Seeking Holiday Tradition and Togetherness

Mother-daughter duo Gwen and Hillary Moore drove eight hours from Ohio to enter their gingerbread houses in a contest at North Carolina’s Grove Park Inn.

The historic hotel had a record 266 entries this year--56% more than last year--with some contestants coming from as far away as New Mexico and Florida.

“This was something we could do together,” said Gwen Moore, who won second place and $500 for her gingerbread fishing camp.

Ten-year-old Hillary already is planning to enter next year’s contest. “The whole family got into it, and the trip to the contest made a nice little getaway,” Gwen said.

Conner Prairie (www.connerprairie.org), the living-history museum in Indiana that depicts pioneer life on the plains, is selling out its candlelight tours, which give visitors a glimpse of how the holidays were celebrated in 1836. “Families seem glad to go back to a simpler time,” said museum spokeswoman Melissa Snider.

Lisa Guppy, who runs the Forest, an inn near North Conway, N.H., concurred: “Definitely more this year, people want to get into the old-fashioned spirit, with the fire going in the fireplace and music in the background.”

That’s a common feeling these days, said Dr. David Fassler, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont. “People want to go back to places that are familiar, that are associated ... with calmer, safer times,” he said.

That may be why many families seem to want something different this holiday season--like planning a weekend getaway around a gingerbread-house contest--even as cruise ships and resorts tempt us with bargains.

The events of a difficult year may have us struggling to cut costs and cope with travel anxieties, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we want to stay home. Sure, we could all use a little something to perk up our spirits this year, but over-the-top celebrations seem as outdated as 2000 New Year’s keepsakes. Nor do we want to plan too far ahead.

What we seem to want is a place that will help us all smile.

Here is a sampling:

* You can save hundreds by heading to Vail Resorts in Colorado--Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone and my favorite, Breckenridge--and get 50% off lodging during Christmas and all season long, except Martin Luther King Jr. Day and President’s Day weekends. Call (800) 235-7705 or visit www.snow.com.

* The historic Hotel del Coronado in San Diego County is all dressed up for Christmas with 50,000 twinkling lights, a 30-foot Christmas tree and gingerbread waiting for kids to decorate. The holiday escape package starts at $189 per night and includes a $20 daily dining certificate and a keepsake ornament for the kids. If you stay during the week before Christmas, you can have an “elf” come to tuck each child in and present a stocking gift ($25 for the first child, $20 for additional children). Call (800) HOTEL DEL (468-3533) or (619) 435-6611, or visit www.hoteldel.com.

* Introduce the kids to unique Southwestern holiday traditions at the new Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa on the Santa Ana Pueblo in New Mexico. Rates start at $105 a night, 50% or more off regular rates. Watch Native American dances, indulge in the spa, play golf or go horseback riding or hot-air ballooning. Ask about second-room-at-half-price deals. Call (800) 55-HYATT (554-9288) or visit www.hyatt.com.

* Get pointers on how to teach your new little skiers, ages 3 to 5, at Northstar-at-Tahoe during free “Mommy, Daddy and Me” classes at 2:30 p.m. daily. Northstar is known for its children’s programs. After Jan. 5 (except for holiday weekends), snare a Family Adventure Package including condo lodging, lift tickets for two adults and two kids, tubing and a pizza dinner for $355 a night. Call (800) GO-NORTH (466-6784) or visit www.skinorthstar.com.

* Play on the sledding hill at the Wildflower Inn in Lyndonville, Vt., then warm up with hot cider and Vermont cheese by the fire. Parents who home-school their children will love the just-opened New England Home-school Retreat Center, which offers four-night programs through the winter and spring with local science and farming experts. Call (800) 627-8310 or visit www.wildflowerinn.com.

* Skate at Rockefeller Center and take in a Broadway show with a one-, two- or four-night New York City “Freedom Package.” They start at less than $500 for a family of four, including hotel, theater tickets, dinner and a donation to the Twin Towers Fund. Call (800) 692-4843 or visit www.nycvisit.com.

Sounds great, you think, but not the same as being around the tree with your nearest and dearest. No worries if they don’t have enough beds. Holiday Inns are offering a free night (through Jan. 31 or Feb. 28, depending on property and availability) for each night you pay for. Call 800-HOLIDAY (465-4329) and ask about the Next Night Free program, or visit www.holiday-inn.com/freenight.

If you are itching to show the kids the holiday lights in the city (or want to get the relatives out of your house), Hilton offers a free Sunday night for guests who arrive on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday and stay three nights. The offer is good at DoubleTree suites as well as at Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn and Conrad hotels. Call (800) HILTONS (445-8667) or visit www.hilton.com/holidayoffer.

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Taking the Kids appears twice a month.