Get Festive With Four Seasons

Where will you plan your holidays this year? Four Seasons offers numerous ways to celebrate the season.

Oct 5, 2011

By: Susan E. Stegemann

Festive Palm Tree

Breakfast with Santa at Four Seasons Hotel Dublin

Scottsdale cactus with lights

Mom and child building a snowman Jackson Hole

Gingerbread house

Santa on Jet Ski in Bora Bora

Girl with Christmas present in Boston

Haute Chocolate, Four Seasons Hotel Chicago

Snowflake Cookies

Palo Alto holiday decorations

Fireworks over Sydney Harbor Bridge, Australia

1/11

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Traditions may vary, but time with family remains special during the holidays. Bring your loved ones together in Four Seasons style at more than 80 hotels and resorts around the world. This year you might choose to time your visit to Four Seasons Resort Nevis, West Indies, to see Santa make a special delivery for the sea turtles there. Or pick Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, México, where a number of festive events and activities will centre around a “Studio 54” theme. Four Seasons Resorts in Nevis, Punta Mita and Costa Rica each offer numerous festive activities this year. You can also explore Hawaiian traditions at Four Seasons Resort Lana‘i at Manele Bay. The range of activities spans every imagination.

Photography Anne Rippy/Alamy

2/11

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Breakfast with Santa is a treat for young and old alike at Four Seasons Hotel Dublin. Early on December 5, children will gather in the Ballroom for stories, face painting and cookie making, before Santa Claus arrives to greet them. The Hotel keeps the holiday cheer flowing December 17–24 with a special mulled wine station served in the lobby from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Guests can warm up with an egg nog martini, yuletide coffee or, of course, warming mulled wine.

Photography courtesy Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

3/11

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In December at Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North, the stately saguaro cacti that dot the Resort's desert landscape are (carefully!) adorned with sparkling white lights. The saguaros grow only in the Sonoran Desert, and the majestic plants, which can live to be hundreds of years old, embody the desolate grandeur of their surroundings.

Photography courtesy Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

4/11

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Family time is quality time at Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole. For two weeks in December, the Resort offers a comprehensive calendar of daily activities with the holidays in mind. Yes, snowman making is on the list.

Photography Veer

5/11

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There’s one sweet gingerbread surprise awaiting at a number of Four Seasons destinations. The elaborate gingerbread display at Four Seasons Hotel Seattle may be an annual tradition, but there’s always something unique to see, and this year will feature the popular canine Larry, from the Larry Gets Lost book series. You can also look for Four Seasons Hotel Austin’s gingerbread village in the lobby beginning November 22. And Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas will reveal its whimsical winter wonderland of gingerbread and chocolate on November 24. The Vegas village, on display through Christmas Day, will feature 20 gingerbread structures, including a life-size working carousel.

Photography courtesy Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

6/11

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Christmas day at Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora, Santa puts away the sleigh and arrives by Jet Ski. After greeting guests, posing for photos and giving goodies to children, Santa continues touring around the Resort on his watercraft, bestowing holiday cheer to guests in their over-water bungalows.

Photography courtesy Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

7/11

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Four Seasons Hotel Boston invites families to join in the spirit of giving over Teddy Bear Tea at The Bristol Lounge restaurant, held afternoons daily December 1–23. Throughout the month, Four Seasons delivers hundreds of teddy bears to children in need through local non-profit organisations and hospitals. Families attending Teddy Bear Tea are invited to place donated teddy bears under the special Teddy Bear Tree. Children under 10 can also enter a “giving back” contest. Story time begins at 4:00 pm, featuring celebrity storytellers. Hot chocolate and teddy bear–themed treats are also served.

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From November 25 through December 30 at Seasons Lounge at Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, you can enjoy such seasonal beverages as Frosty the Snowtini, Ebenezer’s Egg Nog or a decadent Haute Chocolate. Prepared tableside with homemade chocolate marshmallows, a server pours the cocoa over a large cup topped with chocolate lattice, melting the chocolate treat into the cup. (For those who like it slightly less rich, cream is served on the side.) Enjoy complimentary roasted chestnuts by the fireplace from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

Photography courtesy Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

9/11

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Children ages 5 to 12 can bake holiday cookies with the pastry chef at The Ritz-Carlton Chicago, a Four Seasons Hotel. Parents can relax with tea while their kids participate in the cookie-making session. Deca Restaurant + Bar also celebrates the holidays with festive cocktails and menus, including limited-time cocktails, such as the Deca the Halls Martini or Candy Cane Cocoa.

Photography Jupiterimages

10/11

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Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley at East Palo Alto hosts its annual tree-lighting ceremony on November 28, this year at 5:00 pm. Afterward, a special family supper menu for dining reservations through 7:00 pm will be offered at Quattro Restaurant.

Photography courtesy Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

11/11

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Plan to be among the first Four Seasons guests to ring in the New Year at Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, featuring an unspoiled view of Sydney Harbour and the city’s internationally renowned fireworks display. Guests who celebrate the New Year at the Hotel will receive a celebratory bottle of Australian sparkling wine, specially gift-wrapped and delivered to each room, while Signature Suite guests will be treated to a lavish selection of gourmet canapés and Champagne to welcome in 2012.

Photography Jupiterimages

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In the northern hemisphere, summer has ended, autumn is unfolding, and visible and audible reminders of the approaching holiday season begin to adorn our day-to-day. If you plan to travel this festive season, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts worldwide present a number of ways to help you and your family celebrate. Here, some inspiration to be jolly about.

You can also give the gift of quality time this holiday season in the form of a Four Seasons Gift Card. Choose from eGift Cards for quick e-mail delivery or standard Gift Cards, delivered in textured folio or gift box. Then let your loved one choose how they wish to use it.

Callie Young contributed to this article.

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