So, we're planning a Christmas-New Year trip for 2012-13 and we'd love a white Christmas. Where should we go? Keep in mind we're southern hemisphere folk, so snow is a big novelty and we're probably not up for the whole winter sport skiing snowboarding thing.

I'd like somewhere that doesn't completely shut down as then we'd be stuck in our accommodation and what's the point of that? But at the same time, a place with snow is a pretty big part of why we're going there.

In my head I'm thinking Montreal, but I could be very wrong. East or west coast is OK. We'll be flying in and out of the west coast, but New York is on the agenda.

Hope you can help.

Oh, "we" is me, my son, who'll be 13, and daughter, who'll be 15.

Chris

The first place that came to mind to me is Colorado. If it's easier for you stick to one coast then Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are probably pretty good bets to have snow on the ground but not shut down the area because they can't handle it as it snows frequently. But I'm not sure what there is to do besides snow sports in those places. New York handled last years snow storm the day after Christmas horribly. As common as it it is to snow in NY, the city just doesn't handle it well. I'm sure some other DNNers can tell you more about the weather where the live. Canada could be a better bet for a chance of snow then the states, but I'm not positive.

I lived in NY for 20 years and I can't guarantee that there will be snow in NY at Christmas. It's really hit or miss. I'm hoping there won't be any this year because it'll mess up my flight!

I'd suggest going to Colorado, too. Or, if you want a more peaceful Christmas, Vermont. Montreal is very nice, as well, so if you wanted to go to Canada, I'd suggest Montreal.

My first instinct for in the US would be anywhere with mountains or the Great Lakes area. From New York you could always go upstate or into Vermont, if you are OK with the Midwest you could head to Northern Michigan or Northern Minnesota (although really not sure what you would do there EXCEPT see snow), or over to Colorado.

It seems that my assumptions are mostly correct, because I just found this www.weather.com . . . it is interactive so you can change the area. Our Canadian members would have to advise you further, but I am sure a lot of areas have a good chance of snow on Christmas.

Hi,
I'm Canadian, born and raised. Montreal can get snowy, but it can be very cold there as well. British Columbia would be a good place, maybe the Interior such as Kelowna, or maybe Kamloops. Kelowna has a ski hill, which has been voted the Best Family Ski Resort in North America. There is a lot to do besides ski/snowboard, there is a spa, restaurants, ice skating rink, family fun nights, and so on. It is close to the city, about a 45 minute drive. In Kelowna itself, the snow comes and goes, there is enough to make it look pretty and Christmasey, but not enough to completely shut things down.

Ontario may also be a good choice, perhaps Toronto. It is a large city, lots to do, tons of family oriented activites. Alberta is cold in winter, Edmonton and Calgary can get down to -30C and sometimes beyond that with the windchill. I hope I was able to be of some assistance to you!

tourismbritishcolumbia.ca

discoverontario.ca

tourismalberta.ca

I have no input but just had to pop in to say I had a white Christmas last year when I lived in Georgia.

Yup, you read that right. Georgia. Not something we'd ever think we'd get to experience and it was seriously the icing on the cake for the holiday.

\hijack

This page seems helpful. en.wikipedia.org . . .

I would recommend Quebec City. It has a lovely old world feel, and has only had one green christmas in recorded history! There are some lovely historical auberges (inns), which would be perfect for christmas, and there's some lovely views, including a frozen waterfall. There's a ski hill nearby (Mont-Sainte-Anne), which has a few non-ski activities. If you're still staying into January, the ice hotel opens Jan 6. There's also a few museums and an aquarium (with a polar bear), and if you're sick of snow for a day, a mall with an indoor amusement park.

You could also do Vancouver. While the city itself rarely gets snow for christmas, Whistler ski resort is a short drive away, and they will definitely have snow. They've got several non-ski activities, but the resort does get pricey.

Thanks for all the replies so far. Very helpful!

I've always wanted to see New England, but I'm nervous about getting around. I don't think I'd be confident driving in winter conditions on top of the 'wrong' side of the road.

Coming from a place where the temperature very rarely gets below 0 deg Celsius, I didn't realise that some snowy places were colder than others!

Because we fly from Australia across the Pacific, I had thought about staying on the west coast, but North America is still far from here, so it seems sensible to do a bit more. Who knows when we'll get there again?

I know very little about the non-coastal parts of either Canada or the USA, so if anyone would like to convince me about Colorado or the Mid West (I don't get that appelation- it's no where near the middle or the west ) go for it! I think maybe because more than 80% of Australians live less than 50km from the coast, and in my state it's 99%! I'm just used to being near the sea!

