I went Christmas 1980, first time I'd ever flown, just me and my best mate. His parents had died in the Tenerife Air Crash on the 25th April the same year, it was his first time flying after he lost his mum and dad.
We went away because he didn't want to face Christmas due to what had happened. I was bricking it, my Dad dropped us off in the dark at Ringway, it was freezing and the flight was delayed due to ice on the runway. We had a couple of drinks and away we went, I was sat next to an old girl who asked me if I was alright, I was clearly looking worried, when I told her I was a "flight virgin" she held my hand whilst taking off, she even bought us a drink on the plane, fantastic old lady.
We stayed in Sliema where my mate met this Maltese girl in a bar, he said he was taking her to the Movies the following day (Saturday) and asked me to come along as I might get a blind date. . So, we met in the morning and the girl my mate was going on a date with turned up with her younger sister and brother who were no more than 8 years old.
I ended up babysitting two kids sat on the front row at the flicks watching Popeye (made in Malta) played by Robin Williams along with a full row of kids all shouting with delight when they showed parts of Malta they recognised.
Good holiday under the circumstances. The Popeye Village is still going as a tourist attraction, don't know if we got lucky but the weather was great for the time of year.
You'll enjoy it, people were very friendly.