GETTING OUTTA HERE: Quick Winter Jaunts

There may be no place like home for the holidays, but the roster of hotels and resorts offering sweet holiday deals sure does give the whole snow, mistletoe, and presents-under-the-tree business a run for its money.

Besides, don’t you think a little trip to wintry Chicago sounds festive? The whole city is positively Capra-esque around Christmastime, and you can stay at The James, where the Peace, Love & Shop package means a $50 gift certificate to The 900 Shops on Michigan Avenue (and complimentary car service there); a massage or facial at the hotel spa; in-room breakfast for two; and a few little other goodies as well. And in the spirit of the season, 10 percent of your $339 starting nightly rate will go toward a children’s charity, Common Threads.

For those of you willing to stray further from the traditional, beautiful and intimate Taj Campton Place in San Francisco is offering fabulous two-night room and suite packages that include breakfast and your choice of cable car line passes for two; ice skating at Union Square; or tickets for two to the King Tut Exhibit at the de Young Museum. Rates start at $599 a night after December 15th.

And finally, if you’d rather just take a quick break from the hustle and bustle and still be home in plenty of time to hang the stockings, you might consider a couple nights at the peaceful Bridgeton House on the Delaware, the Upper Black Eddy B&B not far from New Hope, or picturesque Lambertville, New Jersey. For a two night stay at $169 a night, you’ll enjoy homey, spacious accommodations, a tote made to take shopping at all the nearby boutiques (with coupons for local merchants), $40 dinner gift certificate and their famous “skip lunch” breakfast each morning. There’s also the nearby Euphoria Studio Spa, where foot soaks and massages will ease away whatever stress you have left after a couple of rounds of eggnog.