PHOTO BY: mikecranephotography.com / Alamy Stock Photo
Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
The legendary ski resort town of Whistler, just over an hour's drive north of Vancouver, displays holiday cheer almost all winter long. Pedestrian-only Whistler Village dresses Christmas trees with more than 5,000 strings of lights and sparkling decorations, and offers loads of free events. Those include Family Après, held at Whistler Olympic Plaza Stroll (this season twice a week, Dec. 9 until the end of March), with activities including sledding, music, hockey, snowman-building competitions, games and hot drinks; and the Fire and Ice Show in Skier's Plaza, with freestyle skiers and snowboarders flipping and twisting through rings of fire at the top of steep jumps, fire spinners and fireworks (every Sunday night at 8 through March). If you're with little ones, take an old-fashioned horse-drawn sleigh ride, sipping hot chocolate as you glide along forested trails to a view of the village's holiday lights.