It’s a chance to enjoy the holidays without shoveling snow, and instead, relaxing while lying on a tropical beach. There’s so much to enjoy on this Caribbean island nation, dotted with rainforests, mountains, and white sand beaches, while listening to local reggae beats and chowing down on fresh seafood.

A traditional Jamaican Christmas is a festive mixture of unique Jamaican traditions and your typical Christmas traditions.

How do they celebrate Christmas in Jamaica?

Jamaica is a wonderful vacation spot to celebrate Christmas. A Christmas celebration in Jamaica looks a lot like Christmas in North America, with Santa Claus, presents, Christmas trees, and Christmas carols galore minus the snow and cold we get up north here.

During Christmas, radio stations play Christmas carols, people hang decorations, and there’s a festive mood that descends on the island.

For many Jamaicans, Christmas is a time to be spent with family and friends. Like a lot of other countries, radio stations play carols all through the Christmas period and you’ll often hear Christmas music while shopping or while out and about around the island.

Many Jamaicans paint their houses for the holidays and hang new curtains and decorations for Christmas. Most families spend Christmas Day at home with friends and family members.

Is Christmas a good time to visit Jamaica?

If you don’t mind crowds, Christmas is a great time to visit Jamaica. The weather is good, hotels and restaurants are open and ready for business, and there are plenty of Christmas celebrations to enjoy.

When are the Jamaica Christmas holidays?

In Jamaica, you can often see signs of Christmas as early as November, when stores begin decorating, and stocking Christmas wares.

Christmas Eve in Jamaica is celebrated on December 24th. It’s a day when Jamaicans traditionally visit the Gran Market, and when Santa Claus visits.

Christmas Day is the main day for family celebrations and big Christmas meals. Though Christmas Day is a public holiday across the nation, most restaurants stay open.

Like Britons and Canadians, Jamaicans traditionally observe Boxing Day on December 26th. Like Christmas itself, it’s also a public holiday.

What’s the weather like in Jamaica for Christmas?

Christmas coincides with what most people consider to be Jamaica’s best weather.

Daytime temperatures run around 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius). Winds are generally calm, and the water is warm.

Christmas dinner in Jamaica

During Christmas, family and friends gather for what are often elaborate Christmas meals.

The Christmas dinner menu varies between houses, but traditional meals include mains of roast beef, curried goat, Christmas ham glazed with honey and pineapple, stewed park, chicken, or fried fish. Side dishes include rice and gungo peas, and fresh salads.

Christmas drinks

Jamaican Christmas food doesn’t stop at the main Christmas day meal.

The most popular Christmas drinks include rum punch, eggnog, and sorrel.

Sorrel is probably the most popular Christmas drink. It’s often called Roselle, Sudanese tea, or Red tea. Sorrel is made from the Jamaican sorrel plant, a member of the hibiscus family. It’s made by pouring boiling water over the fresh sorrel and accentuated with grated ginger, pimento, and cloves. It’s then steeped for several hours, and mixed with sugar, rum or wine. It’s served cold, typically over ice.

Eggnog in Jamaica is served warm, mostly at breakfast on Christmas day. Adults sometimes add brandy or rum.

Christmas breakfast in Jamaica

Christmas breakfast in Jamaica is traditionally served with eggnog. Ackee and saltfish, made with salt cod, and served with roasted or fried breadfruit, is popular for Christmas breakfast. Sweet potato, banana, and boiled yam are also common.

Christmas cake in Jamaica

Jamaican Christmas cake and Christmas pudding are popular in the country. Christmas cake is made with cherries, prunes, raisins and almonds. It’s common for the whole family to spend an entire day baking for Christmas, and cakes are often given as gifts.

Jamaican Christmas traditions

Christmas Jamaican style looks familiar to Europeans and North Americans, with some unique Jamaican twists. There are Christmas trees and caroling, but Jamaica also has unique traditions like Jonkunnu.

Jonkunnu is one of Jamaica’s oldest traditions, dating back to at least the 1700s. It’s a unique Jamaican experience that blends African masked dances and British fold plays.

