October 26, 2026 — 5:00am

If the prospect of peeling potatoes – or prawns – has lost its appeal, it’s not too late to make other plans for Christmas.

Travelling offers a chance to swap the usual festive arrangements for something less demanding. And leaving the country needn’t mean leaving Christmas behind. You can still embrace old traditions, invent new ones or simply let somebody else take care of the hosting.

European river cruises stop at towns that take traditional Christmas very seriously. iStock

If you’ve always dreamt of a white Christmas, the traditional northern hemisphere festivities await on APT’s Magnificent Europe cruises, which travel between Amsterdam and Budapest along the Rhine, Main and Danube, passing through historic cities and towns that don’t do Christmas-lite.

If it’s decorations, markets and centuries-old rituals you’re after, this is a rather luxurious portal to the mother lode.…