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The Osthoff Resort
Winter Fun in a Peaceful Setting By Belinda Clarke
One of the best things you can do with your family during the holidays is escape for a weekend of winter fun. Far from the traffic and throngs of shoppers, the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake, Wis., is a beautiful getaway where the atmosphere is merry and the pace is peaceful. Better yet, there is a plethora of things to do just steps from this lakeside resort so you can get there – and stay put – for a relaxing winter weekend.
During the holidays, you can you enjoy breakfast with Santa and then walk outside to pet two of his reindeer. The huge lobby is decorated beautifully and includes an enormous tree and fuzzy polar bears to greet visitors as they're checking in. Grownups will appreciate the numerous amenities, excellent restaurant and chance to get some shopping in without having to look for a parking space.
The Old World Christmas Market, which runs for 10 days each December, is encompassed in a huge (heated!) outdoor tent next to the resort that's brimming with vendors from all over the world displaying old world gifts, toys, ornaments and unique crafts. Hand-blown Czech glass ornaments, European pottery, fur hats and German wooden toys (with a man whittling right there) are just some of the things you'll see at this authentic market. Dads can enjoy brats, potato pancakes and German beer while mom and the kids make the rounds for last-minute gifts.
In the late 1800s, Elkhart Lake served as a vacation town for wealthy Chicago and St. Louis residents who would arrive by train to neighboring Plymouth. Decades later, the 1920s brought gambling, gangsters and prohibition liquor to this resort community. In fact, local legend has it that the notorious John Dillinger and others found the village to be an inconspicuous getaway. Today, the town sports cafes and cute gift shops, but it's still small and definitely not overdeveloped.