Visiting Gran Market is a tradition for many Jamaicans. Gran Market is less a place than a type of market that’s held across towns and cities of the island. It’s a large market that’s usually set up on crowded streets that are closed to cars, and accompanied by dancing and music for shoppers.

For many Jamaicans, Christmas is a time for church services, regardless of denomination. You can find midnight masses on Christmas Eve at Roman Catholic and Anglican churches.

Though Christmas caroling seems to be waning in the US and Canada, it’s going strong in Jamaica. Church and community groups gather and walk through mostly rural neighborhoods early in the morning in the days before Christmas Eve.

In larger towns across the island, Christmas tree lighting events are a tradition, often accompanied by fireworks, Christmas carols, gift giving, and speeches by local government officials.

Sharing gifts is a big part of Christmas in Jamaica. Families exchange gifts, co-workers exchange presents, and Christmas treats are given to those in state-run institutions, and vulnerable community groups.

Does Jamaica have Santa Claus?

Yes, Santa Claus visits Jamaica. In Jamaica, Santa is better known as Father Christmas or Kris Kringle. Santa leaves gifts for the kids under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.

Jamaica Christmas music

Jamaican Christmas songs run the gamut of traditional carols to reggae to pop tunes. You’ll find songs like Mek Di Chrismus ketch yu in a good mood by Home T., Christmas Behind Bars by Gregory Isaacs, and Santa Claus (Do You Ever Come to the Ghetto) by Carlene Davis.

Christmas Carols

Jamaicans sing a mixture of traditional Christmas carols like Silver Bells, Little Drummer Boy, and unique carols. Popular Jamaican Christmas carols include Breadfruit Roasting on an Open Fire (by Yellowman), Irie Christmas (by Fab Five), and Warm Jamaican Christmas (by Wayne Wonder and Baby Cham).

Fun Facts about Christmas in Jamaica

There’s so much to see and do in Jamaica, especially during the holidays.

Want more bang for your buck while you visit Jamaica? See our holiday travel tips and hacks.

How do you say Merry Christmas in Jamaican?

In Jamaica, the official language is English, but many Jamaicans speak Jamaican Patois.

Merry Christmas in Jamaica is said pretty much the same as in North America. Jamaicans say Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays.

Jamaican Patois is an English based creole language spoken in Jamaica. In Jamaican Patois, it’s Merri Crissmuss.

What is Christmas called in Jamaica?

Christmas in Jamaica is called Christmas, but you’ll also occasionally hear Xmas or Happy Holidays as well.

Christmas in Jamaica song

Toni Braxton (feat Shaggy) sings the Christmas in Jamaica song. They lyrics start:

We'll be having fun
Under the golden sun
Christmas in Jamaica here we come
We'll just sail on, just sail

Christmas in Jamaica movie

If you’re looking for a movie featuring Christmas in Jamaica, the pickings are fairly slim.

The movie Romance at Reindeer Lodge, starring Nicky Whelan and Josh Kelly, aired on the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel. It rates a 6.4/10 on IMDB.

Looking for more travel tips and inspiration? Read our articles on:

• How To Find The Cheapest Flights To Anywhere
• 31 Top Family Travel Tips
• How to Save Money While Traveling

Are you planning to celebrate the holidays this year with a Christmas vacation package to Jamaica?

We’re probably not that different than your average nomadic traveler however, since Micki and I have gotten together, we’ve started a few quirky Christmas traditions that have become “the norm” for us.

Some are a little odd, a few are traditional, but the most important part of any holiday is being together with our kids.

So when we were approached to work with the TYLENOL® What Matters Most campaign, which looks at how modern families celebrate what matters most during the holidays, we were intrigued by what other people defined as traditional. We then decided to look at our Christmas traditions and how they came about.

Hope you enjoy!

A not so Christmas tree

The first time I can remember not being home for Christmas was when I was eight. My parents decided that we were going on a three week road trip to California for the Christmas holidays. Strangely, I can remember more from that trip than I can some of the last places I’ve been to. Maybe it was the novelty of it all that stuck with me.

