Once, we couldn't wait to invite the clan and host a big festive do at home, but these days many of us spend more time there than we used to. Perhaps, after a couple of odd Covid-era Christmases we're ready for something new. And besides, if you're in charge of the games and the gluttony, the idea that you'll find time to relax can be a bit of a charade. Better to get away.
If you made the booking, bag the best bedroom yourself (of course). And don't get hung up on having all the traditional trimmings — the idea is for the festivities to feel fresh.
Finding the right property is no trifle, so in keeping with Christmas tradition, we've made a list. We've got cottages and islands, treehouses and cabins snug enough for the bearded one himself.
Many are new, and almost all come with a flickering fireside to hang your stocking and with superlative scenery for your post-pud promenade. If you split the cost ten ways (even the one with the wine cellar) they needn't spook your inner Scrooge.
As of October 14, all properties had availability for Christmas week, most for new year; check ahead about festive trimmings
Neville Tower, Northumberland
1. Neville Tower, Northumberland
Best for... drama and history
The most extravagant bauble on the British coast? It must be Bamburgh Castle shining above an imperious sweep of sand. Here's a chance to bag a turret for yourself this Christmas. Neville Tower has two doubles and a top-storey sitting room with views of the Farne Islands bird reserve, whose winter boat safaris are attended by dolphins and maybe a minke whale. You'll get champers on the battlements and a free run at Bamburgh's state rooms, this year themed by the designer Charlotte Lloyd Webber on the Twelve Days of Christmas, while the nearby Pantry deli can lay on a hamper of Craster smoked salmon and "naughty puddings".
Details Seven nights' self-catering from £3,200 (crabtreeandcrabtree.com)
Gunner Lodge, North Yorkshire
BRIAN HARRISON
2. Gunner Lodge, North Yorkshire
Best for... hiking and games
Even in winter the wildest-eyed walkers want quick access to summits — maximum panorama for minimum puff. Gunner Lodge, which sleeps nine, makes an opulent base camp for Yorkshire's famous Three Peaks: barn conversion outside, baddie's lair within. Think black cladding, buttoned leather and mirrored bathrooms as standard, and lots of games from pool to Playstation. Conquer Ingleborough or Whernside then steam your sore pins in the outdoor hot tub and watch trains crossing the Ribblehead Viaduct.
Details Seven nights' self-catering from £5,301 (sykescottages.co.uk)
The Arch at Fonthill, Wiltshire
BOZ GAGOVSKI
3. The Arch at Fonthill, Wiltshire
Best for... posh pub visits on the doorstep
Candlelight flickers, champagne corks pop, a suckling pig sizzles on the open fire — at the Beckford Arms it feels like Christmas every day. This is posh-pub paradise, and its co-mastermind Charlie Luxton has just unveiled his latest passion project, vamping up the Georgian carriage arch that welcomes guests to the Fonthill Estate. Admiral Nelson trotted through to spend Christmas here in 1800, and this year it can be yours — two bijou bedrooms and a firelit lounge linked by spiralling stone stairs, with interiors that read like a who's who of country-chic styling. The best bit: the Beckford is just up the drive.
Details Four nights' B&B from £1,180 (beckfordarms)
The Meadows, Cornwall
DAVID CURRAN / UNIQUE HOMESTAYS
4. The Meadows, Cornwall
Best for... a peaceful retreat
Close to Bodmin Moor, this dog-friendly barn conversion sits seven miles inland from northern Cornwall's coast. Its tucked-away location, within the grounds of an old farm, screams romance. Crisp and contemporary, the open-plan interiors feature lime-washed wood, poured-concrete floors and big windows below chunky rafters; two sofas hug a log burner and the bedroom's egg bath looks on to wildflower meadows. Day-trip options include foodie Padstow and, for some last-minute shopping, boutique-lined Newquay.
