Another thought: How far would the drive be to Charleston, SC? Would it be worth it to make the drive and maybe stay overnight halfway down and then go the rest of the way the next day??</p>
<p>They don’t cruise to Bermuda in December. But there are cruises to the Bahamas from Bayonne, NJ and Baltimore at that time of year.</p>
<p>^^Oops, sevmom: Thanks for letting me know. What about the Bahamas, arisamp??? You could drive to the cruise port! :)</p>
<p>This just in, another contender: “36 Hours in Portsmouth, N.H.”</p>
<p><a href=“36 Hours in Portsmouth, N.H. - The New York Times”>36 Hours in Portsmouth, N.H. - The New York Times;
<p>Got back late last night from a quick family weekend in Toronto. Great place - very relaxing weekend. Would have been a contender for our trip but for the fact that the planned combined vacation is in Dec :)</p>
<p>I vote for a split between Portsmouth (Strawbery Banke) and Portland (art, music, food, Victoria Mansion, etc). They are only an hour apart by car.</p>
<p>Funny to see this thread pop up to the top again. </p>
<p>We have decided to go to NY for a few days right after Christmas. We won’t be staying in NY proper - H has made reservations at a hotel right outside (apparently they have a shuttle bus to the city). Kids are excited - they want to go see a musical, go ice skating in Rockefeller center etc. We’ll see how it goes!</p>