The Super Bowl XLIV will take place at the Dolphin Stadium (formerly Land Shark Stadium), Miami Gardens in South Florida on Sunday 7th February 2010 with the British group, The Who, playing at half time. It has already been decided that Dallas will host the 2011 Super Bowl at The Cowboys Stadium.

With a capacity of over 75,000, the Dolphin Stadium will host the most popular American Football matches of the season. It was reported that the Super Bowl in 2009 was watched by 98.7 viewers when the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 at the Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida.

In the lead up to this major event, on Saturday 6th February, the gates will open at 4pm for a free outdoor live concert commencing at 8pm, followed by a Super Bowl fireworks spectacular lasting about 20 minutes.  This event will not take place in the stadium but on South Beach in Fort Lauderdale.  A ticketless event, special shuttle buses running from local parking garages to the concert site.

American Football fanatics will love the build up to the Super Bowl when the National Football League playoffs run from next week, starting on 9th January and lasting a month. The Wild Card Round will be played on the 9th and 10th January, with the Divisional Playoffs commencing on the 16th January.  The AFC (American Football Conference Championship Game) and NFC Championship Games (National Football Conference) will then be played on Sunday 24th February.

The NFC Championship Game is one of the two semi final playoffs with the winning team receiving the Georges Halas Trophy.  The AFC is the other semi final match and the winners receive the Lamar Hunt Trophy. 

So who will win the NFC? The South winner, New Orleans Saints, North winners Minnesota Viking, East winner Dallas Cowboys, West winner Arizona Cardinals or the Green Bay Packers or Philadelphia Eagles? And the AFC? Indianapolis Colts, South winners, West winner San Diego Chargers, East winner New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals the North winner or the New York Jets or Baltimore Ravens?

Tickets to the Super Bowl are still available but do expect to pay from USD1,700/£1,060!

Now is the time to book your ski holidays and snowboarding vacations, as January is renowned as the most popular time to book winter breaks in the white stuff and tour operators can be difficult to contact!

Cheap ski holidays in France are the most popular with UK holiday makers, and there are fantastic family chalet offers, plenty of low cost group ski holiday locations, cosy mountainside ski hotel deals, as well as luxury ski holidays.

Check snow reports for France and you will currently see that the French ski resorts of Argentiere, Val Thorens and Tignes are boasting the deepest snow, with Alpe d’Huez, Chamonix, Flaine, La Clusaz, Les Arcs, Les Deux Alpes, Megeve and Serre Chevalier due to open soon with more snow forecast in the next few days.

Great ski resorts for beginner skiers include Valmorel in France which is also a fantastic traffic free village ideal for family ski holidays, Bankso in Bulgaria which offers great value for money, Soldeu in Andorra with many bars and 200km of pistes, and Kranjska Gora in Slovenia which also offers plenty of après ski facilities and cross country skiing routes. In the Italian Dolomites, Cortina is a popular resort for first time or nervous skiers and in the USA, Killington on the east coast, has large nursery slopes.

Advance skiers will find all they want in the French resort of Chamonix! At the foot of the Alps, ski holidays in Chamonix offer extreme off piste skiing during the day with trendy, sophisticated bars for a partying nightlife. Turn your back on the well groomed slopes of Whistler, Heavenly and Snowbird and head off piste to experience the exhilaration of discovering untouched mountainsides.

Best resorts for snowboarding include Tignes and Val Thorens in France, St Anton and Soldeu in Austria, Saas Fee and Verbier in Switzerland, Banff in Canada and Breckenridge in USA. Discover snow parks with jumps ad pipes or fantastic off piste freeriding. Learner boarders should head to Risoul in France or Copper Mountain in USA.

So what will January 2010 have in store for you?

For January holiday ideas how about a relaxing January holiday in the sun or a sporting January holiday in the snow? A city break for January shopping or a spa break in a luxury hotel?

Already (30 November) Canada is reporting superb snow conditions in Kicking Horse and Fernie with ski resorts in the USA opening in the next few weeks. By January you can almost confirm that there will be fantastic snow in North America for skiing and snowboarding, but do be prepared for the cold weather with extra thermals!

In Europe the snow has started to fall and for January ski holidays you should be able to have the pick of almost any ski resort…  Norway and Sweden are perfect for family skiing holidays in January, with France, Austria and Switzerland offering a mixture of popular ski resorts and quaint characterful villages in the Alps and surrounding mountain ranges.

From ice to sun!  How about a luxury January holiday on the gorgeous Indian Ocean island of Mauritius off the south east coast of Africa, to escape the winter in Europe? January in Mauritius is part of the summer season but head to the east coast and the beautiful Belle Mare Beach (home to many luxury spa resort hotels), is where you should enjoy a cooling breeze. Dramatic forests combine with white sandy lagoons and staggering long soft stretches of beaches in Mauritius, perfect for relaxing family holidays or romantic honeymoons. Visit the Black River Gorges National Park, hike the Central Plateau and Black River, picnic on Blue Bay Beach or take a gentle stroll along the coast at Trou aux Biches.

