Holiday Immersion
1) Waitsfield, Vermont Nothing oozes Norman Rockwell like a white Christmas in New England. The Inn at the Round Barn Farm, a renovated 19th-century dairy farmhouse, celebrates with a five-night Country Christmas package. You'll trim trees, take sleigh rides, bake gingerbread cookies, and snowshoe by moonlight to the inn's hunting cabin for hearty beef stew. The 245-acre farm's snowshoe trails are open all winter long, and Sugarbush and Mad River Glen ski resorts are ten minutes away. Six-day package from $555, including breakfast, snacks, cross-country skiing, and other activities; 802-496-2276, www.innattheroundbarn.com

2) Ouray, Colorado Nestled beneath Rocky Mountain peaks, cheery little Ouray welcomes the season with a yule weekend parade and door-to-door visits from Santa. Guests at the Beaumont Hotel & Spa can enjoy a traditional Christmas dinner—think roast goose, chestnut stuffing, and chocolate mousse—after a trip to the Ouray Ice Park, where climbers scale the frozen walls. Doubles, $180–$350; 888-447-3255, www.beaumonthotel.com

3) Zermatt, Switzerland From this snow-globe-perfect village—where horse-drawn carriages roll through car-free cobbled streets—you can take Europe's highest cable car 7,421 feet up to Klein Matterhorn, then ski eight miles back to town in plenty of time to hang your stocking. But book early: The architecturally renowned Coeur des Alpes fills up months in advance. Doubles from $208; 011-41-27-966-40-80, www.coeurdesalpes.ch