Family ski holidayze!
Come skiing with dayze co-founder George and her family to Val Thorens in France.
I’ll be 100% honest, I am writing this with a sore neck after faceplanting Bridget Jones style in the snow! I am not a natural skiier and no amount of lessons will make me look good on the slopes. In fact, our ski instructor Karl used the phrase “chicken arms” when talking about my skiing ‘style’!
This was our first proper ski holiday, and I was pretty anxious about it. I have been snowboarding before, but it’s a lot of money to spend without guaranteeing that the kids will like it or if there’ll be good snow!
Package deals were super expensive, so we booked self-catering apartment with Crystal Ski and flew from Birmingham airport early! Once you factor in the lessons, food, and everything you need, it’s not the cheapest of holidays, but it’s one you and the kids won’t forget for a LONG time.
Our aim for the week was twofold:
To introduce the kids (ages 5 and 7) to skiing in a fun way.
We are snowboarders (I use that term VERY loosely for me), we aimed to end the week knowing how to ski so that we could ski as a family (which we did!).
A few dayze community members have asked me to share my thoughts, learnings and hacks with you. I’m no expert by any means, but hopefully, this might help those of you planning to go on a family ski trip in the near future. Also, those more experienced family ski trippers, let us know your hacks, hints, and tips, and we can pool them together for a proper guide!
Travelling to Val Thorens
Our flight was at 6am on Saturday, so we had to get the kids up and out quickly.
Things that worked for us:
We live close to Birmingham Airport, so we checked in and dropped off our bags the night before.
Dress the kids in onesies if you have a super early flight.
Charge the iPads and get the headphones ready.
Take colouring books, snacks, water, and a jumper to roll up as a pillow in their hand luggage.
Take travel sickness medicine or sick bags with you if your little one gets easily travel sick, as the coach journey is WILD and not for the faint-hearted.
Also, ensure you have enough snacks and iPad charge for the 2.5 hours coach transfer.
Ski equipment + lessons
Book morning ski lessons if you can. The kids did group lessons with Prosneige from 9am-12pm (including a hot choc break), leaving the afternoon for family fun. Everyone is less grumpy in the mornings, and the snow is normally better.
We hired our equipment vs. schlepping it over on the plane and from the apartment.
It takes an AGE to get everyone ready – guaranteed the kids will need a wee once they have all their gear on!
Rent equipment and leave it in locker at the ski school to save traipsing back and forth and the kids crying as they walk in ski boots.
Toilet trips can take triple the time, and the loos are tiny and not always great!
If you’re a helicopter parent (hello, me!), you need to let go of any control! The ski instructors will take the kids up to the mountain, and the kids will go on chairlifts on their own. They have done it a bizmillion times – but it’s a very strange feeling.
Ski clothes for the kids
Thermals and snoods are essential.
Ski socks with Merino wool may cost a bit more, but they don’t tend to smell and keep their little tootsies warm! We packed two pairs per child which was enough.
We over-packed their normal clothes – they only wore ski clothes and PJs daily! So pack light on the outfits.
Salopettes with straps are a must as they stop snow going up their backs but make toilet trips a bit more tricky.
Rather than buy new, borrow from friends, or get your ski stuff from Vinted. The kids grow out of their things so quickly.
Don’t do what we did and panic buy cheap kids’ ski goggles from Amazon. The foam fell off within days!
Ski hacks that worked for us
Before we went, friends and dayze community members shared their top tips for skiing with kids (one said just don’t do it!). Here’s what worked for us:
Take an extra pair of kid’s gloves out for the day as they get wet quickly from snowball fights and larking about.
Take a rucksack with you to bring a bottle of water and extra snacks (and the gloves I mentioned.)
Take some loo roll with you, as most places have run out by lunchtime.
We made passports for the kids’ fave cuddly toys that they could show to the check-in and passport staff – it made the process a little more fun!
While the kids slept well, we found it too dry to sleep comfortably. Our ski instructor Karl advised us to pop a small bowl of water on the bedroom radiator to keep the moisture in.
Food + snacks
Very few places in France serve dinner before 6.30pm, which was too late for our kids, so we switched things up, ate out at lunchtime, and cooked pasta and things at home. It worked out a LOT cheaper, too!
Take tea bags with you (the ones in France just don’t taste the same!)
Most apartments will give you the bare minimum for the first day or two (dishwasher tablets, bin bags, etc.,) but you need to get everything from salt and pepper to bin bags and loo roll.
We could pre-order fresh pastries and bread for the morning the night before. The team hung the fresh, delicious goods on our door at 7am… perfect.
Drink LOTS of water. The air is super dry at altitude.
Skiing vs. snowboarding
I wish I’d learned to ski before snowboarding. Everything from getting off a chairlift to flat pistes was much easier than on a board. My only bugbear… the ski boots! They are so hard to walk in.
The kids took to skiing like ducks to water because they have zero fear and only focus on the fun!