For a January city break idea, how about historic St Petersburg in Russia, close to the Baltic Sea? There will be a guaranteed chill in the air, but wrap up as warm as the natives, and you’ll have no problem exploring the State Hermitage area on the River Neva, shopping in Nevsky Prospekt, visiting the breath taking Russian Orthodox cathedrals with a break at the Vodka Museum.

A January holiday idea closer to home, could mean spending a weekend break in London, England’s capital. Prebook tickets to ice skate at Somerset House, Hampton Court or at the Tower of London Ice Rinks, or tickets for a show or lively Christmas pantomime! Join the shoppers in Oxford Street and Regent Street for the January Sales or whilst in London in January, take a tour along the River Thames, followed by a visit to one of the city’s magnificent museums such as the Science Museum or Natural Museum.

The Canary Islands and Madeira are only a few hours flight away from the UK and during January are popular spots for a little warmth and wide empty beaches too.

Is there snow?  Can we ski or snowboard yet? Where is the snow, if any?

According to various reports, there has already been considerable snowfall in the Alps so prompting an early start to the ski season.  The result of this has meant that skiers and snowboarders are booking their ski holidays early and booking more than one winter sport trip in anticipation of a longer ski season than usual.

With cheap bargain flights from the UK and low cost car hire available at all the key European ski airports such as Geneva, Turin, Chambery and Innsbruck, it only stands to reason that with ski bookings set to increase, that winter sport holidays should be booked as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.  As with the Spring and Summer, we have to expect that car hire providers will not have increased their car rental stock due to the credit crunch, so car hire companies will be urging winter travellers to book their hire car in advance.

Tignes and Val Thorens in France both have a snow hi of 65 cm with more snow due to fall tomorrow. Alpe d’Huez, Les Deux Alpes (reporting good skiing conditions), Argentiere and Chamonix are all reporting 55 cm on the upper slopes with the latter two resorts expecting about 15 cms more in the next few days.

Of the well known resorts in Austria, the Austria snow reports show that Solden has the deepest snow with 80 cm at the top and is reporting good skiing conditions.  There is a high of 60 cm in Kaprun and Obergurgl.

There is no doubt that the best snow conditions in Switzerland are in the ski resort of Saas Fee with a high of 150 cm, although the slopes still have to be machine groomed. Zermatt already has 70 cm of snow with Wengen reporting 45 cm; both resorts expect 9 cm in the next two days.

The Italian resort of Passo Tonale in the Dolomites is enjoying the deepest snow in Italy at the moment with a high of 120 cm, whilst many of the other resorts currently have between 25 and 45 cms although are expecting more any day!

Further afield, the USA is still to receive its first real dump of snow, although snow is forecast at a number of locations this week.  Various ski resorts in British Columbia, western Canada however, have received considerable snow fall. On the high slopes Whistler Blackcomb already has 238 cm of the white stuff with more forecast later today, whilst there is nearly a metre in Sun Peaks and Sunshine Village Banff, with a high of 88 cm in Lake Louise. In the last 48 hours nearly 10 cm more snow has fallen in Kicking Horse.

There are many fabulous and exciting countries to visit for a New Year holiday worldwide.

Cheap holidays to Dominican Republic in the Caribbean are available at the moment (13 December) for one week departing from Gatwick on Wednesday 30th December with Thomson Holidays.  Stay in the four star plus all inclusive ClubHotel Riu Bambu in Bavaro, Punta Cana including coach transfers from £1393 per person.  Wake up on New Year’s morning to the beautiful sight of fourteen miles of white tropical beaches, and blow away the cobwebs of 2009 with games of water polo and volleyball, scuba diving lessons and windsurfing.

The beautiful Maldives and spectacular Seychelles in the Indian Ocean are extra special New Year holiday destinations. Kuoni Holidays have last minute offers for 7 nights from 28 December staying at the boutique five star Velassaru Hotel in the Maldives from £2263 per person, and Labriz Hotel in the Seychelles from £4401 per person.

Tropicalsky are offering holidays at the end of December to Le Meridien on the island of Phuket in Thailand, from £1209 per person for six nights and holidays to the Grand Mirage Resort and Thalasso Spa in Bali for 7 nights from £1439 per person.

If you are looking for a New Year Holiday for the family with lots of activities, a holiday in Orlando, Florida is always popular. Not only is there an extensive choice of accommodation in and around Orlando, but so much to keep the youngest to the oldest member of the family happy. Travel to the Orlando Theme Parks, Movie Studios and Orlando Shopping Malls and factory outlets for an exciting Florida holiday at New Year.  Holidayhypmarket have New Year package holidays available from £1193 per person for 7 nights, flying from Gatwick on 28 December and staying in a two star Resort hotel on room only basis.