Run away to a seaside cottage in Cornwall, a castle in the Scottish Highlands or a house deep in one of Britain’s national parks. The internet has hundreds of websites listing properties to rent to help you plan your getaway. A good place to start is www.goodcottageguide.com, which lists more than 750 properties, many of them unique to the site. Others worth browsing include www.premiercottages.co.uk, www.simplecottages.co.uk, www.english-country-cottages.co.uk and www.classic.co.uk.

If you are looking for something unusual, you could rent Freston Tower, a 16th-century edifice on the River Orwell in Suffolk that sleeps four. It is available for seven nights from December 22 through the charity www.landmarktrust.org.uk for £982.

Other sites with historic properties to rent include www.nationaltrustcottages.co.uk and www.vivat.org.uk, which has a medieval guesthouse for two in Kent for £650 for a five-night stay at Christmas, or seven nights at the charming, thatched Mill Hill cottage in Lincolnshire for £870. The Vivat Trust will also throw in a hamper with a pudding and crackers, and a decorated tree if it can squeeze it in.

Spending the festive season in a rented cottage doesn’t just suit the bah-humbugs. Instead of driving around the country visiting relatives, why not all chip in and hire a country house together? Properties are on view at www.thebigdomain.com and at www.blandings.co.uk, where the manor house on the Burns Estate in Scotland can be rented by up to 16 people for the week beginning December 20 for £10,750.

To really get away from it all, www.uniquehomestays.com and www.holiday-rentals.co.uk have properties in Britain, Europe and beyond.

Take some Christmas cheer with you by ordering a neat little hamper of festive food. Try www.christmasdinnercompany.co.uk, which pulls together all the essentials, from Kelly Bronze turkeys to Duchy Originals for 6-8 people (£395) or 10-12 people (£595), to be delivered on December 23, before noon. A gourmet Italian selection is available for £175 from www.gravitasfoods.co.uk, featuring wild boar ragu and hazelnut chocolates.

When nothing but a traditional wicker basket packed with goodies will do, the original purveyor of hampers, Fortnum & Mason, offers 28 varieties, priced from £40 to £5,000. Order at www.fortnumandmason.com.

If you can’t be bothered to cook with your hamper ingredients, then visit www.picnic2u.co.uk, which delivers nationwide and offers affordable hampers — priced from £20 per head — containing ready-cooked meals. Choose from the Holidays Hamper, packed with Thanksgiving goodies for a twist on Christmas, or the By the Fire basket, with pork medallions wrapped in bacon, poached Scottish salmon and baked peaches.

Since Christmas is the season of giving, why not do a good deed and donate a charity hamper to an elderly person? For £25, www.goodgifts.orgwill brighten someone’s day with a box including chocolates and sherry.

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