Mittenwald first week of December?

Well, it could be a little far afield for you, but the annual Krampuslauf in Hallstatt still appears to be scheduled for December 5. Hotel Grüner Baum is in the center of the action. You might want to check with them. I have no idea re horse-drawn rides. But Hallstatt may be farther than you wish to go.

If you have not already been to Garmisch Partenkirchen then look into it. I know you are seeking alternatives other than GP but don't discount it so quickly. The area is very pretty and they have an excellent website gapa info that will tell you all upcoming events, and all general info for lodging and visiting the area. It is usually a very lively destination with lots of nearby options. Since lots of skiers and hikers come to GP in the winter I would think most everything will be open. Probably their busiest time of the year. Their Christmas market is scheduled for December this year. You would have to do research about the sleigh/carriage rides but I would think that they would be available. I know there is a restaurant on Ludwigstrasse in Partenkirchen that offer dinners with live German music and dancers. The train station is right between the two connected towns. We arrived by train once from Munich and by Flix bus once from Austria. The Flix bus also drops off at the train station. One time we stayed at a BnB on the Partenkirchen side and one time we stayed at an apartment on the Garmisch side. Both are easily walkable but you are also given bus passes by BnBs and hotels and you can use them to get around. Both times we took the train for a short ride to visit Mittenwald, but both times it was summer and neither time was it busy or lively, very quiet, almost empty and a completely different feel than Garmisch. You could visit it as a daytrip. GP makes a good base for daytrips: Innsbruck, Mittenwald, Linderhoff, Oberammergau, etc.

You said you will be completing a 17 day trip to Germany. Will you visit Salzburg? Salzburg is a very easy train ride from Munich. I did visit Salzburg once during the first week of December and it was great. The Christmas market is excellent and very, very lively in the evenings. That could be an alternative but certainly not the little village feel that Mittenwald would have and that you might be looking for.

Also look into Augsberg or Regensberg. Augsberg's Christmas market is very pretty. I have not been to either but both are on my radar. and you will find many forum posts recommending them. Oberammergau is a small town, not far from GP. Both times I visited were in the summer and it was filled with tourists and seemed quite lively. Don't know about December though and for me three nights there would be too many. It is also an easy daytrip from GP.

My husband and I had hoped for a bit of a festive atmosphere and We really had our hearts set on a
horse-drawn carriage ride ... and although I've found one offered by
AllThingsGarmisch.com ... I'm not sure commentary by an American expat
is what we we had in mind.

As I recall, you previously stated a preference for the less-touristy over the touristy (Rothenburg) but maybe you haven't fully pushed those Christmas-card images out of your trip planning. If the horse-and-carriage is something you truly want, you should probably do it if you end up in the area; in fact even with just a night or two in Munich, you could still day trip to G-P for that (1:25 by direct train in each direction.) Perhaps check with the GAPA tourist office to see if a German local offers similar services?

Can anyone offer an alternative plan besides staying in G-P?

I think I mentioned Landshut as a possible base town for you. Not sure if you looked into that. But I think you wrote that you'd been inspired by a 2016 thread which had multiple recommendations for Landshut, so if G-P and M-wald are no longer strong contenders, I'll re-recommend Landshut as a good alternative. Museums, castle, churches, galleries, Christmas market. (I've never taken a tour there but I see the TI offers local German guides who give tours in English. Maybe you could arrange something there.)

https://www.landshut-tourismus.bayern/de/suchen-buchen/stadtfuehrungen-landshut/unsere-gaestefuehrer.html

As a smaller place, Landshut seems a better choice for crowd avoidance, and it makes for an excellent travel base to Regensburg (UNESCO World Heritage status, just 30 minutes away by direct train) as well as Passau (very nice place, 80 minutes by direct train) and Munich (50 minutes by direct train.) If the two of you (or maybe just DH) wanted to visit Nuremberg, there are direct trains from Landshut that take 1:50.

Getting from Mannheim to Landshut is possible in about 4 hours with one change of train.

"...since we're traveling via train, will be unable to simply pack up and go elsewhere at the drop of a hat."

I don't understand why that would be so. Either a German Rail Pass (which you'd already have bought) or one of the day pass options available on the spot - a day pass for Germany, a day pass for Bavaria, or a different regional day pass - would permit that sort of impromptu decision.

Not Germany and you might find similar between season closures, but Kitzbühel, Austria. I though it had a similar feel as Mittelnwald. It is a famous ski village. Might be too far out of your way? Skiing might be possible with early and man made snow. Looks like the Kitzbüheler Weihnachtsmarkt is open Wednesday-Sunday beginning 24 November. For fun search for Hansi Hinterseer.

thanks mchpp - now I have to go back to «Ein Kleines Edelweiss»

thanks

Hi Carolyn,
I've been to Mittenwald several times in early December and love the area and the Alpenrose. I find it a more peaceful town than festive, but a wonderful location for visiting Bavaria. I've never spent a night at the Alpenrose when they didn't have their zither player. I hope nothing has happened to him! I've also never managed to be there when they offered a carriage ride!

One of the things I've loved most in the area is the chance to do an all day cross country carriage ride with Coaching in Bavaria. Herr Nimitz is in the tiny town of Pahl, a little less than an hour from Mittenwald. I don't know how you could get there without a car, but I would consider renting one for a few days to do this and give you more freedom in the beautiful Bavarian countryside. So many things are close by car -- the Zugspitze, Andechs, the castles, Weiskirche, Innsbruck, Oberramergau, Partnachlamm (closed at the moment.) It's a very easy area for driving, mostly two lane country roads. Just a thought.

Your post made me curious about Pähl (pronounced "pell", roughly) and the carriage ride, Ruth.

Pähl is convenient from Munich. It's just a short distance from the Ammersee, the lake destination near Andechs Monastery. To reach either Andechs or Pähl from Munich without a car, many visitors first catch the S-Bahn to Herrsching am Ammersee. Then for Andechs, they make the uphill hike to the monastery (see Rick's book.) For Herrsching > Pähl, a local bus travels about 15 minutes to Pähl. You can check the various journey options to "Gasthof Post, Pähl" stop from Munich (or from anywhere else) at the DB itinerary search page.

Map of this area for reference

I got curious about carriage rides too. The Nebel family in Mittenwald has two vacation apartments as well as carriage rides and sleigh rides on offer. The apartments are just under 1 km from the station - walk or taxi if you like, but the Nebels also offer to pick you up at the train station upon request. Their booking calendars indicate availability from November 6 through Dec. 17. (The carriage and sleigh rides are available to the general public - not just an add-on for guests.)

Thank you for the replies & help! Especially Ruth’s comment about it being “peaceful”. We are looking into both carriage ride options - thank you Ruth & Russ! Here in the SF Bay Area of California, we’ve had a severe wind storm & atmospheric river which resulted in massive amounts of rain, power outages & evacuations from the burn zones (due to mud slides). So I’ll be offline and unable to respond, but do appreciate all your help.

Russ,
Thank you so much for the info about the carriage rides. I'll be there in early December and hope to arrange something since we don't have time for a full day trip with Herr Nimitz this year. Also glad you offered some public transport help. I'm no good at all at that!