Our Fantasy Holidays

The holiday season is a magical time: twinkling lights, flickering candles, our hearts full of joy. But it can also be one of the most stressful times of the year: cash runs short, shopping lines run long, patience runs thin. So this year, we at the Rockville 8 decided to give ourselves a mini-holiday from The Holidays.

Letting our imaginations run wild, we asked ourselves, if money were no object, if distance were not a factor and if family obligations were magically suspended, how would we spend the holiday? Where would we go, what would we do, and who would we do it with?  We hope our fantasies give you a break from the holiday stress. Feel free to share your own holiday fantasies with us in the comments!

Nichole Christoff

Where: A deluxe cabin in the Adirondacks

What: Is there anything more dreamy than an old-fashioned Christmas like the kind Mel Torme or Bing Crosby sang about? I'd love my own personal blanket of white, Jack Frost, and chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Snowshoeing in an evergreen forest by day, hot toddies at night, and heaps of handmade quilts on an antique bedstead in a luxury log cabin? Ahhh! That's the holiday for me!

Who: Book boyfriends are a-okay, but when it comes to my dream holiday, I'd want Mr. Christoff snuggled up in front of that fireplace with me.

Misha Crews

Where: Santa Fe, New Mexico. In the past few years I've developed a fascination with the American Southwest, even going so far as to set one of my novels there. Something about the confluence of cultures, combined with the vast landscape, which in pictures manages to be both austere and lush, captures the heart and inflames the imagination.

Photo credit: Christmas Pics for All

What: I would take Barbara Harrelson's Literary Walking Tour of Santa Fe, and spend hours wandering, listening to stories, and reveling in the spectacular greatness of storytellers, authors and literature. Then I'd spend Christmas Eve Santa Fe Plaza, admiring the hundreds of farolitas (votive candles in paper bags full of sand), drinking cider and singing carols.

Who: This took some thinking over! And with all due respect to my real-life husband, I think I would most like to take Mike Hanlon, the fictional character from Stephen King's It. This may seem like an unusual choice (not to mention that the fellow doesn't actually exist, except in imagination), but as a librarian, Mike would appreciate the finer points of the tour. He also has a sense of humor and an appreciation for history. Plus, if we were confronted by ancient evil, he would know how to defeat it. And after everything he went through in Derry, Maine, the guy could really use some time away!

Mackenzie Lucas

Where: El Camino de Santiago in Spain.

What: I've always wanted to do a pilgrimage. This is the Way of St. James, one of the apostles, and a favorite pilgrimage of Christians since the Middle Ages. After watching Martin Sheehan in The Way and Reese Witherspoon in Wild, I've desparately wanted to experience this kind of pilgrimage walk to see who I meet along the way and who I find deep down inside myself when challeneged mentally, physically, and spiritually to this degree.

Who: I don't think I'd take anyone in particular, but I'd be interested to meet other seekers along the way and learn their stories. It would be a fascinating journey.

Lisa McQuay

Where: Perhaps it’s the influence of Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” but nothing says Christmas to me like England. Specifically, I’d love to be whisked away to Bath, England. I remember being fascinated the first time I read about Bath in a novel where the Regency heroine spoke of “taking the waters” there.

Picture from http://www.bathchristmasmarket.co.uk

What: I’d love to visit the Christmas Market in Bath. Tiny chalets are interspersed between the Roman Baths and Bath Abbey. Shoppers wander through the chalets, purchasing gifts, drinking mulled wine and eating mince pies. I’d also love to see the Christmas Carol service at the Bath Abbey. Of course, then I’d tour the city itself. After a full schedule of shopping, eating, touring, and caroling, I’d make a trip to the thermal spa to relax and wash off the dust of the day.

Who: My husband. I know that may sound boring but I’d only want him there with me. If he’s there through the tough times then, of course, he’s there for the fantasy trip.

Keely Thrall

Where: A Dude Ranch in The West

What: Riding dudes. No, wait! Riding horses. Yeah, riding horses. It’s not so much that I’m a fan of cowboys (although, come on, it’s not hard to see why a lady might linger over a pair of well-worn Levi’s). I’m not horse mad either. But ever since I first read the words “Big Sky Country,” I’ve felt a deep tug of longing to spend some time in Wyoming or Montana. The scale of the world is different there, in my imagination, the pace more relaxed, perhaps, and a little friendlier. What a perfect place to gather with family and friends for a little unplugged down time (as long as there’s hot water and indoor plumbing. Big sky, yes. Cold showers, heck no.).

Who: Lately, I’ve been falling in love with the Winchester brothers. I’m up to season 7 of Supernatural and I just can’t get enough of their emo vibe, even when I want to slap them upside the head when they act like doofuses (or possibly the writers’ heads when the plot goes awry). In Frontierland (Season 6, episode 18), Sam and Dean travel back in time to the Old West. Sam looks pretty hot. Dean wears a blanket. Snort. Regardless of Dean’s wardrobe fail, I think I’d take the brothers with me. Because if my holiday is ever invaded by monsters, these boys know a thing or two about saving the day.