Taos, New Mexico
Enjoy a Southwestern-style Christmas in Taos, where adobe buildings in the historic plaza are lined with candle-lit farolitos for the holidays, and you can order your burrito with red and green chile (i.e., Christmas-style) year-round. December itineraries in this New Mexico destination could include hitting the slopes at the Taos Ski Valley Resort, spending the night in an adobe hacienda like the Inn at La Loma Plaza, where some rooms come with wood-burning kiva fireplaces, and indulging with hot sipping chocolates from award-winning chocolatier Chokola. Taos Pueblo—a Native American community with multi-story adobe buildings that have been continuously inhabited for more than 1,000 years—holds a Procession of the Virgin Mary, mass, and bonfire on Christmas Eve, as well as traditional dances on Christmas Day. The UNESCO World Heritage Site gatherings are open to the public, but no photography is allowed.
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West Palm Beach, Florida
In The Square neighborhood of West Palm Beach, a banyan tree is draped with 100,000 colorful LED lights, and nightly light shows give the illusion of falling snow. In addition to the Christmas festivities, the neighborhood also hosts a Hanukkah Celebration with live music, a candle lighting ceremony, and an Afrique Ngozi Dance & Drums Kwanzaa Performance. One of the most popular holiday events in the area is the Palm Beach Holiday Parade, which includes a floating fireworks display, 80 boats strung with lights and decorations, and a toy fleet of boats that pick up donations along the parade route.