Details Seven nights' self-catering for two from £2,750; beginning December 21 (uniquehomestays.com)
Strand House, Co Antrim
NATIONAL TRUST
5. Strand House, Co Antrim
Best for... cold-water swimmers (and whiskey drinkers)
Fishing hamlets abound at the foot of the Glens of Antrim, and Cushendun is cutest of all, entirely tended these days by the National Trust. Whitewashed Strand House has a definite tang of Cornwall about it, with bare boards, a baronial table for your dinner and a jumble of rooms that include a double, twin and single. You'll find Christmas craic aplenty along the coast at the Bushmills Inn, and a curl of pinkish sand on the doorstep if you fancy a dip in the surf. Go on, we dare you.
Details Seven nights' self-catering for five from £899 (nationaltrust.org.uk)
6. Monarchs View, Hampshire
Best for... families on a budget
For almost a millennium the tithe barn and chapel of medieval Michelmersh Manor Farm were bossed by the priors of Winchester Cathedral. This year the dairy farmers Fran and John Drake have opened the outbuildings to guests — including Monarchs View, an affordable Christmas pick sleeping six. Don't expect frills, but it's got bump-your-head beams and a log-burner. Your kids will get to feed the calves, pet the horses and meet Mini the goat — if that's not enough, head for nearby Peppa Pig World, oinking with fairylight fun until December 23 (£35; paultonspark.co.uk). Also nearby is Mottisfont, where you'll walk through a wardrobe into a sumptuous National Trust reimagining of Narnia (£16; nationaltrust.org.uk).
Details Three nights' self-catering from £630 (michelmershmanorfarm.com)
Cobham Dairy, Kent
JOHN MILLER
7. Cobham Dairy, Kent
Best for... hopeless romantics
Blessed were the cheesemakers of Georgian England, or so you will conclude after clapping eyes on this little fairytale. Set on the Cobham Hall estate, the dairy was designed by James Wyatt in the style of an Italianate chapel but stood decaying until the Landmark Trust swooped in with a More4 TV crew and restored it. Today Christmas canoodles come no more romantic: wedding-cake façade, a kitchen in the cloisters, a log-lit snug and just one bedroom. Watch deer from the roll-top bathtub, or stride west to Cobham in the footsteps of Charles Dickens, whose favourite alehouse, the Leather Bottle, is dishing up turkey and pud till Christmas Eve.
Details Seven nights' self-catering from £1,166 (landmarktrust.org.uk)
Ukiyo, Cornwall
DAVID CURRAN / UNIQUE HOMESTAYS
8. Ukiyo, Cornwall
Best for... a Scandi-style Christmas
Just above the Lizard Peninsula's emptier eastern coast, eco-friendly Ukiyo makes for an escapist Christmas retreat. Inspired by Scandi summerhouses, it balances buffed concrete surfaces with bespoke timber fixtures and huge picture windows that all look seawards. After unwrapping pressies by the fire, you could storm-watch from cushioned window seats before stargazing in a garden hot tub. Upstairs, both en suite bedrooms also overlook Coverack Cove, where dolphin pods sometimes appear (binoculars are provided). You're within 40 minutes' drive of St Michael's Mount.
Details Seven nights' self-catering for four from £5,350; beginning December 21 (uniquehomestays.com)
The Mill House, North Yorkshire
9. The Mill House, North Yorkshire
Best for... family fun
Off to the panto this year? Oh yes you are, surely, if you can snag tickets for Pinocchio at Richmond's Theatre Royal (georgiantheatreroyal.co.uk). This jewel-box Georgian playhouse is the prettiest in the land — arrayed much as it was in 1788. Your Christmas lunch will also feel theatrical at Mill House in Hipswell. Sleeping five, it's great for families, with lots of space to enjoy. Wrap up for the two-mile riverside stroll to Richmond. But the showstopper is that dining room where the mill's original grinding gear has been set up in the hearth. It could spell trouble for Santa.