Being from central Canada, not freezing my arse or having snow on the ground was an obvious difference. The second was that we didn’t have our home with a Christmas tree and all the decorations around. That year, Christmas found us hidden away in a little hotel somewhere in Nevada.

Instead of having friends and family over that year for our typical huge Christmas Eve celebration, we went swimming in a heated outdoor swimming pool and then sat back to watch a Christmas movie on a little tube TV. This old TV was also our Christmas tree that year since it was precariously perched on this cute little stand. I can remember waking up and seeing five little gifts all tucked under the legs and thinking that this was going to be a Christmas to remember.

It was and from then on out, Christmas has always included a tree, or whatever we have on hand that will do in a pinch. This has included everything from a coat rack to our kids favorite, peacock feathers in an oversized vase from a few years ago while we were in Mexico for the holidays.

We’ve found that it doesn’t matter what we use, it’s the spirit in which you use it that counts. Of course, singing O’ Christmas Tree to a coat rack just isn’t the same no matter how much spiced eggnog you’ve had.

Turkey or roast? Nah, it’s Christmas Enchilada time

Tradition dictates that the Christmas meal has to be special. Growing up, that either meant a turkey or roast and all the trimmings. I’m not going to lie, there’s not much I love more than roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy, however being married to a vegetarian means that it’s not going to happen often. Especially when you’re on the road with limited facilities.

Our Christmas enchilada tradition started back in 2003 during our first Christmas on the road together. We were in a cute little cabin by Lake Taupo on the north island of New Zealand that year and wanted to make something special. We had already been away from Canada for 10 months and were craving something unusual. We both love Mexican food so, Micki whipped up a huge batch of enchiladas and voila, a new tradition was born.

It’s been such a hit with us that one year we even convinced Micki’s family to eat Mexican food for the big Christmas meal and everyone enjoyed it.

It also helps that the kids love Mexican food even more than we do so everyone wins and, being the only meat eater, I’m not stuck eating leftovers for two weeks solid.

Stockings hung by the chimney with care! (Let’s just make sure they’re washed first)

I know it’s a little cliché, but in both our families, every year stockings are hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St Nicholas soon will be there.

It was a huge tradition for both of us, and so we continue the tradition wherever we happen to be. The biggest difference is that back home we have dedicated, oversized stockings that are perfect for cramming in various small presents.

On the road, they aren’t practical to carry, however we always have at least one pair or regular socks with us so every year they get strung up on a wall waiting for Santa to appear.

Amazingly, he finds us no matter where in the world we happen to be!

A piñata, sure, why not

A piñata might seem a little odd for non-Spanish people to pick up every year, however since we have spent three Christmases in Mexico with the kids over the years, I guess it’s not that odd.

Here or there, it’s a great tradition and the kids look forward to it every year.

But even pinatas can be a little lost in  translation. Unknown to us, the first piñata we bought in Mexico years ago wasn’t pre-filled with candy, so when a young Cole finally managed to crack it open, the little guy was devastated that it was hollow. I had to make a late night Christmas Eve run to the local store to pick up some treats to make it up to him. Needless to say, we’re a little more careful when we chose one now.

Christmas traditions with a twist

So there you go, there are our take on four classic Christmas Traditions that have been nomadicized (our word; you won’t find in in the Merriam-Webster) for our family. Not exactly the classic Norman Rockwell portrait everyone associates with Christmas traditions, but not so different either.

For us, the most important thing is that we’re together, whether that be sitting at a table eating enchiladas or huddled around a vase of peacock feathers opening presents. There’s no better place to be for the holidays than with your loved ones.

So, our story really isn’t that different from the ones in this For What Matters Most video by TYLENOL. Our families may be different, and we may all celebrate in different ways, but all of us hold family itself dearest to our hearts.

If you’d like to learn more, visit the TYLENOL® What Matters Most campaign, or spread the word on Pinterest.

This is a sponsored post. We have received information and materials from McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc., the makers of TYLENOL®. All the opinions are our own. That said, they never asked us to mention dirty socks or peacock feathers. That’s all us. Happy Holidays!

