Nothing beats the holidays than spending it with your loved ones at home around the Christmas tree. lounge around an open fire with a hot cup of cocoa and enjoying each others company. I am a huge fan of the holiday spirit and I absolutely love being in Amsterdam where it’s cold and the millions of lights light up the city. Like most of us, I consider myself pretty traditional when it comes to the holidays.

On the other hand, we all love a sunny get-away especially when it’s freezing outside. I mean, who has never dreamt of spending Christmas under the sun and welcoming the new year in a bathing suit and flip-flops? Surely you’ve behaved very well all year and you deserve a holiday of sun and beach. In my opinion, we should make an effort to travel to a tropical destination during the holidays at least once in our life.

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1- The Cleaning, the cooking and more cleaning

You know the feeling, “Christmas and New Year’s Eve are next week, so I better start cleaning and prepare now…” Yep, the holiday stress has officially started now. Hours and hours you find yourself scrubbing floors, polishing silverware, making table arrangements, decorating the house, looking up recipes, preparing a four-course dinner and finding ways to accommodate everyone. Uncle Bob has a bad back, so he needs to sit in the most comfortable chair, but we can’t place him next to aunt Mary, because she can stand the life of uncle Bob. Aunt Eliza is deadly allergic to cats, so your furry babies need different accommodation for the day. Tim and Jane are vegan, so we need to seperate their food, and grandma can’t eat salt, so…, I guess you get the picture.

After all these fantastic festivities are finished,  let’s not forget that after your jolly and a tad bit tipsy guests have left, you are stuck with days worth of more cleaning up the mess up until a point of exhaustion.  Merry Christmas! So what else can we do?  Picture yourself this.  How about sipping a few cocktails while lounging around the pool? Having delicious meals prepared and your rooms cleaned while soaking up the December sun! I mean, this definitely sounds like my cup of tea, while staying at home hosting a dinner party sounds like just a whole lot of work.

2: Travel ‘Dead’ Weeks

The first two weeks of December, as well as the week following New Year’s Day, are known within the industry as travel “dead” weeks. The reason? Most people are busy at home with holiday preparations and job commitments, and hotels and planes are typically much emptier than usual. That means you have a great chance of finding a low price for your travel, as providers scramble to fill rooms and seats; you’ll also get the benefit of having your vacation spot (mostly) all to yourself.

There are some exceptions, of course: Destinations known for holiday shopping, or seasonal entertainment and attractions (such as New York, London, and Paris) are going to still have crowds and inflated prices. But if you’re heading to beach resorts, smaller-city destinations, or taking a guided vacation with a tour group, you’ll most likely find your choice of bargains.

3: Smaller Crowds

If you prefer seclusion and privacy to bustling crowds, then taking a trip during this time of year is a great match for your tastes. You’ll find that on your vacation, you and your companions may be the only ones on the beach, you won’t have to get up early to snag a poolside chair, and you can get a reservation at a swanky restaurant with little lead time. And with these and more perks available for significantly reduced prices, you’re getting top value for your money.

4: Get A Dose Of Vitamin D

There’s a good reason why vitamin D is called “the sunshine vitamin.”When your skin is exposed to sunlight, it makes vitamin D from cholesterol. The sun’s ultraviolet B (UVB) rays hit cholesterol in the skin cells, providing the energy for vitamin D synthesis to occur. Vitamin D has many roles in the body and is essential for optimal health.

For example, it instructs the cells in your gut to absorb calcium and phosphorus — two minerals that are essential for maintaining strong and healthy bones.

On the other hand, low vitamin D levels have been linked to serious health consequences, including Osteoporosis, Cancer, Depression, and Muscle weakness

People living in areas farther away from the equator make less vitamin D in their skin. In these areas, more of the sun’s rays, especially UVB rays, are absorbed by the earth’s ozone layer. So people who live farther away from the equator usually need to spend more time in the sun to produce enough.

What’s more, people who live farther from the equator may not produce any vitamin D from the sun for up to six months a year during the winter months. Vitamin D is made from cholesterol in the skin. That means you need to expose lots of skin to the sunlight to make enough. You read that right. Pack those shorts and tank top and get yourself a ticket to towards the tropical weather!

5: Unforgettable Memories

Can you remember what happened 3 Christmases ago? I can’t… but I can tell you about 80% of what happened the time my family went to a resort for Christmas when I was 15. Our memories are funny like that, we forget the stuff we do that we feel is “routine” but latch on to the out of the ordinary. Want to create some memories that your kids will have with them in their 90’s? Get out of the house and travel for the holidays. The bottom line is that there are many advantages to getting away for the holidays that ultimately let you spend more time enjoying your time off of work, instead of making the whole event more stressful. Cheers to that right?