Christmas on east coast?

We are travelling from Cairns to Brisbane in December. We should be somewhere between Airlie Beach and Rockhampton but don't know where exactly to spend Christmas. We would like to stop somewhere nice /comfortable for couple of days. We would prefer somewhere with a bit of life, nice hotels and restaurants.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Hello all,

I'd be interested as well on that topic.
I'm looking for a nice place to spend XMas with my girlfriend, in Queensland ideally.
Somewhere romantic would score me the most brownie points obviously

Between Airlie Beach and Rockhampton there wasn't much as far as I remember but a little further south you find a couple of good options. I once spent christmas at Agnes Water/Town of 1770, a picturesque little village by the ocean. There's no big night club scene, but a few nice pubs and you can do trips to less touristy parts of the Great Barrier Reef (Diving at Lady Musgrove Island was amazing). I remember we had surfing lessons the day before christmas and a huge barbie on the beach on christmas day with lots of other backpackers. Also the hostel we stayed at, called Cool Bananas was a great and friendly place who even had a christmas roast for their backpackers!

Alternatively, you could spend christmas in Noosa. It also a really pretty place, a bit livelier and more touristy than Agnes Water, but nonetheless one of my favourite places on the east coast. The YHA is a good option to stay at and definitely do the coastal walk, you're likely to see Koalas!

Steff