There are good things about being with family and friends, like delicious holiday fare, going to fun get-togethers and having the kids play with their cousins, but we also love being away from all the chaotic holiday insanity, like excessive shopping, constant festive preparations and the feeling of having to keep up with the Jones’. We would much rather stay at a nice resort in Vegas with our grown up friends for a few nights.

To be perfectly honest, we’re not exactly fans of winter and having to celebrate the holidays in freezing temperatures means we’re absent more often than not. If Christmas was in the middle of summer, like in the southern half of the world, it might be a different story, but as Canadians can attest to, it can get quite cold in December and January.

That all said, traveling over the holidays has some real drawbacks. This post might make you think twice about booking your dream vacation during this period next year. If you have the option, leaving a week or two before or after the holidays makes so much more sense.

In no particular order, here are nine reasons you shouldn’t travel over the holidays:

Traveling over the holidays is expensive (bring your wallet)

It’s no secret that traveling over the holidays is more expensive. With kids off school, a few extra paid days off from work, temperatures plummeting in most northern cities and the desire to get away from all the chaos back home, it makes perfect sense to schedule it then.

The problem is that this applies to almost everyone around the globe around Christmas and places get overbooked. It’s a simple equation of supply and demand, with demand far outpacing availability. Hotels, car rental agencies, planes, trains and even buses jack up their regular price since it’s not a question of whether people will come, but rather how much money are they willing to dish out.

While looking into accommodation this year in Mexico we saw prices rise fourfold for some places for Christmas week. The same thing happened with car rentals. Most people need to factor this major extra cost in when they do their calculations. Those two extra paid work days probably won’t even cover the additional expense of airfare and hotel at this time of year making them no more valid than taking two unpaid work days any other time of the year.

Surprise, businesses close for the holidays!

Just like you, shop owners and business people want to enjoy the holidays and spend time with their loved ones. This means that there will be far fewer shops, tours, rental agencies, running buses and taxis over the holidays. During Christmas and New Year’s day a lot of countries simply close up shop. This means that at least two out of the seven days of Christmas week, entire cities could look like a ghost town.

You might be on holiday, craving excitement and adventure, but that doesn’t mean the world is waiting on you with baited breath. Couple that in with more than the usual amount of tourists about and things can start to get crazy.

When we were Thailand over the holidays one year it happened that our visas were about to expire. We got stuck in a small town for three days when transportation literally stopped for the holidays. Luckily, we didn’t get questioned when we crossed the border and they didn’t notice our visas were overdue, otherwise that would have been a nice fine.

Hiking up the prices and lowering your options

This is similar to the first point, but this is about the little things that nickel and dime you to death. Over the course of Christmas week small things can definitely start to add up.

One of the most visible ways restaurants hike prices is by only offering set meals around the holidays. Sure, this can be a great deal if you were already going to order a seven course steak and lobster meal, a bottle of wine, the most expensive dessert and a bottle of champagne each, but if your stomach (or wallet) isn’t ready to take that you’re out of luck. That’s all they’re offering and if you want to eat at all that’s all they have.

We’ve seen it advertised as a holiday tax, a holiday gratuity, a holiday special and one place even called it a Christmas Bonus (I guess we were paying for the staff’s yearly bonus). It’s a lot easier and less labor intensive for a restaurant to have everyone eating the same thing. Holiday fare is definitely limited around this time and those that don’t force everyone to eat their specials usually include extras that cost you if you partake or not.

Reduced business hours for everybody!

We know a lot of places are closed certain days over the holidays, but every year we always get blindsided by reduced business hours. These are generally never mentioned when you sign up for the rare tour on a holiday day or head to an attraction. You show up, you drop full fare (and sometimes even an increased holiday fare) and start to enjoy yourself thinking that this is the best Christmas ever. Several minutes or hours into it and you’re suddenly being shuttled to the door.

