Too much socializing? A bed & breakfast isn't typically what you'd choose if you're not in the mood for chit-chat on your vacation, since these stays typically involve getting familiar with other guests, at least at the morning meal. But at Honor Mansion in Healdsburg, Calif., pains are taken to give you privacy. Each morning, a basket is delivered outside your door that contains a choice of morning beverage, the newspaper and fresh biscotti. Thus fortified, you can decide whether you feel like eating your breakfast (served in a buffet style) in a dining room with other guests, your room or a nook on the property. Specials that offer one or two free nights are available online.

Too much "same old, same old?" If you want to be in a place that's removed from the typical U.S. city or suburban milieu, there aren't too many places in the country that can beat Santa Fe, N.M., with its adobe architecture, piñon pine-scented air and improbably blue skies. You'll get authentic New Mexico décor and a convenient location at the newly renovated Old Santa Fe Inn. (There are Web discounts available if you book online. Midweek rooms are as low as $89.)

For the holiday, the city is decorated with farolitos, candles in paper bags weighted with sand, although there are modern versions that use electric lights. Stroll around the plaza, duck in and out of galleries on Canyon Road --you may just be tempted to stick around for the famous farolito and art walk on Christmas eve. Either way, get back into the holiday spirit by ordering both red and green chile on your chorizo breakfast burrito at Café Pasqual's. The proper way to do that is to ask for it "Christmas."