Snow, skiing, presents and celebrations…. Family Ski Holidays at Christmas and New Year can be magical. Being away for Christmas can make it extra special, not just the skiing, but also the joy of seeing Santa Skiing/ parascending/ snowboarding on Christmas day.
Christmas and New year are also midweek for the 2019/20 ski season, which makes it a great year to go without the chance of travel close to or one of the key days.
Reasons to go on a Family Ski Holiday at Christmas and New Years
The main reason to go skiing at Christmas is it’s Christmas. It’s very rare that we get a White Christmas in the UK and this is how you guarantee one. Plus you’ll get to:
- Open your presents… and then ski all day
- Instead of jigsaws and board games… have a snowball fight
- Have a Gluwein or Vin Chaud watching the snowfall all around you
- Go on a festive sleigh ride
- Join in on the local festivities and displays
- Finally the right holiday and accommodation can make your Christmas special.
The negatives of skiing at Christmas
The main negative for a family ski holiday is the weather, it can be bitterly cold and snowy or on the flipside if it’s a slow start to the season you can have almost spring conditions.
You also need to bear in mind that at Christmas you will be right at the start of the ski season. Though some resorts open for weekends only around mid December Christmas week is usually the first week of the ski season. This means that accommodation can have teething problems. Plus if you are staying in a Chalet run by staff rather than owners it’s probably the hosts first proper week.
How to get the most out of skiing at Christmas
You can easily ruin your holiday by putting too much pressure and hype on it, because it’s Christmas. End of the day your are going skiing over Christmas, not going to a ski resort for Christmas.
Having been on various holidays at Christmas time, the key is to go planning to do Christmas differently. You can’t go expecting to still manage to do all the traditions you do at home… do something different and enjoy it.
Stay in an amazing Chalet or if self-catering pre-book a restaurant for Christmas Day or New Years Eve, which with emails couldn’t be easier. Another option is to use one of the amazing catering companies that are currently flourishing in the Alps.
Where to stay for a family ski holiday at Christmas
It’s Christmas so you want to try and stay in or close to the resort centre so you can easily access the festivities. Slightly lower more traditional villages are perfect for that festive feeling and tree lined runs.
My recommendation for your perfect Christmas or Family Ski Holiday is to look at Morzine.
Family Christmas in Morzine
Morzine is a perfect resort for Christmas. It’s a picturesque alpine town that is the heart of the Porte du Soleil. It’s also only an hour from Geneva, which removes transfer nightmares from the festive period.
Though it is relatively low, 900m, it’s well linked to the higher bases, like Avoriaz and Chamossieve. The other advantage is being lower you are gifted an abundance of cruisey tree lined reds and blues. Perfect for a family ski holiday. The extensive lift system also means even if the snow is sparse lower down you can always get back.
Finally if, or when, your kids are all skied out there is a fantastic leisure centre with ice rink and large swimming pool with a view of the piste.
Our picks for accommodation are:
- Pure Morzine
- North Star Chalets
Pure Morzine
Pure Morzine is a family run business located in Morzine with have a selection of great recently refurbished apartments and chalets in the resort. The apartments are all located near the bottom of the Pleney lift. Apartment Rhodes, which is 2000€ for the week.
They also work with Chalet Kitchen to offer a catering service in the apartments. For me this is the perfect option for Christmas, because you have the option of getting a meal delivered on Christmas Day and remove a lot of faff and stress.
Prices for a two course meal are:
- Adults 16€
- Children 8€
If it is just your family going I think one of Pure Morzine’s apartments is a perfect option.
Northstar Chalets
Aimed at larger family groups Northstar run a 8-10 person chalet (including a maximum of 8 adults). The Chalet is perfectly located it’s near ski schools and only a four minutes walk from the Pléney lift.
The Chalet is owner ran and has been beautifully renovated. It is spread across two floors with four bedrooms (one of which had a shower room) and a large communal bathroom.
You can rent your ‘home from home’ in the mountains for 7000€ this Christmas.
If none of these options quite meet your needs have a look at the psste resorts page.
If you prefer ski in/ ski out to a picture perfect traditional feel have a look at:
In summary
Christmas in the mountains is magical, what ruins it for people is the additional expectation because it’s Christmas.
Personally with one ski trip a year I’d go later in the season. This is mainly because of the temperatures and higher chance of heavy snow.
However if you’re planning to go away for Christmas anyway, what better to do than go skiing.