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Originally Posted by Alfisti
Yeah I am thinking a driving holiday, Switzerland/Austria/Germany
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For a road trip, I would suggest Switzerland (starting in Zurich perhaps) and driving over to France, and depending on how much driving you like, also go briefly into northern Italy. You will have to take the major roadways, which is a bit unfortunate as most of the beautiful more minor pass routes through the Alps are closed during winter. As others have suggested, you have to plan carefully. I agree you want to be in a bigger city or close to it during Christmas as almost everything shuts down.
Another option could be France, starting in Paris, making your way down to Nice, and taking a trip to Monaco. I love driving the more minor roads via what's called the Sea Alps (close to the Swiss border). It's a very beautiful and remote area, but I have never done it in the wintertime, so there could be road closures due to snow. You could also travel more in the center of France and stay in actual old castles; in some, you'll stay with the owners in quite an intimate setting, while others rent out 10-20 rooms. It's actually not expensive and pretty neat. Since this road trip is not necessarily ten days, you can always grab a cheap flight (typically <$100pp, depending on how much luggage you have, lol, we travel light) from any of the southern French airports to one of the Mediterranean islands and spend two/three days in the warmer climate and then grab another cheap flight to any major airport in Europe and make you way back. I know this won't help you, but there is actually lots of WW2 and WW1 stuff you can visit or see in the Alps. However, this won't be an option due to your time of travel as all will be snowed in. Have fun, there are tons of options.