Winter Break Vacation Deals & Ideas for Washington, Oregon & BC

Where will you go for the kids’ two-week break? If you haven’t yet made plans, don’t despair. There are plenty of wonderful ways to celebrate (and rooms to book) in our area. Whether you’ve got the budget of a pauper or a prince, or whether you’d rather stay in a small town or big city, there’s a getaway just right for your family’s travel lifestyle.

British Columbia winter break vacation ideas:

You know I love Victoria, BC: all those great kid-friendly Victoria activities and restaurants. Now’s the time to go, too — Tourism Victoria is promoting special Christmastime rates, starting at just $69/night. Go and enjoy Butchart Gardens’ Christmas lights, caroling and ice skating. The photo at right? It’s a pic we took while enjoying holiday tunes at Butchart Gardens.

Create your own deal for Vancouver, BC. Use my tips to do a little Priceline bidding (four-star rooms are usually plentiful over Christmas break) or take advantage of Tourism Vancouver’s third-night-free package. Then, head up to the snow-draped Grouse Mountain (just 10 minutes from downtown Vancouver), which offers a Santa’s Workshop, ice skating, reindeer, live entertainment, mountaintop sleighrides, a children’s village and classic Christmas movies for a family rate of $79.95. Oh, and there’s skiing and snowshoeing up there too. It’s really a fantastic getaway, right in the city.

If you want to go all out, Whistler’s upscale Fairmont Chateau Whistler puts on the ritz for Christmas. Check out the on-site festivities: The Family Fun Room offers an internet cafe, bouncy castles and video games to keep non-skiing kids occupied; the hotel hosts gingerbread house decorating, tea with Santa and children’s stories with Mrs. Claus. It’s not cheap — but at about $1000 for three nights (and an amazing breakfast, typically around $70/family), it’s the same as you’d spend on two (maybe three) tickets to Hawaii. If you’re looking for more affordable offerings, go before Christmas (rates can be as much as 30% less than the week AFTER Christmas) and take a look at what’s available on Whistler.com.

Washington State winter break getaways:

Take your muggley self to Seattle, where the deluxe Hotel Monaco’s Harry Potter Package offers accomodations, discounted tix to the Pacific Science Center’s Harry Potter: The Exhibition and complimentary valet parking. Down in the hotel’s restaurant, the premium desserts include a Molten Hot Cauldron Cake with Cockroach Clusters and Make Your Own Potion. You never know — you may leave Seattle a wizard, after all.

In the charming little burg of Fairhaven, the Fairhaven Village Inn will offer horse-drawn carriage rides and a Santa visit on December 18. Fairhaven is right outside of Bellingham, Wash. (read more about Bellingham with kids); the adorable village close enough to enjoy the college town but far enough to feel like you’re in a small community.

Over in Eastern Washington, in the Methow Valley, this winter will mark the first StorySki Experience among the region’s popular cross-country ski trails. The Storytrail helps kids keep moving along by posting pages from the book, “Polar Opposites” (by Erik Brookes) along a 1k loop. You’re skiing your way through a children’s picture book, reading more of the story at each stop. The trail will debut at Christmas and stay up throughout the winter ski season (mid-March or so), moving. Kids (under age 12) ski free throughout the Methow.

Oregon winter break vacation packages:

A mere 20 minutes from Central Oregon’s Mt. Bachelor, and about 20 minutes from Bend, Oregon, Sunriver Resort hosts Traditions, a holiday celebration that reaches across generations and includes innovative activities like snowmobile excursions, cocoa mug making, holiday trivia, elf tuck-ins, an ornament workshop and more. Check out Sunriver’s page of packages, because the Sugarplum package starts at $149/night, and includes a $50 resort credit toward your on-site activities, including the appropriately named Ft. Funnigan (which both of my children enjoyed, despite their disparate ages — 4 and 10!).

Portland is another wonderful, family-friendly and discounted destination for families during winter. Plenty of kid-friendly Portland activities and plenty of kid-friendly Portland dining, and Travel Portland is offering an unequalled Portland Perks deal AND $50 in cash. But only through December 20th! I’m sure it will revert to the usual Portland Perks deal after the 20th, but you should take advantage of that $50 rebate. A great destination to visit with toddlers and preschoolers — visit Zoolights and the take in the Christmas Ship Parade.

Do you have any favorite family holiday getaways in our region?