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Many families are preparing to jet off to the slopes once their youngsters break up from school this April. Here’s all first timers need to know about ski holidays with little ones
The Easter holidays are fast approaching, when many parents will take the opportunity to go skiing, tempted by the warmer weather and longer days on the mountain.
If this is your first family ski holiday, the prospect can be a daunting one but help is on hand from this Mirror mum. Time away on the slopes can be truly magical, offering plenty of sunshine, sporty fun for the whole family and gorgeous food.
And from wrestling freezing ski boots onto my child to spending an unnecessary fortune on snacks, I’ve made all the mistakes so you don’t have to. Here are my top pointers to ensure you have a fabulous break…
Think secondhand
Most Brits will only go on a ski holiday once or twice a year, meaning their pricey gear gets very little wear. With younger kids in particular growing up fast, their ski clothing will often be too small before they’ve had much use at all.
This offers the ideal opportunity to bag nearly new ski outfits for your youngsters secondhand – try eBay, Vinted, or Facebook Marketplace. My top tip is to look for a complete set to buy – I bought my daughter’s ski clothing as a bundle complete with jacket, two pairs of salopettes, goggles, mittens and multiple pairs of thermal leggings and tops for a bargain £25 on Vinted. It looked nearly new and has lasted two ski seasons so far.
Practice makes perfect
From stepping onto a “magic carpet” to using a button lift for the first time, kids can get spooked by all manner of new experiences on the slopes. When my daughter was three and too young to ski, our lovely Italian apartment host gave us the use of her child’s sledge for the week. It absolutely terrified her for some reason and she refused to even sit on it but it did make a nice home for her teddies so all wasn’t lost.
When it comes to skiing, I’d recommend a practice on home soil if you have an indoor or outdoor UK ski slope within reach. Book a lesson or if mum and dad can ski well, hire some skis and boots and have a little practice going up and down the nursery slope. This means skiing in the resort won’t feel quite so new, reducing the chances of your kid refusing to go up the mountain at all, which has happened to several people I know.
Be flexible
In her second season on the slopes our six year old was becoming a good skier, with her instructor encouraging her to practice parallel turns on steeper slopes. While she was happy to try this with her teacher, once her lesson had finished we spent hours skiing the same run off the main slope which had mini jumps and obstacles, because it was “the most fun EVER”.
Our daughter also loved the “animal forest”, with a cute little ski trail boasting different wooden woodland creatures to say hello to. Perfecting parallel turns was only for lessons we were told – so we spent the week skiing in a different but equally fun way to the one we’d imagined.
Book lessons
Even if you’re a good skier who could look after your beginner kids on the mountain, I’d recommend hiring an instructor if you can. The teachers know the resorts inside out, including all the fun hidden spots youngsters will love (they tend to give great restaurants recommendations too). Children will often be better behaved with a teacher and little ones travelling solo or sociable youngsters will love the chance to make international friends in their group lessons.
So even if they’re pricey, I thoroughly recommend lessons if you can and booking ahead is a must for this, particularly to bag an English-speaking instructor. Having said that our daughter had an instructor who only spoke Italian this year and loved him, saying it didn’t matter as “everyone understands laughter don’t they Mummy?”
Warm your ski boots
Ski boots can be stiff to get into first thing in the morning so to avoid any last-minute drama make sure you use a heated rack (many hotels have these) or store your boots in the warmest place possible overnight. We learned this the hard way when we left our boots outside and could not get them on in the morning. With the lesson time drawing closer, it was touch and go if we’d make it and our daughter, it’s fair to say, didn’t react to our attempts to force her feet into too tight ski boots particularly well…
Anticipate being ‘hangry’
Skiing can be exhausting so having a little treat on hand for your exhausted youngster at the end of a lesson is helpful. With prices in cafes and shops up on the mountain at a premium, stock up from a supermarket down in the resort when you arrive and pop a few snacks in your bag each day.
Remember sun cream
It might feel freezing at the top of the mountain but if the sun is shining there’s a real sunburn risk. Ensure your kids’ faces are covered with Factor 50 each morning to avoid red, sore faces at the end of the day. I popped a sunblock stick (I love La Roche-Posay’s Anthelios XL) in my rucksack to give noses and cheeks a top up every now and then. With suncream prices high in resorts, it’s worth bringing products from home.
Explore beyond the slopes
Our last ski holiday in the Italian resort of Bormio offered much more than skiing. One afternoon we headed to a family spa in the town, with gorgeous outdoor pools with views to die for – this turned out to be a highlight of the week. There was also a lovely free outdoor playground in the centre of town and, being Italy, the bars were extremely kid friendly too – our favourite one had a snug filled with toys and the owners’ children waiting to play with young visitors.
