Get a jump on a festive holiday weekend
While I'm slogging through brittle scarecrows and limp Halloween decor of years past, there are those overachievers among us who already are planning their perfect winter holiday trips and probably are busy knitting ski sweaters and matching mittens, too.
I can't knit, sew or even weave a good-looking potholder on one of those children's looms, but I can find a pretty cool holiday getaway for the family, book it and snigger at all the procrastinators out there.
Want to join me?
If it weren't for the utter lack of mountains, you might think you've been adopted into the Von Trapp family after a whiff of gingerbread, roasting almonds and hearing melodious Germanic music wafting through the air at the Osthoff resort's Old World Christmas Market. The Osthoff version is based on Germany's famous Christkindlesmarkt, dating back to 1545, which kicks off like cuckoo clockwork on the first Sunday of Advent in Nuremberg's pretty market square.
You won't need a passport to get to Elkhart Lake, Wis., just an hour or so north of Milwaukee. While your neighbors are blowing their gaskets in mall parking lots, you'll be browsing the wares of nearly 100 vendors occupying rustic timber booths decked with boughs of holly and fragrant evergreen.
Just in case the Midwestern winter kicks in early this year, know that the entire market is tented and warmed by propane heaters. From Nov. 30 to Dec. 9, browse hand-carved wooden toys, a variety of jewelry, clothing and CDs with German holiday music, blown-glass ornaments and unusual gifts created by European and regional artisans. Russian stacking dolls, Polish pottery, Hungarian-style beeswax candles, Scandinavian rosemaling and Dutch chocolates are among the treasures.
Enjoy an authentic Nuremberg bratwurst and hot mulled wine while listening to carolers and searching for the Teutonic edition of Santa (Sankt Nikolaus) who roams the market. Kids recharge on hot apple cider and sweets. Challenge them to try wiener schnitzel with potato pancakes and red cabbage.
Depending upon the timing of your visit, young Erhard and Elsa might want to show off their cookie-decorating or ornament-making skills with Mrs. Claus or go for a holiday hayride followed by hot chocolate. All season, weather permitting, there's ice skating, downhill sledding and cross-country skiing to work off some winter steam.
The Osthoff offers a Thanksgiving Brunch Buffet; Brunch With St. Nicholas and His Reindeer (Dec. 2 and 9); Breakfast With Santa (Dec. 1, 8 and 15); as well as Christmas Day Brunch.
Choose guest rooms or one-, two- or three-bedroom suites with a kitchen or kitchenette, dining and living room, TV, fireplace and private balcony.
Reserve your family's winter getaway by yodeling your dates at (800) 876-3399 or hike over to www.osthoff.com.
A couple of hours from the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa in Galena will wow your Hansel and Gretel with a colossal 25-foot-high gingerbread house that's unveiled Thanksgiving weekend. Among other activities kicking off the holiday season are a Bear Factory Workshop where anyone can create a stuffed animal, and a session of Camp Eagle and Kids' Night Out on Saturday, Nov. 24. Kids can hang out, swim and play games with their peers while their parents go antiquing or have a quiet dinner. Why not consider having Thanksgiving dinner delivered to your resort home by pilgrims on Thanksgiving afternoon? Choose from rooms at the inn, three- to six-bedroom homes or one- to three-bedroom villas and townhouses.
Throughout the month of December, the resort's Woodlands Restaurant offers bountiful holiday feasts, including a dazzling Christmas spread. While you take a Holiday House Walk (Dec. 1) through seasonally decorated Territory homes, the kids can cross-country ski, sled and ice skate on site. You can rent sleds, skates and nordic ski equipment, so there's no need to lug your gear along.
The whole family enjoys horse-drawn sleigh rides throughout the winter and there are downhill skiing and snowboarding opportunities nearby. Every Saturday from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day, trolley tours take guests through the hills of Galena Territory, too.
The super-efficient are thinking about New Year's Eve already and Eagle Ridge offers a party in its grand ballroom; a separate celebration just for kids; romantic dinners in Woodlands Restaurant or in your private villa or home; and a dance-the-night-away party at Spikes Restaurant.
Start looking for your parkas and call (800) 240-1681 or visit www.eagleridgeresortonline.com to make reservations.