Travel doesn’t get much more festive than this. Leading flight search engine, Skyscanner scans the globe to bring you the top ten most Christmassy places on planet earth.

Christmas Island (Australia) - there are actually several islands in various oceans named Christmas, but probably the best known is the Australian territory located in the Indian Ocean. Over half the island is national park, but according to the CIA World Fact Book, it will soon become a site for launching space missions. Is Santa going intergalactic?

Turkey - though famed for its sunny beaches and warm seas, many might be surprised to hear the country also receives heavy snowfalls, boasts mountains over 4000m high and has around 10 ski resorts where you can guarantee yourself a white Christmas.

Brussels (Belgium) - forever linked with a famous Christmas side dish that causes mixed feelings at the table, the small green vegetable really is named after the Belgium capital where it’s said to have been a popular crop for more than 400 years.

Santa Cruz (California, USA) - meaning “holy cross”, Santa Cruz is a quintessential American beach town. The place where Hawaiian royalty first introduced surfing to the mainland, the city is still known for its alternative lifestyle and liberal political persuasion.

Rudolf Island (Russia) - the northern most island of the Franz Josef Archipelago, this small, barren island that sits within the article circle, is almost completely glaciated. Despite the name, Rudolf and his reindeer buddies don’t hang out here these days – it’s just too chilly.

Krakow (Poland) - this city goes off with a bang in December with a cracking Christmas market held in the main square. Quaff mulled wine and browse stalls selling Baltic amber jewellery and woollen slippers from the Polish highlands.

Tinsel Town (Los Angeles, USA) - Hollywood’s nom de plume, the Tinsel part refers to the glittering, flashy, but superficial nature of Hollywood and the film industry. Tinsel, the popular Christmas decoration, was invented in Germany in 1610 and originally made of shredded silver.

Carol City (Florida, USA) - guaranteed for a balmy Christmas, temperatures here rarely dip below 20C. It seems that many of the city’s inhabitants do indeed sing for their supper; according to Wikipedia – Carol City’s most notable residents are all rappers, though Trapp Mendoza and JT Money are rarely heard waxing lyrical about baby Jesus and Rudolph the red nose reindeer.

Holly (Michigan, USA) - this quiet village apparently featured in the 1993 Clint Eastwood movie - “In the Line of Fire”. It was also home to Dr Church Jr, the man who developed the Mount Rose snow sampler, a tool used to measure snow depth and water content.

Bethlehem (West Bank) - yes, this is a real place. Bethlehem is commonly accepted as the birth city of Jesus of Nazareth, probably the most famous person in history and the whole reason that we celebrate Christmas Day at all.