Travel & Holidays in later life

"Christmas is coming!" Many a housewife has thought that Christmas would be just perfect, if it wasn't for the cooking. A long list of seaside and country hotels have the answer: a three- or four-day festive package that includes all the traditional Christmas fare and house-party atmosphere. 

Every year, hundreds of hotels throughout Britain and Ireland actively promote Christmas and New Year packages, aimed at all possible sectors of the market. If you can't face another hectic Christmas at home, treat yourself and spouse to a special break.

Most of these festive-season packages are taken by so-called 'empty-nesters' - the over-50s whose children have grown up and scattered. Helping you work up an appetite for all the feasting, caterers can suggest a range of sport activities, from golf or indoor bowls to brisk walks or a dip in a heated indoor pool.

Professional entertainments are organised by most of Britain's hotel groups - three to five days, packed with lavish menus, celebrations and local trips; or longer breaks, if preferred.

Programmes can include candlelit dinners, carols, visit from Santa Claus, sightseeing excursions, and possibly tickets to a Boxing Day pantomime. 

Any time from September onwards, ask your travel agent for brochures published by the major hotel groups. Your first choice may be fully booked, but group reservation offices can often suggest another location with a vacancy.

For couples or singles who want a quieter house-party atmosphere, smaller hotels can offer a traditional break without all the razzmatazz. Likewise, many seaside guesthouses are glad to quote for Christmas breaks in a homely setting.

All the major holiday-centre groups open for Christmas and New Year. In some deals you can choose self-catering but with access to the entertainment programmes. 

If you still prefer a traditional home-based family Christmas, why not get away during the last remaining days of December? In that period, many business hotels continue to offer attractive deals to keep their rooms occupied and encourage bar business. 

It's just the way to relax after your own Christmas, when it's Mum's turn to be pampered. If you want 4-star or 5-star luxury, all the big-time resort hotels have something to offer.

In Scotland you can depend on a Ceilidh to welcome the New Year, in proper Hogmanay style with bagpipes and Scottish dancing. You can sleep off the effects before going home.

Many festive season breaks include one or two local coach excursions in the programme. Major coach-tour companies like WA Shearings and Leger Holidays will again be operating Christmas and New Year holidays based on their own or contracted hotels throughout Britain.

You can work up your appetite for traditional Christmas feasting by skiing on Alpine slopes, by taking a brisk walk around a cruise-liner promenade deck, by swimming in a Mediterranean hotel pool, or by exploring the highlights of a Continental capital.

The Sinatra Christmas Album - wallow in nostalgia, with Frank Sinatra singing all the Christmas favourites.

Edinburgh Hogmanay Party Mix - Keltik Elektrik - If you can't make Edinburgh for Hogmanay, this CD will get you into the mood of a Scottish New Year.

Letters from Father Christmas  - by J.R.R. Tolkien - a delightful reprint of the illustrated letters which Tolkien wrote to his children on behalf of Santa Claus 

The Cat That Could Open the Fridge: A Curmudgeon's Guide to Christmas Round Robin Letters  - edited by Simon Hoggart - What to avoid writing when telling all your friends and relatives about how you spent the year.