I had completely passed over the Christmas timeframe. You mean as in next week? For sure finding a place to stay in Myanmar on such short notice would be very difficult.

I really liked Laos. Assume you mean Luang Prabang? Vientiane I was not as impressed with. This was a few years ago now so I am sure that it is more traffic now and maybe a bit more modernized. I wouldn't worry too much about malaria, especially this time of year. Use repellant. Wear long pants and long sleeves especially at dusk time. The place I stayed had a mosquito net on the bed but I am not sure it was really necessary. I was there in November and it was quite cool at night. Very refreshing actually.

If you do you to Luang Prabang drop by Big Brother Mouse (www.bigbrothermouse.com) They publish simple books to help teach Lao kids to read. They distribute them to villages all over. They do really great work.