Spain in the winter

Hi, Joann!
I think you'll LOVE Madrid and Andalucia in late December and early January. I know I do. Sure, you'll have to bundle-up a little, but it'll be much more comfortable than in, say, August!!!! On Christmas Day some things will shut down, yes, but in the tourist centers of Madrid and the Andalusian cities you won't have any problems with restaurants or bars. Museums will likely be closed, though. On New Years Day, other museums will be closed and it's likely that many things will be closed in the morning but open in the afternoon/evening. As for siesta closing hours, they're the same all year long by those businesses/shops which observe them. Again, many tourist-center shops won't close during those 2pm-5pm hours, but many will. Saludos, MadridMan @ you-know-where!

Depends a bit on where in Andalucia - for example Granada will be much colder than Seville. We spent Christmas/NY in Seville several years ago and almost all restaurants and bars were open, business as usual on Christmas Day. New Years Eve the restaurants were open but the majority (in the centre) had long been booked for parties. We cooked in our apartment that night! The weather was also great - we ate outside most days but didn't get a lot of use out of the terrace of the apartment. We were in Jerez last New Year and it was pretty much closed so I would stick to the bigger cities if you are in Andalucia over New Year.

My wife and I arrived in Madrid on Christmas Night by Air from Munich. We were exhausted and we fully expected Madrid to be completely dead.
Imagine my amazement when I left my hotel near the Plaza Puerta del Sol to stretch my legs and found the entire City was roaming around that plaza and the Plaza Mayor. I rushed back to our room and got my wife and we roamed with the families of Madrid for hours tasting treats and enjoying the street performers. It certainly was a mop scene but it was very exciting and enjoyable for us. Christmas was wonderful in Madrid. In Spain the "family celebration" of Christmas is on the Day of the Magi, Jan 8. That is when you can expect things to be closed.

It is interesting that our experience in Seville on New Year's eve of 09 was vastly different that others reported. We were staying in the old city near the cathedral so it could have been different in other parts of the city. Everything on New Year's eve begin shutting down around 6 pm. Our walking tour guide that day had advised us that nothing would be open on New Year's eve or day and buy enough food to get through the day. She was correct. Except for a couple of larger hotels with restaurants, all the small tapas bars, local restaurants, etc. were all closed. The streets were surprising deserted by 10 pm and only a few tourist stumbling around on the side streets. About 11:30 everyone began to make their way to the town square with a bag of grapes. A huge crowd gathered in front of the town hall clock on the plaza and with the stroke of each bell ate one grape for good luck. Fair amount of celebration for about 15 minutes and then everyone wondered home. New Years day with bright and sunny with lots of people wondering the streets but nothing open except for the restaurants associated with the larger hotels and they were crowded. Compared to an American New Year's eve party it was pretty laid back.

Thanks for all the replies. I enjoy receiving your advice.
I think we're going to spend New Year's Day driving from Sevilla to Granada through Arcos de la Frontera and Ronda. I guess we'd better pick up the rental car early on the 31st, before everything closes.