I have always loved Christmas. I will even dare to say it is my favorite time of the year, even though it is not our holiday at all. Yes, I know it might not be politically correct to say such a thing (after all, I am Jewish 🤓), but there is something about the atmosphere, the twinkling lights, the scents, the songs, the “ugly sweaters” and of course the wonderfully terrible Christmas movies, that fills me with this warmth and joy. You know what I mean, not the religious context, but the cultural incarnation of this holiday, the style and the magical energies it brings with it.
And more than anything, I love flying abroad for a winter vacation, visiting Christmas markets and feeling like I have stepped into a Hallmark movie.
For the Instagram highlight from the vacation, click here!
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It surely will not surprise you to hear that ever since I became a mom almost 4 and a half years ago, I have had a dream of taking Gugi, my Yasmin, with me on a magical vacation like this. To arrive at a destination that looks like a living fairy tale, to watch her get excited about every little thing, to wander between the decorated stalls. To simply enjoy the magical atmosphere through her eyes. That is magic multiplied.
My last Christmas vacation abroad was exactly two years ago. Yasmin was a little over two years old, so Daniel and I decided to fly to Prague for a romantic couples' vacation and leave her with grandma and grandpa.
It was a magical vacation, and I remember constantly thinking to myself, how much Yasmin would love it here! And every time, Daniel brought me back down to earth and reminded me that she would be in the stroller the whole time (and this was a baby who really did not like the stroller), with a huge coat on, that she would be cold and uncomfortable, and that it was not at all certain she would enjoy it, and as a result, neither would we.
Honestly, he was right.
We do go on plenty of family vacations abroad (we flew with Gugi for the first time when she was just 3 months old, to Greece, and took her on a long vacation of almost 3 weeks all the way to the Maldives!), but those were always relaxed, lounging-style vacations. No FOMO, with a free and easy schedule that is less typical of urban vacations (certainly the ones we did before becoming parents).
So taking a two-and-a-half-year-old on an urban vacation in freezing weather, when most of the time she needs to be in a stroller? A perfect recipe for a disappointing vacation.
But I always knew that when she grew up I would take her on a vacation like this. It was truly a dream of mine.
Two years have passed since then, during which I got pregnant with Ariel and the longest war in Israel's history broke out, and somehow that Christmas vacation in Prague that left me wanting more also turned out to be my last Christmas vacation… until this year 🙂
I did not care how it would happen and I did not know where to, but I knew that this year I was flying, and now that Gugi is already a big girl of 4.5, it was clear to me that this was the perfect timing to make the dream come true.
I suggested to my mom that we do a short girls' trip, and she was thrilled with the idea! And Daniel was fully supportive and stayed home with Ariel (until she grows up a bit and we can take her too).
We debated the destination a little, although it was clear to us we would go for something Eastern European, a destination that loves Israelis, and within a few days we had already booked flights.
And yes, the chosen destination was, once again, Christmas in Prague!
Why?
a) Because it is a picturesque, stunning city
b) There are not a million attractions, and I had already been there, which lowered my FOMO (and on a trip with babies or kids, lowering the pressure is a must)
c) It has magical Christmas markets
d) It feels very safe
And so it happened that I returned to the exact same destination where I had dreamed of experiencing the magic of Christmas with Gugi.
So How Do You Even Prepare for a Winter Christmas Vacation with Kids?
I built up insane hype for Gugi ahead of the trip (including a beautifully designed countdown chart), we booked a central, indulgent hotel, I prepared an organized map with all the attractions I would love for us to get to (even though I knew that in practice we might reach a quarter of them), we arranged airport transfers in advance, and of course we stocked up on quality thermal clothing (from Uniqlo, it was perfect on a whole other level, to the point that we were actually warm! Even though the temperatures hovered around zero).
I am dividing this vacation post into categories so we do not miss a thing:
The Flights
We flew with TUS, a low-cost airline, because the flight times were ideal: departing at ten in the morning and returning at three in the afternoon. That matters when flying with kids, especially on a super short 3-night vacation. The flight is relatively short, about 4 hours (not including delays of course, but ours were relatively minor), and it passed fairly quickly thanks to coloring pages, a well-stocked pencil case, gel window stickers, a game of Dobble and of course, an iPad loaded in advance with games and Netflix.
The whole experience at Prague airport was excellent, both on the way there and on the way back, because I came with a stroller and we were given priority in all the lines (and there were lines…).
The Local Currency
The currency in Prague is the Czech koruna, not the euro, and in general you can exchange money both at home and at exchange offices at the destination. After a bit of research I realized the most worthwhile route is to exchange to euros at home and convert to koruna at an exchange office in Prague called alfa change, located right outside the Palladium mall, to the left of the entrance. There are no small-print tricks or crazy fees there, just an excellent exchange rate and fair treatment with no headache. But honestly, even though I arrived with quite a few euros, in the end I discovered that the most convenient thing, certainly when flying with kids and having no energy to deal with cash, is to exchange a small amount of cash and simply pay by card for most purchases. I used Passport Pay, a card you receive when you take out travel insurance with PassportCard, and simply paid with no conversion fees. Zero effort, zero mess, 100% convenience.
Note that prices in the city center (and especially in the touristy center) of Prague are really not as cheap as you might imagine an Eastern European destination to be.
The Chosen Hotel
We chose the KINGS COURT hotel, mainly because it looked beautiful in the photos, I saw loads of recommendations for it, and it is super central and close to the city's main Christmas market. I admit that when we walked into the hotel lobby I was a bit shocked and disappointed. I felt as if I had entered the lobby of a 3-star hotel and not a hotel of the level I expected. Design matters a lot to me personally, and I am used to highly rated 5-star hotels (9.4 on Booking) meeting a certain standard, so I was a little bummed. Luckily, when we went up to the room I calmed down…. The design went up a level from the moment we stepped into the elevator, and the room was beautiful, clean and of a very, very high standard: the bed was huge and especially comfortable (including a pillow menu!), everything was electric (including opening and closing the curtains), and the bathroom was spacious, stocked with L'Occitane toiletries and dreamy towels.