Colorado has a lot to recommend it, as does New England. If you fly in and out of Boston, you could also spend some time in the city, which offers a lot of fun things to do. If you choose New England, I have always thought it would be lovely to spend a winter holiday at Nestlenook Inn in New Hampshire, which offers sleigh rides, ice skating and lots more
www.nestlenookfarm.com

You want a place that reliably will have snow yet reliably will not be shut down.

Even though you have specified not wanting to do the whole ski thing, I suggest that you look for some place highly dependent on snow. You want a ski resort that is also a town sufficiently large to have other attractions - Aspen for example.

If you don't want to do the above, do this:
1. Watch weather reports for lighter snows, and book your flights at the last minute, or
2. Watch the news reports for huge snows, and book your flights about 5 days in advance.

I vote Colorado, too. Plus you get skiing opportunities. And the Denver/Boulder is a fine metropolitan area with lots to do. But then, I just love Colorado.

We had a White Christmas in central Texas year before last and I think that is probably the first White Christamas I've ever had and I'm closing in on 50. Not unusual for the Panhandle area, but definitely rare around these parts.

kk~

Even in "snow country" in non-mountainous areas, a White Christmas can be an iffy propositions. I live near Washington, DC. Snow here at Christmas is VERY rare. Of the 47 years I've lived here, maybe 4-5 Christmases have truely be white.

But I grew up on the Great Lakes...Lake Michigan's west shore in Wisconsin, some 200 miles North of Chicago and farther north than the most densely populated parts of Eastern Canada. While we often had snow at Christmas, we often did not, so for populated areas it is at best a crap shoot. I rather like the suggestion of Colorado because even if Denver doesn't have snow the mountains just to the west usually do. Ski resorts usually have the means to make snow even as far south as where I live in the mountains 50 miles to the west of us. (Eastern mountains are nowhere near as impressive as western mountains until you get to places like Northern Vermont. Some places near the Great Lakes get what we call "Lake Effect" snow. Places like Toronto, Rochester, NY and upper New York State are more snowy than places 50-100 miles inland.

If you seldom get much lower than 0 degrees C. (32 F) you are in for a real shock. Even in Washington, DC, considered a border area weather-wise, most December-February days will hover in that regions. In the center of the country...say Chicago to Denver and to the north -10 C is pretty normal, -20 C not unusual and I have been in weather as low as -40 C (though that is rare in the lower 48 states.) There are a lot of places with those winter temperatures and nearly guaranteed Christmas snow that sadly are not all that interesting touristically. The Great Plains are not areas you usually think of as tourist country. The Pacific Coast is rather mild in winter until you get to the eastern side of the mountain ranges. If you have any interest in skiing (most areas have instructions for neophytes), look for areas with ski resorts. They are located where they are for a reason...they have pretty predictable snow patterns for most of the winter...though virtually all of them now have the means to manufacture snow.

Like Australia, the USA is a huge country, and Canada is even bigger (and snowier) so there are a lot of weather variations.

As for me, I just brought my snow blower out of storage, ready to go, with the express desire that my being so prepared will keep the snow AWAY!!!!.

Jon

In Colorado the ski resorts are in locations that get snow reasonably reliably. And it sticks. However Denver, on the plains, is different. Most winters we do get snow on and off but the weather warms up and snow melts away quickly in between. The odds of having a white Christmas are not good. Plus, although we have the beginnings of a public transportation system it isn't that good yet. It's OK if you stay in the center of downtown, though.

A long time ago I was in Montreal briefly (in the summer) and found it a very interesting city; so I think it is a good choice. As for the cold, wherever you go that has A. reliable snow on the ground and B. reliable transportation in spite of the snow -- this will be the kind of place which always gets quite cold and STAYS cold. So you will need to dress like Eskimos regardless: tall, lined boots plus extra socks; down-filled coat or long parka with a hood, warm pants, good winter gloves, thermal underwear and so on.

tassiemum wrote:


...the Mid West (I don't get that appelation- it's no where near the middle or the west )

I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with the fact that in the early history of the US as the country expanded from the East Coast westward, they were calling the middle part of the country they had just acquired the "Mid-West" since it was way more west than they previously had, but was still not as far-crazy-west as the West Coast (which at the time was still off-limits and in the hands of Mexico).