Sure, the place is normally open until 5 pm, but because the staff (understandably) want to spend some holiday time with their kids they close early that day. Being told you that you should understand because it’s the holidays and to come back the next day (and pay full price again) doesn’t lessen the pain. Of course, since it’s the holidays and you don’t want to look like a jerk, you smile, pretend to understand and then go on your way trying to figure out how kill a few hours before your overpriced set meal is ready.

Wow, where did all these people come from?

That’s exactly what I say whenever I witness the holiday masses. It’s especially hard because we’re usually at our destination well before the holiday crowd shows up. It seems that between the 22nd and 24th the population in any tourist town almost doubles in size. People arrive by the plane, bus and boatload. It’s almost scary to see and tends to make me want to go hide. Little out of the way areas quickly become hot spots and finding your own place away from the crowds becomes almost impossible.

The holiday influx have as much right to be there as we do, but sharing everything that you thought of as your special place only days before gets hard to take. If you love crowds, waiting in line for everything, getting the worst service and being crammed in like sardines then by all means, take your vacation over the holidays. Everyone else is doing it!

So sorry, it’s a holiday, maybe tomorrow…

It’s ridiculous how often we’ve heard that phrase over the years. It’s especially bad over the holidays because, well, people take time off. Weirdly, we’ve had major plumbing issues twice over Christmas during our travels. Once our hot water tank exploded and once a water pump seized. Both on or around Christmas. Hard to enjoy the day when you can’t take a shower or flush the toilet.

This doesn’t only apply to people in homes or condos, this can also apply to those staying in hotels or renting a car. Water, electricity and gas can stop anytime. Parts can break any day of the year. Servicing can be required regardless of the holidays. Repair parts and centers can be closed, technicians can be absent. If they happen around the holidays they could easily ruin a few days. We always make the most of it and make sure those days are always free but we have the gift of time. If we were only here for a week and spent two of those seven days waiting for the car part or water hose to be replaced we would be mighty upset.

Bring it, buy it there or ignore it altogether?

Those are your options for gift giving on the move over the holidays. Sure, you spent a fortune buying overpriced plane tickets, staying in an overpriced hotel and continually paying for overpriced meals and drinks, but all your kids care about is what Santa is going to bring them.

With airlines charging a small fortune for every piece of luggage, do you really want to drag their dream present with you? Is that new bike really going to fit in the overhead compartment? Maybe you downsize this year and pick up a few things locally. Are you ready to gamble that they’ll have what little Jimmy or Jane have their heart set on this year? Will the price of it be double what it is back home?

Those were all questions we asked ourselves this year. Having already been to this area before we knew better what to expect. A few years ago we bought a few small trinkets here for the kids and they were all broken a week after Christmas. This year we decided to buy a few small, higher quality toys back in Canada and bring them with us. Since weight is a definite issue with our long timelines, we kept them small and knew exactly how much space they would take in our luggage going forward. Our kids understood this months in advance. Yours might not.

What are all these locals doing here?

As well as the hordes of holidayers sharing your space, this time of the year you also have to factor in the locals. Like you, they’re off for the holidays and enjoying their time checking out the local scene with their kids and families. Unlike you, they speak the language, have a friend in the business and are getting in everywhere a lot cheaper than you are because they either don’t pay the tourist prices or know their way around the system.

They’ll make their own line, take the best spots and infuriatingly know that the place is closing earlier because they had the good sense to ask about it. They’re generally in a much better mood than the tourist because they know the lay of the land and aren’t at the mercy of those that are willing to forgo their holidays in the hope of making enough cash in this one week to fund their lifestyle for the rest of the year. They add another layer (though generally a fun one) to the already crowded season.

Unforeseen events happen more frequently over the holidays…

Perhaps it’s the extra chaos that marks the holidays or maybe it’s the result of too much going on in one time of space, but the likelihood of something going amiss always seems to intensify around Christmas. Hotel losing your hotel reservation, check. Car rental not having your car available for two days, check. Things spontaneously breaking Christmas Day, check. Buses inexplicably not running, check. Taxis almost non existent, check. Food stores all shut down, check. Restaurants suddenly requiring reservations, check. Prices quadrupling, check. Tourist sites suddenly shutting down half an hour into your visit, check and double check.