The breakfast at the hotel is w o w, at a very high level!! (And anyone who knows me knows how critical I am about this…) A huge, indulgent buffet with everything you can think of, an electric fresh-squeezed orange juice machine, and excellent service even though it was busy.
The hotel also has an indoor pool that I did not get to check out up close, excellent for a slightly longer winter vacation for anyone who loves being pampered.
In short, a really excellent hotel, and great value for money too! Here is a link to book the KINGS COURT hotel
It is important for me to mention that there are a lot of Israelis at the hotel (and in Prague in general). I can say that compared to the hotel I stayed at on my previous vacation, Andaz Prague, where I did not hear Hebrew at all, at this hotel I would say 75% of the guests were Israeli.
Getting Around Prague
I arranged the transfer from the airport to the hotel through a provider that was recommended to me, but he arrived without a booster seat even though I had stressed how important it was. On the way back we booked a transfer through the hotel and it was excellent and very service-oriented, albeit more expensive, but completely worth the price.
From a tourist's perspective Prague is quite small, and normally you can happily walk almost anywhere you want. There is of course also an excellent option to take a hop on hop off bus tour of the city, which suits anyone who wants to see as many attractions as possible in a short time without spending a fortune on taxis. But this time I flew with my mom and Gugi, so we also combined rides in taxis and BOLT (which was, of course, significantly cheaper).
This was Gugi's first-ever urban vacation, so I was a bit worried she would get tired of walking, which is why I flew with a lightweight stroller, and I was sure I would use it for most of the trip. What actually happened is that on the first evening we walked around with it and it was simply bad. Prague is paved with small cobblestones, there are tram tracks without pedestrian crossings, and especially during the Christmas season there are a lot of electric-cable “bumps” on the street floors, which turned getting around with a stroller into a nightmare.
Add to that the fact that the Christmas markets in the evening hours can be very crowded, and getting around with a stroller is cumbersome and frustrating.
I can say from my own experience and my personal opinion only: if there were no choice but to take a stroller, I would give up this trip entirely.
Luckily I learned the hard way that a stroller was not an option right at the start of the trip. I decided to leave it in the room until the flight home, and Gugi was amazing and walked something like ten thousand steps every day like a champion!!!
Christmas Markets in Prague
Prague has quite a few Christmas markets (I pinned on my map the ones that received the most recommendations), and they are so magical and well organized. Most of the time we were at the city's main market, located near the famous Astronomical Clock, mainly because it was the closest to our hotel. It has a huge, beautifully decorated tree, a stage with performances, plenty of food and drink stalls as well as ones selling Christmas decorations and things for the home. Near the main market you can also hop on horse-drawn carriages and take a short tour of the area.
Keep in mind that the more central the market and the more touristy its location, the higher the prices (of everything, food and drinks as well as other goods). On the map you can see a more distant market that we did not manage to get to, but from what I read it is more local and less touristy, with prices to match.
Winter Attractions in Prague
This was my second time in Prague, so I was mainly interested in one thing: spending time at the Christmas markets. I am not exaggerating when I say I could have spent the whole day there, morning to night. But there are plenty more beautiful things to see in the city, and you will find them all on the map I prepared.
But because I flew with Gugi and wanted to create a dream trip for her, I also focused on things I knew she would be especially excited about: ice skating, a giant toy store with video games, walking down the narrowest street, which has a traffic light at its entrance, a visit to a gingerbread cookie shop and a horse-drawn carriage tour.
In any case, there are plenty of really cool attractions for a short vacation in Prague, and if you plan to visit them it is always worth booking tickets in advance at the best prices through this site.
Food and Restaurants in Prague
Our vacation was very short, and given that we ate a huge breakfast at the hotel and also ate quite a bit at the Christmas markets, we did not manage to sit down at many restaurants. But from what we did manage, the food in Prague was excellent! We ate at an amazing steakhouse, a small pho soup place, an excellent Asian restaurant and also at the hotel's Italian restaurant, which served excellent Neapolitan pizza. I saved all the restaurants that looked really promising on my map of Prague.
Shopping in Prague
I have to confess: I do not enjoy shopping. So this part was very marginal in our vacation. In my opinion it is also not such a great fit for a vacation with small kids. Plus we arrived a few days after Black Friday and before the huge Christmas and end-of-year sales, so I had no incentive to make an effort haha
But, of course, Prague is an excellent destination for lovers of the genre 🙂 There is the huge, central Palladium mall with stores of all the famous chains (including Sephora, of course), and streets with luxury boutiques and big chains like Zara, COS, H&M and so on…
If you are flying with kids, do not miss the giant toy store, The Playground. You can find it too on my Prague map.
So How Do You Sum Up a Vacation That Is Nothing Short of a Dream Come True?
As Robin Sharma says: “Change is hard at first, Messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end.”
Yes, it was a different kind of Christmas vacation (like every vacation with kids), and the beginning was hard (to the point that a few tears rolled down my cheeks on the first evening, I will share more about that in a story), but the moment I let go of what I thought we “should” be doing and of expectations that created unnecessary pressure, I simply experienced one of the most amazing trips of my life! The destination was perfect, the weather was excellent, and at the end of the day I created memories with Gugi and my mom that will stay with us for life, and that is worth everything! I was so excited to experience all of these things together with my Gugi for the first time, and I truly feel it created the most perfect bonding between us!
I already want to do it again next year 🙂
