Here are some things you should know about me: I love spending time with friends and family, and I love to cook. but i do no Enjoy entertaining guests at home during the holidays.
I know some people really enjoy preparing a big holiday dinner and inviting loved ones to their homes to celebrate. I’m just not one of them. I don’t like the amount of cooking, cleaning, and wandering around to make sure everyone is having a good time.
But I’ve found a great option for hosting guests during the festival: Skip it entirely and stay in a hotel instead. For example, last year I spent Thanksgiving at a hotel in Orlando—the perfect way to start the holiday.
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Gaylord Palms. Tara Chiffey/Key Person
This is why I think you should give up your hosting duties and spend your vacation in a hotel.
RELATED: 10 Luxury Hotels for an All-Out Vacation
You don’t have to cook, clean or be the host
My husband and I have three children—all boys—and despite our best efforts, the level of cleanliness in our home is questionable at best. In addition to keeping these boys fed, clean, and clothed, we had more work to do than we could handle.
So last year, we flew to Orlando, where a pristine room awaited us at the Gaylord Palms Resort near Walt Disney World.
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We returned to our room each afternoon to find the bed made, the trash emptied, and the room tidied. I still do my best to control the kids’ mess during cleaning, but that alone makes the holidays less stressful for me.
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I’m a big advocate of tipping hotel staff and restaurant servers, and if you’re able, I recommend tipping even more during the holidays. A little extra tip is a simple way to say “thank you.” Plus, it gives me peace of mind knowing I can enjoy extra family time instead of constantly cleaning during the holidays, and it’s well worth it.
Although we tried to save money by stocking our hotel room with breakfast essentials and snacks, we also ate out during our visit. Most hotels I’ve been to during the holidays offer celebratory meals on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.
I enjoyed lunch poolside at the Gaylord Palms Cypress Springs Water Park. While I’m not sure if the tuna poke bowl is a historically accurate holiday meal, it does make me feel grateful that I’m sitting poolside in sunny Florida instead of sitting in cold southern Indiana cooking for a lot of people.
Most hotels will arrange special meals and events
In many cases, you don’t even have to leave your hotel to enjoy a traditional holiday meal. Along the way from Universal Orlando, there are several hotels offering holiday meals. Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort and Loews Sapphire Falls Resort all offer holiday buffets between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Outside of Florida, there are several other hotels that offer special meals during Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Big Cypress Lodge in Memphis serves Thanksgiving classics with a Southern twist, while the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman serves a traditional turkey dinner (or a “Thanksgiving to-go” dinner for guests who want to dine in the privacy of their suites). Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts in Riviera Maya and Punta Cana are offering special Christmas brunches so you can fill your stomach before heading to the beach or water park.
In addition to delicious food, hotels around the world celebrate the holidays with special events and activities. For the past few years, we have sung Christmas carols with carolers and met Santa in the lobby of the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando. Every Universal Studios hotel is in the holiday spirit.
This year, Universal Orlando’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort held a Christmas tree lighting ceremony the day after Thanksgiving. The event also includes free hot cocoa, cookies and surprise character meet-and-greets.
In addition to specialty meals, Santa Claus will visit two Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts properties during the Christmas season, and children can participate in special holiday-themed activities such as cookie decorating.
Or, if you prefer a holiday turkey trot, the Big Cedar Lodge near Branson, Missouri, hosts its annual Gobble Wobble 5K the day after Thanksgiving.
You’ll create new holiday traditions and memories
The above activities are just a small sample of the festive fun hotel offers you can visit during the festive period. You can find similar services in destinations around the world. No matter where you go on vacation, unique experiences you can’t get at home help create cherished vacation memories.
My family has a tradition of visiting the Gaylord Hotel during the holidays to experience the annual holiday event “Ice!”
Doing things like this – breaking away from our daily routines and filling the day with fun activities – means I’m not taking the iPad away from my kids or looking for ways to keep us busy.
You can earn last-minute tier stays or use up expiring certificates
I don’t know about you, but I’m grateful for how points and miles have improved my travel this year. Thanks to my help, I received benefits such as a room upgrade, late checkout, and a free hotel stay Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card (See Rates and Fees) and American Express Platinum Card®.
The American Express Platinum automatically granted me Marriott Bonvoy Gold elite status (registration required), which came with perks like room upgrades, late checkout, and stay bonus points. My Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card comes with an annual free night certificate on my cardholder anniversary (up to 35,000 points; some hotels may charge a resort fee).
I almost forgot to use it a few years ago, which leads to another funny story – but it wasn’t the time we took the dog on vacation to avoid losing a free hotel stay. This is to remind you that the holidays are the perfect time to check for any free night vouchers or other money-saving credit card offers that may be expiring soon.
For example, My Amex Platinum can earn up to $600 in annual hotel statement credits per year (maximum $300 every two years) for prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel® (THC requires a two-night minimum stay). As the old saying goes, if you don’t use it, you lose it.
RELATED: Last-minute tips for locking in hotel elite status before the end of the year
If you need to squeeze in a few last-minute nights to ascend to a new level of elite status, you can also justify ditching holiday traditions and creating your own. You will have a special holiday with your family and Lock in higher hotel perks for next year. Now that’s something to be thankful for.
bottom line
Don’t get me wrong – I love throwing parties. But I’m more of an appetizer, drink, and board game hostess.
Instead of going to all the trouble of planning the perfect holiday event, I found a holiday alternative. It allows my family to celebrate all the things we love about the holidays stress-free.
No matter how you choose to celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.
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