It seems over the years we’ve seen it all. If you asked me if you should postpone your trip for a few weeks rather than travel Christmas week I would yell a loud Hell Yeah!

However, the reality is that most people know this all going into it. Does it beat being a slave to Christmas tradition back home with crazy shopping, mad preparations, ridiculous weather, long visits with family and friends, yuletide cheer, Christmas morning unwrapping presents under a real Christmas tree and everything else that goes along with it? Well, the jury is still out with that one.

What I do know is that almost anything beats being stuck in cold weather and snow. For now, that’s reason enough for us to continue our journey and who knows where we’ll be next Christmas holiday season!

Happy New Year all you barefoot nomads out there!

If you have an amusing Christmas travel anecdote we’d love to hear about it below. Good, bad or simply absurd it doesn’t matter. It’s the sharing that counts!

This year’s Barefoot Nomad Christmas Gift Guide has great presents for every type of traveler on your list – from tech lovers, to adventure lovers, to the security conscious.

We personally use and can recommend every item on this list.

Gifts for the tech lover

If your traveling tech lover doesn’t have a tablet, this is a must have item. We carry both a 32GB iPad and a Blackberry Playbook 7-Inch Tablet (32GB). We all love the iPad’s ease of use and have been using it constantly for the past few years for surfing, checking emails, Skyping friends and family back home, letting the kids draw and playing games. The Blackberry Playbook is a new addition, purchased mainly because of the low cost. That said, we love that it’s smaller than the iPad, has a nice screen and works great as an e-reader and for watching movies. The lack of apps may put off some but the fact it can run Flash and can be sideloaded with many of the Android Market apps makes up for it. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s about 1/4 the cost of the iPad.

Gifts for the road warrior

After struggling with weak WiFi signals, and often finding only a wired connection or worst, needing to use a Wireless Data USB Stick when traveling, we added a portable router to our bags.  The TP-LINK Portable 3G Wireless Router fits neatly into the palm of your hand, connects easily to a wired WAN/LAN or an existing wireless signal and can be used with a data stick. Use it to boost a weak WiFi signal, push out WiFi from a wired connection or as a way to share data off a 3G USB stick. It also runs off USB so can go just about anywhere for a very decent price.

Gifts for the rough and tough

Our Otterbox Commuter Series iPhone cover is one of the most beloved items in our tech arsenal. This relatively light cover has saved our iPhone from countless drops that would have otherwise smashed it to smithereens. If you’re looking for serious protection, the OtterBox Defender Series is bulkier and one of the most robust covers out there. They also have them for all those Samsung Galaxy S III users out there.

Gifts for the security conscious

When we need to keep our passports, cash and cards extra secure, we use a travel neck wallet. They’re ultra-lightweight, fit snugly under your shirt, are almost invisible and keep your valuables close. Neck wallets are an especially great way to keep your valubles safe for women who find traditional money belts bulky (and let’s face it, dorky).

We use the Eagle Creek Travel Gear Silk Undercover Neck Wallet. It’s lightweight, has an adjustable strap and breathes well in hot weather.

Gifts for the active and adventurous

We’ve carried a lightweight Petzl Tikka RXP Headlamp traveling with us since 2007. Unlike a flashlight, using a headlamp keeps your hands free. The Tikka takes three AAA batteries, and literally lasts us months between battery replacements. It has colored light filters, and a great, high intensity spotlight. It’s also tough enough that it’s survived countless play sessions with our kids. We’ve used ours for doing everything from home renovations and working under the hood of our car to chasing crabs on the beach at night and stalking penguins.

Gifts for the wanderers

Comfortable footwear is a must for travelers, and we love lightweight waterproof sandals. They take us through almost any situation: from the airport, to the beach, to the mall and out for a casual night out.  Micki’s currently on her second year with a pair of lightweight Teva Tirra women’s sandals, which show absolutely no sign of wear and are one of the most comfortable sandals she has ever worn. Charles lives in sandals and is currently loving his Teva Men’s Katavi Outdoor Sandal.