Details Seven nights' self-catering from £2,153 (holidaycottages.co.uk)
The Pavilion House, Suffolk
10. The Pavilion House, Suffolk
Best for... design lovers and humbugs
Christougenniatikophobia — that's what science calls a fear of Christmas, and if you find tinselly trappings a turn-off, here's the antidote: a Scandi-styled sky pavilion designed by the Danish architects Norm. Marooned among the marshes of Benacre National Nature Reserve, a bittern's boom from Southwold, it has four glass-walled bedrooms, a sauna, library and cinema room. Something darker? At nearby Middleton you'll find Britain's spookiest Boxing Day ritual — the druidic Hunting of the Cutty Wren, which traditionally involved bird-murder, flaming torches and bushes for hats (oldglory.org.uk).
Details Three nights' self-catering from £1,030 (plumguide.com)
Mountain View, Highland
NIGLE RIGDEN
11. Mountain View, Highland
Best for... active types
This airy Cairngorms bungalow commands more scenic slopiness than you can shake a ski stick at. Mountain-bike trails fan out from its perch above Kingussie; the Speyside Way wriggles down the glen to Aviemore, Scotland's snowsports central. Mountain View is alpine indoors too — moosehead art, cathedral ceilings, sauna and hot tub — while pool and table tennis mean that the family Olympics can roll on into the night. Book a herder-guided hike with Britain's only free-ranging reindeer (£20; cairngormreindeer.co.uk), then defrost your red nose in a glass of Glenlivet at the Pine Marten Bar in Glenmore Forest Park.
Details Seven nights' self-catering from £2,826 (cottages.com)
Pheasant Hill, Gloucestershire
MARIA STENGARD-GREEN
12. Pheasant Hill, Gloucestershire
Best for... multigenerational getaways
Gym bunny, dog lover, games master, chef — there's something for everyone at Pheasant Hill, a funked-up take on the Cotswold manor house with space for 14, including a two-bedroom annexe if you want to bring Granny (or you have a spat over Scrabble). Five rooms are en suite, two are wheelchair-ready, and the gym leaves you no excuse not to burn off the bread sauce. There's also a concierge service to fix you an itinerary but we recommend a stroll to Ford for Christmas Eve lunch (theploughinnford. co.uk) and visiting Stratford-upon-Avon where Adrian Edmondson is playing Scrooge at the RSC.
Details Seven nights' self-catering from £10,000 (luxurycotswoldrentals.co.uk)
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Netherdale Farmhouse, Derbyshire
13. Netherdale Farmhouse, Derbyshire
Best for... historic grandeur
For a guaranteed white Christmas, try Chatsworth House. The "Palace of the Peaks" loves to push the festive boat out, and this year the Duke of Devonshire is surrendering his oak-panelled salons to Loki, the Norse god of mischief. The great shapeshifter will wow the nippers with stories and magic, transforming entire rooms into frozen fairytales carved in ice. Six of the estate's stylish rentals still have Christmas availability, and the most family friendly is Netherdale Farmhouse — new this winter, sleeping six, home to double-barrelled wood-burners and perfectly located for a post-prandial pedal along the Monsal Trail.
Details Seven nights' self-catering from £2,310 (devonshirehotels.co.uk)
The Treehouses at Lanrick, Stirling
14. The Treehouses at Lanrick, Stirling
Best for... winter wildlife
The London-based design whizz Simon Dickson returned home to the Trossachs to craft this nest of five natty eco-lodges, twinkling in the treetops beside the River Teith — each with one bedroom, as well as a sofa bed if you want to bring the kids. Green is the watchword here: the heating is air-sourced, the decor is handcrafted . . . and wi-fi? It's time to switch off. Order in victuals from the Smiddy Farm Shop, chuck another trunk on the log-burner and simmer alfresco in your copper bathtub as the red squirrels somersault all around. Still not relaxed enough? Call in Lanrick's manager, Erica, a Swedish masseuse.
