Photo: rebecca anne / Flickr

If the idea of spending Christmas this year the way you did last year – and the year before that – doesn’t excite you, consider a change of scenery. For Brits who don’t travel much, a little shopping holiday in Holland might be exactly what you need to break the mould this season. Visit an authentic Dutch Christmas market (or two, or three), and get in the Christmas spirit doing what most of us love best – shopping.

Getting to Holland

Perhaps the easiest way of getting to Holland, if you live in the UK, is by ferry. The journey is rather spectacular and takes only a few hours. You can set sail in the afternoon and wake up in Holland in the early morning.

Velvet Cave

Taking a ferry to Holland is great but you’ll find yourself in total awe when you reach the Velvet Cave Christmas market, which is not only loaded with awesome stuff such as clothes, toys, delicious food and other assorted seasonal goodies, but steeped in history too. The Velvet Cave was used as a shelter in the World War II as well as a secret chapel during the French Revolution and even an escape tunnel for medieval knights. Now a brilliant Christmas adventure and cultural experience, The Velvet cave Christmas market takes place between 19 November and 23 December. An excursion that will be enjoyed by the whole family.

Winterland

Winterland in Maastricht is another market will sort out every hungry Christmas belly. Winterland focuses mainly on Dutch food and has a warm carnival-type ambience, with merry-go-rounds and ferris wheels, that the kids will love. Various types of Dutch cuisine are available at the many stores, from pastries and delicacies to hot meals perfectly suited to a Christmas winter’s night. Winterland generally runs for six weeks between November and January each year. With music, arts and crafts and enough food to feed the whole of the Netherlands, there’s no reason any one should feel bored at Christmas time.

Take a trip down to Holland for Christmas. You won’t be disappointed, and you will come back home with armloads of presents for friends and family.

Tags: christmas, travelling