Gifts for the photographer

There’s a new breed of affordable, waterproof and shockproof cameras on the market.  These rugged cameras are usually waterproof to around 33 feet and resistant to a drop from around six feet. They fit in your jacket pocket and can go straight from the beach to a hike in the mountains without worrying about them.

We bought and love the Canon PowerShot D20 Waterproof Digital Camera, but its competitors the Panasonic Lumix TS4 (reviewed here) and the Nikon COOLPIX AW100 are great alternatives as well.  All three cameras take 1080p video and feature a slew of cool features and effects.

Gifts for the camera gadget lover

The XShot XSP2 Pocket Camera Extender is a new addition to our camera bag. Weighing in at less than a pound, the X-shot attaches to your camera, and the arm telescopes out to allow you to take self portraits. As a family of four, all of us just wouldn’t fit into the frame when we held the camera at arm’s length, so the X-Shot’s been a great addition for us. It also solves the problem of trying to find someone to take a photo of you. As a bonus it also attaches to our Mini Tripod to give the camera extra height when it matters.

Gifts for the shutter bug

We often take 1000s of photos on a trip. We use a Sandisk Ultra 32 gb SDHC Class 10 SD card to store them, which we love because it holds hundreds of photos and videos, and the class 10 means that it’s lightning fast.

Gifts for the minimalist

For backpackers and those who travel light, travel towels can be a great addition. We used the microfiber MSR Packtowl Original for years, and found it packed light and dried quickly. These days, we just pack thin terrycloth towels, but microfiber travel towels are a great choice for those who want to travel with the bare minimum.

For the comfort lover

We often travel with a small, squishy pillow that’s filled with little microbeads instead of a neck pillow. Neck pillows can be big and bulky, and they really only have one function. We find the little microbead pillows just as comfortable, and they can be used in a makeshift or regular bed as well.  They’re great to amuse kids on long haul flights, easy to squish into your carry-on, and double as a pillow for sleeping wherever you happen to be. You can get get them in adorable kids’ versions like the iscream Sweet Treats Macaroons Microbead Pillow or a Microbead Bolster Tube Pillow.

Do you have any must-have travel items that would make great Christmas gifts? Let us know in the comments below!

Now that that’s out of the way, here’s what we’ve been up to these past few weeks. The last time I posted I was explaining the daily grind and the more mundane facts of life we’ve been living. I would love to talk about all the incredible things we do on a regular day in this paradise like setting we find ourselves in but it would only lead to your heartbreak and our self delusions.The reality is that we don’t do much everyday. Between entertaining the kids and us researching our next leg of the trip, we barely have time to lounge by the crystal clear blue ocean or our pool (which we do almost daily). We barely have time to drink the 2 or 3 fruit smoothies we constantly inhale. We also barely have time to walk around in the +28 Celsius sunny sky weather we’re forced to endure day in and day out.

Yup, it’s a hard life we live. I say that all with a mischievious grin and a shake of my head. If only life was always like this. Please don’t get me wrong. We’re loving this lifestyle and to us no price is too high to live like this. Sure, when we get back we don’t have the shiny new leather couch, the new stainless steel appliances, the new SUV sitting in the driveway or the 2% more mortgage paid onto our oversized and overpriced home but Micki and I have made a conscious decision to forsake the HGTV lifestyle in favour of the National Geographic lifestyle.

We definitely like the fact that we don’t owe a dime to the world and we have a paid off home, a good vehicle, solid investments and plenty of contracts (if we want them) available to us when we return but this still wouldn’t stop us from doing what we love. To be honest, the thought of spending another cold winter in Canada scares us more than the lost income and cost of this trip combined. All I ever have to do if I’m feeling down is look at the weather channel and for some reason I feel so much better. I seriously question our forefathers for ever deciding to lay down roots in such a cool climate.

