Welcome to AWM Destinations, the world’s leading travel agency for faraway and fantastical destinations. Each week, AWM Destinations will showcase a unique and exciting vacation destination and spotlight some of the exciting attractions, dining, and lodging options available at each location. We hope you enjoy this series of articles and look forward to hearing about your travels with AWM Destinations.
Written by Matthew Masino
That Town in a Hallmark Movie
As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, AWM Destinations is excited to bring you another special holiday destination! Spending every day and night hard at work as a high-profile ad executive or interior designer or some sort of businesswoman in the Big City can have a real effect on your personal life. With those back-to-back meetings and that big presentation coming up, it’s no wonder you’ve lost the true Christmas spirit. Well, AWM Destinations is excited to assist you in planning that emergency trip to the last place you thought you’d be: your hometown, or that town in a Hallmark movie.
How You’ll Get There
Hop aboard a plane to start your journey to the town that seems to celebrate Christmas every single day in December. After landing, you’ll board the sole taxi within city limits and ride along a barely two-lane road to your childhood home. Travel through neighborhoods of perfectly decorated houses and past the old community center that’s either flooded or has roof damage or probably both. Once you reach your house, say goodbye to the taxi driver, because you’ll never see him or a taxi again.
What You’ll Do There
While your mind is preoccupied with work and other Big City Things, allow yourself to be distracted by all the fun Christmas-time activities this small town has to offer. Visit the town’s ice skating rink, where you’re sure to run into one of the most attractive people you’ve ever seen who’s somehow never learned to ice skate. But don’t worry, you’ve been ice skating since you were a kid and are sure to skate to their rescue. Stop by the local diner and grab a cup of delicious hot chocolate and warm apple pie that will taste exactly like you remember them from your childhood. While you’re there, make sure to say hello to the old, unassuming gentleman who gives largely unsolicited holiday-themed advice to any wayward traveler sitting by themselves and minding their own business.
One of the highlights of your visit to your hometown will be the annual Christmas Festival. Join literally every resident of the town for gingerbread house making, Christmas cookie decorating, and just vague holiday fun. As the snow sits perfectly on every building, tree, and road, you’ll bask in the beauty of the town’s massive Christmas tree centered in Town Square. You may even be lucky enough to flip the switch during the tree lighting ceremony!
Who You’ll See
Between the overwhelming amount of Christmas-themed gatherings you’ll attend, you’re sure to run into a few familiar faces during your time in your hometown.
Before you can even unpack your single suitcase, your elderly parent will ask you to make a run to the General Store for something very urgent. Though you’ll never actually purchase that thing, you’ll definitely run into the town Mayor, who, of course, is an old family friend. The Mayor, being really into Christmas, as these small-town mayors often are, is sure to point you in the direction of some beautiful, handmade Christmas decorations to bring home to your folks.
Exiting the General Store, you’ll carry one too many boxes and accidentally run into a mysterious stranger. But he’s not a stranger! He’s someone you knew from your childhood that you haven’t thought about in years but have crystal clear memories of. He used to be an undateable nerd, but now he’s handsome and generous and probably a small business owner, maybe he’s everything you’ve been looking for.
Hop into his old pickup truck and catch up on your lives. He’ll tell you that he lost his wife, quite tragically, in a car accident. Though the details of your own life are sort of hazy, the bond between the two of you will grow and grow. Together, you’ll pick out your family’s Christmas tree and, after you bring it home, your parents will insist that he stay for dinner. You’ll make plans to collect gifts for all the orphans who apparently live in town and you’ll grow closer and closer.
One night, he’ll take you by the hand and lead you to a beautiful sleigh. It had been sitting in your uncle’s barn for decades collecting dust, but he was able to professionally restore it in just a few days. You’ll take the most romantic sleigh ride through your hometown and end up at the gazebo where you’ll almost share a kiss under perfectly placed mistletoe.
What Comes Next
When you’ve completed your trip to your hometown, you always have the option to give up your life in the Big City and move back home where it’s Christmas every day. With special packages from AWM Destinations, we can accommodate any duration of trip to that town in a Hallmark movie.
To learn more about other vacation packages, click here. We at AWM Destinations always strive to provide the best experience possible and we thank you for choosing us for your travel needs. Happy holidays from AWM Destinations!
AWM Destinations is the world’s leading travel agency to faraway and fictional destinations. We provide custom travel services involving air, rail, twister transport, car rentals, magic portals, hotel reservations, tours, and sightseeing. Our mission is to connect travelers from around the world with a diverse range of destinations and experiences. From theme parks to tropical islands to fantasy kingdoms, AWM Destinations is your one-stop shop for inside access to the most exciting and exclusive destinations in the world, and beyond.
Matthew Masino is the Community Engagement Manager for the AWM. He is also a content creator, writer, and theatre director based in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated with a B.F.A. in Theatre Directing from Columbia College Chicago in 2019. As a theatre artist, Matthew has worked with the International Voices Project, the Chicago Fringe Festival, and BYOT Productions. You can learn more by visiting his website www.matthewmasino.com.
Good one! They always seem to give up their plans for a career in the big city to start all over in the small town for far less $$$$.
Love this!! Thanks for the laugh!
Yeah – why can’t the girl love her job in the city, meet a guy who feels the same and decide to make a life together in one of their apartments (which are always ginormous, perfectly decorated and located) and kiss before the fade-out like normal 30year-olds??