My wife and I spent three weeks in Iran, escaping Christmas 2008 (we're not religious and we don't have kids, so visiting countries where they don't do Christmas is a brilliant way to escape the madness). It was one of the most wonderful travel experiences we've had. Here's our story of getting Ta'arof wrong in a small country town in rural Gilan: http://threeweeksiniran.blogspot.ie/2009/03/ta-fail.html