So what have we done these past few weeks to make us forgo all the above? Not much in all honesty but I can say we enjoyed every minute of it. We’ve hit the ever increasingly busy beach a number of times. We’ve chowed down on all the local fare. We’ve made the trek back to Akumal to see a half dozen turtles in one swim and let the kids play in the calm waves. We’ve built a dozen sand sculptures (and let the kids destroy them in seconds) and enjoyed some of the best pizza ever created on a regular basis. We shopped in the 2 main malls for Christmas presents and checked out a half dozen other stores as well.

Before I go on I have to make a quick comment on that note. In all my years both at home and abroad never have I seen such well stocked stores only days before Christmas. I have no idea if it’s the economy (both local and tourist) or the fact that the toys out here are too expensive for the average person but walking down the large toy aisles only 2 days before Christmas was like walking in them in June back home. Every shelf is full, every toy has a dozen of it’s twin lined up perfectly behind it and every time a toy is pulled down and thrown in the cart an employee pulls out another one to replace it. I mean, what are companies thinking when there are literally fights over the last doll in an entire city 2 weeks before Christmas in Canada and yet these shelves are full to the brim? Leave a dozen out here people and ship them all North where they will be consumed like mini doughnuts at a police convention.

It actually amazed us how easy it was to shop this year. A week before Christmas we walked through the aisles with the kids and let them show us their favorite things and then quickly wittled their lists down to what we knew they would enjoy and what could be easily packed and transported. A few days before Christmas we walked in and grabbed them all. So simple, so easy, so beautiful. It was like a mini Christmas Miracle! That alone almost made up for the cost of admission to be here.

The next thing we didn’t have was the pre-Christmas panic we usually get. First, no need to find and buy a tree, set it up and then decorate it. No need to rifle through boxes of Christmases past to find the rest of the Christmas decorations and place them throughout the house. No need to freeze my arse hanging the outside lights in the snow. No need to start baking a week before Christmas and filling the freezer for the hordes of family and friends that we’ll be hosting. No need to struggle with deciding which place to go on which day to maximize both our time and our sanity. No need to overindulge on the over abundance of over rich food and a get stuck with a week’s worth of leftovers. No need to fear having one too many spiked eggnogs before hitting the road to our next destination and coming across a police checkpoint. Finally, no need to feel guilty that we overspent on the kids gifts (especially compared to how much we give to charity in the yuletide) yet end up feeling too cheap because the neighbor’s kid got three times what ours did.

None of that matters out here. We have no commitments here besides our commitment to enjoy a stress free holiday in a warm climate. Smaller gifts make sense because we know we’ll still be travelling quite a bit and space is a definite premium. With no immediate family or friends we can spend the day at the beach and go out for supper instead of spending the day cooking. We bought an inflatable Santa (on sale for a ridiculous price of $7 Cdn) and made a bunch of Christmas decorations days before with the kids to occupy them with something crafty. With no vehicle and the availability of alcohol on every street corner here the dangers of a DUI isn’t an issue coupled with the ability to maintain a continual Christmas buzz at all times for a fraction of the cost as back home.

To put it all simply. We had a great Christmas and enjoyed our day tremendously. The kids enjoyed the presents in the morning and we both got to enjoy a nap in the afternoon. We had a nice home cooked Italian meal for supper and watched some Christmas cartoons with the kids. We went out to see how the warm world enjoyed Christmas and found every place open and the streets full of happy people enjoying being free of the constraints of a Northern Christmas. To be honest, it was one of the best Christmases in recent memory and we think we might make it an annual event.

On that good note, I think I’ll stop this post before it gets too long. Our flight has been booked to Costa Rica on the 31st and we’ve got a great condo lined up for January in Tamarindo. The condo is only a stone’s throw from where I plan to become a great surfer (or at least someone who doesn’t look like a complete tool). We also have a few tours in mind and are looking forward to exploring all Costa Rica has to offer.

We’re also hoping to put together a Best Of Playa Del Carmen list to finish off the year and to give any of you that are travelling out here a few things to do.

All in all, 2010 has been a great year and we’re really looking forward to seeing what 2011 has to offer.

So Happy Holidays to all the Barefoot Nomads out there and to anyone not able to walk barefoot this holiday season, we hope the little barefoot nomad inside of you finds a little inner peace as well.