Top 5 Reasons Christmas should include gift-wrapped snow-capped hoodoos in Bryce Canyon
Wrapping paper strewn across the floor, enough Amazon cardboard to build a replica of the poor tree that gave its life to create it in the first place, and an endless need to find more dang batteries for the latest installment of cheap Chinese toys the kids are continually fighting over. Sound all too familiar? Does this ring a little too true?…every Christmas morning?…and you’re more than a little bit sick of it? Good. Well, at least ‘good’ news. This is the year the proverbial straw comes down on the Christmas camel’s back and you make the concerted effort to emphasize experiences over…stuff. Seriously, what follows are the bullet points you can put in your glitzy powerpoint presentation to convince the spouse and kids (and parents and in-laws) that there really is a better way.
More outdoor adventures, less ‘I need more batteries’
Let me introduce you to a singular solution: Bryce Canyon National Park. If you have never done Bryce Canyon in the winter time, whether you know it or not, you haven’t actually completed your bucket list. Below are 5 reasons Bryce Canyon is way better than any magical sack full toys:
- Neuschwanstein Castle made out of gingerbread would still take a backseat to Mother Nature’s powdered sugar coated castles in Bryce Canyon. Seriously, Hansel and Gretel would absolutely love this place.
- In Bryce, Santa isn’t the only one taking that fancy sleigh ride over the river and through the woods, you and your kids get to tag along as well. And the views…are spectacular.
- Recall the aforementioned chaos strewn across the floor on Christmas morning? I know it is winter break, but humor me with some quick math: Take said chaos and subtract that chaos. Now, add a very amicable hotel maid service with a side of restaurants where they don’t make you do dishes. No, it’s okay, no need to reach for the calculator, it equals happiness. Trust me, it adds up.
- If Rudolph is still flying around, Bryce Canyon National Park is the place to see him in action. Bryce Canyon boasts one of the ‘darkest’ skies in the entire national park system. If that sleigh is still up there, this is the place to spot it. Plus, even if ol’ red nose doesn’t make an appearance you’ll still be rewarded with a view of the Milky Way which will leave you equally breathless.
- Bryce Canyon City is literally a Dicken’s Christmas Village brought to life. Seriously, all those Dept 56 pieces Grandma puts up every year come to life in Bryce. Ice skating, snowshoeing, X-country skiing, restaurants, quaint little shops, with the kicker of a heated indoor swimming pool (not sure Dept 56 did one of those…). Good luck convincing your kids that this vacation is not actually the new utopian life made possible by all those late nights at the office.
- Bonus Reason: If those five ain’t enough, mix in heavily discounted lodging rates and virtually no crowds for a Christmas miracle that rivals any of those that may or may not have taken place on 34th Street.
Get to Walkin’ in a Winter Wonderland
Bryce Canyon is a magical winter wonderland. There is truly something for everyone. So, get out there; discover this awe-inspiring place. Enjoy some real experiences; make some memories. Skip out on the fleeting micro-moments brought to you by the likes of new socks, another electronic gadget you don’t need, and yet one more pair of yoga pants. Give your family the lasting ‘gift’ of Christmas adventures they can excitedly recount to their friends with bright eyes and clean lungs when all the other 3rd graders are returning to school zombie-eyed spewing some nonsense about how they spent the last ‘Fortnite’ more concerned with whatever it is those ‘Super Smash Bros’ ‘Call their Duty’ these days.