Details Four nights' self-catering from £1,440 (lanricktreehouses.co.uk)
Port Carnish, Isle of Lewis
15. Port Carnish, Isle of Lewis
Best for... island castaways
A Seychelles-like dream beach on the northwest coast of Scotland? Wake up at Port Carnish on a sun-speared winter's morning and you'll believe (apart from the temperature). This box-fresh timber cabin surveys the white-shell sands of Uig Bay, the last, breathtaking gasp of the Isle of Lewis — go any further, and you're in the Faroes. Outside it's a glorified garden shed, but the living space is sophisticated — nude oak, a wood-burning stove and widescreen bedroom windows onto the wilderness. Toast the season with a tot of Abhainn Dearg (Red River) single malt, distilled just across the fields, and look for the aurora borealis.
Details Seven nights' self-catering from £1,295 (unique-cottages.co.uk)
Ty'n Y Parc, Gwynedd
NATIONAL TRUST
16. Ty'n Y Parc, Gwynedd
Best for... party-hard surf fans
Need lots of rollicking room for an end-of-year knees-up? This duo of stone stays, new from the National Trust, are salted away on the lonesome Llyn peninsula, with the 1,000ft-high Mount Rhiw in the back garden to muffle the din. Booked together, the farmhouse and its barn offer six bedrooms, sleeping up to 14. It's a short stagger to Hell's Mouth, three straight miles of astringent Atlantic seashore named for its satanic surf — take your board if you're bonkers, or just face into the gale and howl away your hangover.
Details Three nights' self-catering from £2,164 (nationaltrust.org.uk)
17. The Roundhouse, Norfolk
Best for... seaside feasting
This roundhouse wants you to gorge. Lunch could stretch for hours around its sleek ten-seater dining table, which sits in the open-plan kitchen so your cooks won't feel ostracised at the Aga. Walls curve, picture windows open on to Wells-next-the-Sea, and a freestanding log-burner adds to the all-round glow of indulgence. Beyond lie diversions classy and brassy: see aristocratic Holkham Hall by candlelight, or in Thursford, the song-and-dance spectacular, staged among Wurlitzers and carousels, that has been an annual event since 1977.
Details Seven nights' self-catering for ten from £4,295 (norfolkhideaways.co.uk)
Sawcliffe Manor, Lincolnshire
18. Sawcliffe Manor, Lincolnshire
Best for... families with teenagers
The cottage stays at this stately new B&B are a steal for Christmas, perhaps thanks to its location near Scunthorpe, but you'll be far too busy throwing axes and firing arrows to notice that. The 400-year-old manor's teen-friendly activity menu runs right to Christmas Eve. Meanwhile, lazier bones can opt for a milk bath in the spruce wood-lined spa. Tudor-era Rose Cottage is the pick.
Details Four nights' self-catering for four from £810 (sawcliffemanor.com)
Black Hill Barn, Herefordshire
19. Black Hill Barn, Herefordshire
Best for... dog-walkers and hikers
Dogs are not just for Christmas but you might want to borrow one for your stay at Black Hill Barn. In a heart-lifting setting on the flanks of the Black Mountains, just south of Hay-on-Wye, this cruck-beamed conversion is mostly one big sociable space — wood-burner-warmed and with sofas on a mezzanine for Christmas movie nights. It's so pooch-friendly that owners Jill and Tim Hollingsworth have laid out walks from your terrace across their organic farm, and if you have a pointer not a pug, yomp along the Offa's Dyke Path and gaze into Wales. There's a little spa too.
Details Seven nights' self-catering for four from £1,121 (upperhouseandspa.co.uk)
Bottle Farm, Devon
MATT AUSTIN
20. Bottle Farm, Devon
Best for... gourmets
Hugo Shuttleworth trained at Leith's, his wife Alice worked for River Cottage. They won't cook your Christmas dinner (curses!) but everything else is delicious at their hideaway near Lyme Regis. The farm has a Gallic feel — vintage cider press, French hens — and there's an emphasis on dégustation (or tasting). Your yuletide hamper will include Hugo's home-cured organic charcuterie. Ask about a bottle of bubbles from nearby Castlewood Vineyard. Two clean-cut guest studios face off across the barnyard, ideal for a couple of friendly couples, and Alice offers walking tours to meet local producers.
