The holidays are here. And while we’re sure you don’t have ANY of your shopping done, it’s not too soon to start thinking about that extended holiday break.

Here’s 4 ways Central Oregon assures your holidays will be happy.

Sunriver Traditions

The 18th Annual Traditions holiday celebration at Sunriver Resort has you covered from mid-November through New Year’s Day. Kicking off with the beautiful Grand Illuninations lighting ceremony, Traditions is jam packed with family-friendly events and activities. There’s a Turkey Trot fun run, horse-drawn sleigh rides, gingerbread houses, guided snowshoe tours & much more.

Time to Ski

Each October, folks in Central Oregon start dancing. Snow dancing! It’s that time of year when they’ve grown bored with all of the mountain bike riding and hiking and paddling they’ve done during the year and look forward to winter adventures like skiing, snowshoeing, and riding snowmobiles. Mt. Bachelor opened on Thanksgiving weekend (its new Cloudchaser chairlift is still on schedule to open mid-December) and Hoodoo opened Dec. 3rd.

The Old Mill’s Holiday Happenings

Bend’s Old Mill District is your go-to spot for holiday shopping with staples like Gap, REI, PacSun, Game Stop and Victoria’s Secret. But come the holidays, the historic area is transformed into a fun, festive outpost. Take a carriage ride, talk to Santa and listen to the roving carolers while you finish up your shopping. The Old Mill is also home to the Central Oregon Tree of Joy campaign, which helps provide gifts to needy children throughout the region.

The Nutcracker

One of the first things many families do when going on vacation during the holidays is find a local production of The Nutcracker. In Bend, the Central Oregon School of Ballet performs the classic during a very limited run – December 3rd & 4th. You can buy tickets here.

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The Central Oregon Visitors Association (COVA) is the "Official" Tourism Information Resource for Central Oregon, including the communities of Bend, Sunriver, Redmond, Sisters, La Pine, Madras, Prineville, Crooked River Ranch, Terrebonne, Culver and Black Butte Ranch. Most of the stories posted online can be found in the Official Central Oregon Visitors Guide.