....And I found this on the Interwebz that both collaborates my theory and puts it much more succinctly:

The term "midwest" is a term that originated in earlier times and has stuck. The middle of what we now know as the United States lay west of the first European settlements along the east coast. At the time, the far west portion of the country was largely unexplored and was not calculated into the geographical terminology. As some of the land west of the Mississippi was explored and annexed, the central area became known as the "middle west", and is now referred to as the "midwest".

The designation made some sense at the time, as what is now known as the "midwest" had more in common with the "uncivilized" west coast than it did with the east coast. This is evident in some of the frontier tales that occured near the Mississippi river. For example, the James Gang robbed banks in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Minnesota.

Wherever you go, don't fear the cold. Just respect it and know how to handle it.

See if you can find the 15-page pamphlet "How to keep warm".
books.google.com . . .

Husband's Joke answer (because he was reading this over my shoulder and wanted to contribute):

Go to Alert!

en.wikipedia.org . . .

Michigan almost always has white Christmases. I think I can think of one that wasn't, in the 10 years I've lived here.

We also don't shut down for cold weather - that said, I live in a city, that is surrounded by lots of other cities, that is very close to Detroit. We can't shut down, haha. If you go up into the UP, where there's alot more country than there is city, I'd imagine you'd find they shut down pretty readily. :/

I'd also recommend Montreal (maybe a Montreal-Quebec City-New England trip if you want more than one place?). In my opinion, Montreal is one of very few North American cities that is truly different from the multitudes of other big cities.

They get a ton of snow, there's good public transit, and things don't shut down. There is a ton of stuff to do there- if you end up wanting to try some winter sport, the Laurentians aren't far away (Mont Tremblant, among several other resorts, is about 2h north of the city), but there are also tons of other things to do. Here are a few links:
www.tourisme-montreal.org . . .
www.tourisme-montreal.org . . .=
www.tourisme-montreal.org

Also, if you find you're having a tough time with the cold weather, there is a whole underground city to explore.

Wisconsin! I can't remember a year when we haven't had snow on Christmas, but it's not usually enough to totally paralyze everything. I've never been anywhere else around Christmas (although this year we're going to Italy, so that should be interesting), so I can't really speak to what other places have to offer. Just had to put in a plug for my home state

^Yeah, I was going to say Wisconsin too. My company has an office in Green Bay, and they almost always experience white Christmases, but they rarely shut down for any amount of snow because they're used to it and have the resources to handle it.

Normally I would say Montreal as we (unfortunatly for me) ALWAYS have a white Christmas and sometimes a white Halloween and white Easter. BUT, so far this year it snowed ONCE and we only got like 5-10 cm max depending on where you live. It's super warm right now (0°C). In next couple of days it's gonna snow but max an inch every day.

see that graph? www.meteomedia.com . . .

so.. Montreal is not a safe bet this year for a White Christmas. But I am sure Mother nature is saving her gifts for the next 4 monts of winter. Sadly

I would reccomend Whistler British Columbia. My family has a cabin there and it always always has a white Christmas. You fly into Vancouver which rarely gets snow at Christmas then there are several options to get up to Whistler which has tons of non skiing winter activites.

Thanks again, everyone.

^sjerose, thank your husband for me. I had a chuckle, and then thought, "Maybe Father Christmas wouldn't come, because there's no Christmas morning. Nah, kids wouldn't cope. Sorry."

OK, so ideas from you so far-

*Canadian ski resorts/towns like Whistler and Jasper.
*US ski resorts in Colorado
*Montreal or Quebec City
*New England
*cold flat places (Wisconsin, Michigan, right?)

What I'd really like is someone to convince me that three non-skiers, one of whom is old (in DDN terms, anyway!) and round (me) would find things to do in a ski resort/town.

Then, convince me I'm not crazy for wanting to do this in the first place!

I like the advice from madmilt

Wherever you go, don't fear the cold. Just respect it and know how to handle it.

. I will look out for that book, thanks.

Just an aside, our Christmas is shaping up as warmer than usual with median temperatures above 22 deg Celsius. Hotter days will be 25+C. <happy sigh>

Are you interested in doing anything active? Without skiing, you could always: hike, snow shoe, ice skate, snow mobile, sledding, snow tubing. Many ski resports will also have spas, outdoor hot tubs or hot springs. Here's a website I found with some info, by googling what to do in colorado if you don't ski. www.petergreenberg.com . . .

Just an FYI - I didn't learn to snow ski til I was in my 30s. I'm still not an advanced skier by any means, but I do have fun! And there is lots to do at the resorts besides ski as ^ mentioned. At Christmastime, they are all decorated, too. Really pretty!

kk~