Details Three nights' self-catering from £570 (bottlefarm.co.uk)
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Dartmoor Tea House, Devon
21. Dartmoor Tea House, Devon
Best for... festive pool parties
Even by Christmas standards, there's something extra decadent about lolling in your private indoor pool while frost crimps the lawn outside. This hilltop villa has a cracker of a view and you can crank up the sound system when it's party o'clock. With Shanghai tea trade connections, the main house suits its name — gables galore and oriental-inflected interiors across seven bedrooms (two in a self-contained ground-floor apartment). Boxing Day walks come no more barnstorming than the scramble up to Belstone Tor.
Details Seven nights' self-catering for 14 from £9,449 (oliverstravels.com)
Melin Trehilyn, Pembrokeshire
22. Melin Trehilyn, Pembrokeshire
Best for... coastal walks
Pembrokeshire specialist Under the Thatch says Trehilyn's suite of farmstays are its most popular hire — aided, no doubt, by their celebrity status as the TV restoration project of the comedian Griff Rhys Jones. Melin Trehilyn is the most eye-catching: a modernist mill conversion by Jones's architect son George, with a large artwork of Chairman Mao in the sitting room and a copper-walled side-suite. Head for St David's Cathedral for carols, or stride the coast path to Strumble Head.
Details Seven nights' self-catering for four from £1,338 (underthethatch.co.uk)
Cartmel House, Cumbria
DAVID NEVILLE
23. Cartmel House, Cumbria
Best for... wine-loving groups
Drawing room, card room, cinema room, orangery . . . why settle for board games this Christmas when you could stage live-action Cluedo? This ostentatious Georgian mansion is at Cark, behind Morecambe Bay, and has ten suites named after hotels: Claridge's, Sandy Lane, La Residencia. So it's pricey, then — and more so if you book a private chef, or a sommelier to uncork the potential of its thousand-bottle wine cellar. Stumble outdoors into six acres of wooded grounds or follow a (Michelin) star to nearby L'Enclume.
Details Six nights' self-catering for 20 from £22,800 (thewowhousecompany.com)
The Garden Bothy, Midlothian
JAMES CRAWFORD
24. The Garden Bothy, Midlothian
Best for... country peace near the city
Never mind Hogmanay, Edinburgh has a strong claim to be the UK's capital of Christmas, with a full six-week skirl of multisensory markets, mulled Irn-Bru and haggis-in-blankets in Princes Street Gardens, and the castle transmogrified into one enormous light installation blazing on its crag. The Garden Bothy is a characterful place to plan your assault. Twelve miles east of the city, it sits charmingly in the grounds of Palladian Preston Hall, with pretty decor, firelight and walks along the Tyne Water.
Details Seven nights' self-catering for six from £1,295 (unique-cottages.co.uk)
The Chalk House, Cornwall
DAVID CURRAN / UNIQUE HOMESTAYS
25. The Chalk House, Cornwall
Best for... gourmands
Not all cultures serve turkey for Christmas. The Cornish, for example, favour herrings with the heads left on. We're talking stargazy pie, the dish of the season in Mousehole, a fishing village that's even cuter than its name. Be there on December 23 to see singers and lantern bearers march around the harbour to the Ship Inn where everyone tucks into the terrifying tart, its fish poking through the crust. Unique Homestays has a number of Mousehole bolt holes available for Christmas — enough to berth 17 across four cottages — but the Chalk House, sleeping four, is right in the heart of things with views of the waves in every window and its own pizza oven in case you don't like fish pie.
Details Seven nights' self-catering from £2,995 (uniquehomestays.com)
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