If Emerald Lake’s jade waters don’t lure you, its eponymous lodge will. In the midst of British Columbia’s Yoho National Park, the holidays pass with rustic, Canadian panache. Think caroling around an outdoor fire, ice skating and broom ball on the frozen lake, and a gift from the hotel delivered to your room on Christmas morning. Coloring contests, a reading of “The Night Before Christmas,” and a visit from Saint Nick himself keep youngsters merry.

When it comes to chalets, the Swiss don’t mess around. Nestled in the Bernese Alps, Gstaad Palace has five restaurants, a bar and a nightclub, a spa, indoor and outdoor pools, a gym with a Pilates studio, squash and tennis courts, and a seven-room hammam. And those are year-round amenities. During the winter, work up an appetite skiing, building igloos, and ice skating before sitting down to a holiday feast. In true palace style, a musical quartet sets the tone.

If you think Prague is a fairy tale, spend a few nights at Chateau Mcely in the Czech city of the same name. During the holidays, afternoon teas, multicourse feasts, horse-drawn carriage rides, and strolls through the nearby Jabkenice game preserve take the royal treatment to new heights. Over New Year’s, live Cuban music, rum tastings, and fireworks set 2012 off to a sizzling start.

All you want for Christmas is your own island. Amanpulo, a private paradise in the Philippines surrounded by the Sulu Sea, grants your wish. Paddle out to the floating bamboo bar for a nip or get your snorkel on, then retreat to one of 40 bungalows, each with a beach buggy. High rollers can opt for a villa: Available for rent or purchase, each has a private pool, outdoor lounge, cook, and housekeeper.

Forget the North Pole and head south — way south. Abercrombie & Kent’s twenty-day cruise tours South Georgia and the Antarctic peninsula, hitting Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, and the Falkland Islands along the way. Twice-daily excursions put you up close and personal with natural wonders and wildlife (we’re talking seals and penguins, people).

A wedding destination gem, California’s Hotel del Coronado really sparkles during the holidays. Built in 1888, the resort taps its Victorian roots for inspiration: Lavish decorations, afternoon teas, banquets, and a theater production of An American Christmas all jibe with the period theme. Take a nighttime bike tour of Coronado Island, ice skate at the seaside rink, and join the kids when Santa Claus visits. After dark, be sure to scope the hotel from afar: It’s draped in more than 100,000 twinkle lights.

If you missed the Polar Express, whisk the kids to The Whiteface Lodge, a 47,000-square-foot homage to the great Adirondack camps of yore located in Lake Placid, New York. Ice skating, cookie decorating, cartoon making, and nightly theme parties turn the woodsy escape into a winter wonderland for wee ones. Treat yourself to yoga and hydro classes, curling lessons (they have nothing to do with hair), spa treatments, and wine tastings in between family shindigs.

Take a holiday from the holidays at Zamas, a cozy, Mexican haven on the Riviera Maya. Thatch-roofed cabanas offer prime access to untamed jungle and sandy beaches, where you can swim, dive, and snorkel in cenote cavern pools. Bird-watch and fly-fish at the nearby Sian Ka’an rain forest preserve. Pause to marvel at Mayan ruins along the way.

You hear “Yosemite” and think “roughing it.” A trek to The Ahwahnee will change your outlook. Built in 1927, the award-winning, California retreat is outfitted with cushy rooms, rustic fireplaces, stained glass windows, and elegant public spaces that are as impressive as the surrounding natural wonders. The holidays transform the great dining hall into a 17th-century English manor, where a Renaissance-style dinner is served while more than 60 performers put on a yuletide pageant. Prepare to loosen your belt: The meal is four hours and seven courses long.

You might not be able to shack up in the Palace of Versailles, but neighboring Trianon Palace is just as regal. Michelin-rated chef Gordon Ramsay preps opulent spreads, spa treatments come courtesy of Guerlain, and a holiday market of local crafts and gifts is fifteen log cabins strong. After a skate at the on-site rink, get a dose of history: The Treaty of Versailles was signed in one of the hotel’s rooms, and Louis IV’s digs are just a short walk away.

Who says 37,000 acres of cattle ranch land can’t be luxurious? At The Resort at Paws Up in Greenough, Montana, home-cooked feasts, gingerbread house-making, and a visit from Santa are part of a five-day holiday sojourn. Your own private house includes a decorated tree, fireplace, cook’s kitchen, and spa tub. If you choose to venture outdoors (we won’t judge if you don’t), skiing, ice skating, and sleigh riding are cool diversions.

Cultural buffs get giddy over Auberge Saint-Antoine, perched atop one of Québec’s older ports. After touring museums (Musée de la Civilisation, Musée du Fort, and Citadelle de Québec), wrap yourself in blankets for a horse-drawn caléche ride through the city or head to neighboring Orleans Island for dog sledding and ice fishing. A holiday pastry workshop and visit from Santa Claus are treats for tots.