You may have to look twice when you check the Christmas and New Year calendar this year. The public holiday police are giving you just one weekday off - thanks to Hong Kong's insistence that Saturday is a working day. That's two days less than you get most years. Bah, humbug. So what's the solution? Take the week off and head for the airport. Whether you're a Grinch looking to flee the Jingle Bells muzak playing at your local mall, or you still wake up on Christmas morning with the wide-eyed excitement of a five-year-old, we've got some fabulous holiday ideas. Here are 11 cool places, near and far, where you can hang up your Christmas stocking, hide under the pillow or bring in the New Year in style. For those dreaming of a White Christmas If you want real snow and a luxury skiing destination, you no longer need to catch a redeye to Whistler or the Swiss Alps. Sun Mountain Yabuli in Shangzhi, Harbin, northeastern China, offers fabulous lodges, including the 24-suite Grand Yabuli boutique hotel on the mountaintop. With 17 ski runs, from beginner to expert levels, and a season that runs from December to March, the resort boasts leather-seated gondolas and heated bubble chairlifts offering European comfort levels. Stay a few days and head to the city of Harbin for its 27th annual ice sculpture festival that opens on January 5. Visit: www.cnm4176.chinaw3.com/where-we-play/sun-Mountain-yabuli.html For scrooges flying solo If the idea of Christmas fills you with as much loathing as it did Ebeneezer Scrooge, then Nepal offers the perfect antidote. Adventurers can trek to Everest base camp over the Christmas holiday, staying in Himalayan lodges and visiting remote bazaars and monasteries far from the frenzied commercialism of the season. It's not for the faint-hearted but treks of various durations for solo travellers can be found at www.exodus.co.uk . For cultural shoppers Shopaholics go to Europe when they want to splurge, but for real festive spirit look beyond Milan and Paris to Nurmemburg. Its Christkindlesmarkt (Christmas market) is among the most celebrated on the continent and you can combine a visit with a cruise along the Rhine to other festive markets and snow-covered towns bedecked with lights and holly. Visit: www.christkindlesmarkt.de/english/ For those seeking Santa If you have children who aren't fooled by the man in the stuffed red suit and strap-on beard at the local mall, then take them to meet the real thing. Santa Claus Village in the Finnish town of Rovaniemi enables you to meet the most authentic Father Christmas you'll ever see in his office inside the Arctic Circle. Presumably, he's out of the office from Christmas evening for a few hours. Parents can have fun, too, with reindeer spotting, snowmobile safaris, ski-trekking and dog-sled rides for those who can bear the sub-zero temperatures. Visit: www.santaclausvillage.info For those after a quick city getaway Singaporeans celebrate Christmas much like Hongkongers, with a public holiday and list of eating, shopping and partying. A short hop to the warmer climes of the Lion City and you'll find its tallest Christmas tree, standing 11-storeys high, at Resort World Sentosa, decked out in 600,000 lights and 100,000 baubles and pieces of tinsel. For the 12 days leading up to December 25, the Victoria Chorale choir and 18-member Ministry of Bellz. Orchard Road and other shopping areas are lit up, and you can take trips to Universal Studios and the night safari. Visit: www.rwsentosa.com For those seeking a musical Hogmanay Nowhere throws a better New Year's party than Edinburgh. The Scottish capital's four-day Hogmanay festival is as renowned as its summer arts festival and begins with a tartan-coloured torchlight procession to the sound of bagpipes. The majestic Edinburgh Castle is the setting for the annual Concert in the Gardens featuring acts such as Biffy Clyro and The Coral, before a street party featuring DJs on giant screens and a mass rendition of Auld Lang Syne after the midnight countdown on December 31 followed by a spectacular fireworks show. Visit: www.edinburghshogmanay.org For those wanting to chill out Bali is just a few hours' flight away but offers an escape from the kerfuffle of Christmas. During the 12 Days of Karma event at Karma Kandara, the luxe hotel will mix Balinese entertainment with belly dancing and festive feasts. Ayana Resort and Spa Bali offers Christmas and New Year dinner menus, as well as Christmas carols, a festive Kids Club programme and, of course, an appearance by the main man. Visit: www.karmaresorts.com and www.ayanaresort.com For those after a winter warmer Banish the winter blues with a visit to Taiwan's hot springs. The island is cheaper and easier to get to than Japan, but packed with charming markets and breathtaking scenery. Taiwan has 99 hot springs and three of the best - Yangmingshan, Peitou and Wulai - are less than hour's drive from the capital, Taipei. Besides the major hotels, Taiwan has dozens of modern boutique hotels for about HK$500 per night. Visit: www.gio.gov.tw/ For sports lovers For the ultimate bloke's surf and turf holiday, head Down Under to Melbourne. Forget the roast turkey - toss a shrimp on the barbie at the beach for Christmas lunch. Then catch a few breaks at Apollo Bay. On Boxing Day head to the MCG and watch a titanic struggle between Australia and England in the fourth Ashes cricket test. Visit: www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/whatson/christmas/Pages/Christmas.aspx For the biggest New Year's bash The biggest New Year's Eve party in the world is in Rio de Janeiro, where revellers dance the samba until dawn. Join two million others grooving on Copacabana Beach. The shore is packed with bands, DJs, fireworks and the best booty-shaking dancing you'll ever see. Exclusive balls are held at seafront hotels such as the Copacabana Palace and the Sofitel Rio Palace. Visit: www.whatsonwhen.com For a classical New Year Probably the biggest global event of the season is the Vienna Orchestra New Year Show, with a worldwide audience of more than 50 million in 70 countries. Getting a ticket to witness the Vienna Royal Orchestra at the Imperial Hall is not easy. Tickets sell out a year in advance, although some canny Hongkongers manage to find some each year. There are other concerts in the series that are more accessible. Visit: www.musicofvienna.com/new-year-concerts.htm