This if he likes hiking and being in the beautiful outdoors.

Great Wolf Lodge is a hit but $$$$

Following

Estes Park. Snow skiing, Bronco's play on the 22nd, mountains, and more.

Gatlinburg, TN

I, too, am always trying to drive away family during the holidays. The full Monty usually works.

Go star gazing at an observatory there are 3 in Texas. My choice would be George Observatory outside of Houston, there is also the Houston Space Center, lots of cool stuff their, and Galveston is short trip from there. He will love a ride on the Bolivar ferry and so will you, also there is Moody Gardens and more good seafood than you can eat. There is a jack up oil rig and the 1877 tall sailing Elissa if it in port. You can see big ships coming and going on the Houston ship channel, then there is the Galveston Strand during Christmas there Dickens on the Strand where dress up in period and costoms. If it were still there I'd say make a stop at the Battleship Texas and play on guns, I always liked playing on AA guns pretending to shoot down Jap planes. That is some of the things we did when I was a kid although the observatory and space center were not there.

I forgot to mention The Battleship Texas has been moved to dry dock for repairs and will not be returning to Houston very sad.

Solid advise. Real nice areas around there as well.