An Express Passport to a Better Christmas Shopping Experience - Expedited Passports

Ahhh, Wal-Mart in December…screaming children, endless lines to check out, and shopping cart traffic jams blocking the aisles. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Wal-Mart may be the quintessential American Christmas shopping experience, but this time of year makes me dream longingly of Europe’s Christmas markets. A tradition that started in Germany and has now spread all over Europe, Christmas markets feature lots of food, drinks and unique items to fill your family’s stockings. There’s also glühwein, hot mulled wine that’s often fortified with brandy. If that won’t get you into the holiday spirit, I’m afraid you must be an incurable Scrooge.

According to Wikipedia, the tradition of the holiday market dates back to 1294, with the city of Vienna’s “December Market.” Here’s the scoop on 5 of the oldest and/or most popular holiday markets today:

• The Nuremberg Christmas Market runs until Christmas Eve. The Nuremberg Christmas Angel presides over the ceremonies, which attract about 2 million people each year. Canned Christmas carols are strictly verboten.
• The Dresden Christmas Market dates back to 1434 and is one of the oldest holiday markets. It also runs until Christmas Eve. Highlights include handblown glass, handmade candles, traditional handmade toys, wine punch, rum punch, and a list of delightful-sounding goodies like stuffed apples and deep-fried cheese balls. Also, Santa goes through the market once a day and delivers a toy to each and every child. Magical.
• Stuttgart’s Christmas Market is probably the largest in Europe. It’s also one of the most heavily visited, attracting around 3.5 million people every year.
• The Christmas Market in Birmingham, England is the largest in the UK. Like the other markets, it features lots of German goodies, live music and presents.
• The Fira de Santa Llúcia, in Barcelona, Spain, has been held since 1786. It is famous for amazing handcrafted sculptures made of cork. Another claim to fame: little figurines of people relieving themselves. Called caganer, these figures are commonly placed in nativity scenes.

Of course, to get to a Christmas market before Christmas Eve, you’ll need a last-minute flight deal and an express passport if you don’t already have one. Express passports can be obtained at a Passport Agency office, but given that there still only 21 of them open to the general public in the entire US, a private passport expediting company like RushmyPassport is probably a more convenient option.

We deliver your express passport application to the Department of State, for processing times as low as 24 hours. Beat that, Santa!

Apply for an express passport today!

It’s officially October, and that means Halloween is just around the corner. To help you get in the holiday spirit, we’ve compiled a list of the 10 spookiest places to spend Halloween.  Tired of the same old Halloween activities? Get an express passport and spend this year’s Halloween at one of these famous haunted locations:

• The Catacomb Museum in Paris, France- As if thousands of skeletons stacked on top of each other wasn’t creepy enough, at the Catacomb Museum, people have also reported seeing spirits and hearing voices.
• BallyGally Castle Hotel in BallyGally, Nothern Ireland-The ghost of this old castle’s first mistress, Lady  Isobella Shaw, is said to haunt a room called the “ghost room.” Lady Isobella was either murdered or driven to suicide by her husband James Shaw. Other ghosts have been reported as well.
• Monte Cristo Homestead, Australia- This old mansion is advertised as Australia’s “most haunted house.” Unexplained phenomena include ghostly voices and mysterious lights.
• The Tower of London- If you’re looking for ghosts with a royal pedigree, check out the Tower of London.  It’s no secret that the Tower has a bloody history. Reportedly, the spirits of Lady Jane Grey, Anne Boleyn, Sir Walter Raleigh and others have been spotted in the Tower.
• The Skirrid Mountain Inn, Wales- The Skirrid Mountain Inn is Wales’ oldest public house. Although it is an inn today, it has also been used as a jail and was the site of many public executions. In fact, you can still see the original rafter beam where prisoners were once hung!

If you want to spend Halloween at any of these macabre destinations, you will need to get an express passport if you don’t already have one.  With regular passport service, you can expect to wait at least 6 weeks for your passport. With the government’s express passport service, you can still expect to wait at least 3 weeks.

If you really want an express passport for Halloween, the easiest way to get one is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com. With RushMyPassport, your application could be processed in as little as 24 hours!

Apply for an express passport today!