Mumsnet Talk

DH and I are keen skiers BC. Not been in years mainly due to cost. Decided in summer to book appartment with another family and take children skiing. DD8 and DS6. Driving to the Alps.
Really regretting that appt not fully catered. Why did I think this would be OK?Used to love putting feet up after days sking and have someone cook dinner. Remember feeling very tierd and that was BC.OH not worried.
Any advice to make this easy. Would also like to do something special for News Years Eve!
TIA

We have been s/c in the Alps since DSs were babies, and now they are 8 and 6. Yes - it can be hard work, but if that is how you make the sums add up, for me it is a no-brainer!

Think up some simple recipes that will work for everyone...spag bog / roast chicken / casseroles etc, and make sure you split shopping/ cooking / clearing up with the other family. Make sure you take it in turns to get the bread in the morning. What are the facilities like? And the shops? May be worth taking some things out with you (esp breakfast cereals). You could either take turns in making sandwiches for lunch - or spend the cash on nice mountain restaurants!

Either do a special meal for all on New Years Day night or consider booking a nice restaurant.

I hope you have a lovely time.

We took DCs skiing last New Year, then aged 2 and 4. Admittedly I quite like cooking but it was fine. (Planning on doing it all again this year.) Do a big shop at Carrefour Calais so that all you need to get once in the resort is fresh bread and milk. Don't count on having an oven. Kitchen provision is often pretty basic. Often just two or three electric hobs. Get plenty of nibbles to have to restore energy when you are straight off the slopes. That way you won't feel guilty that the troops are starving when you head straight for the bath with a glass of wine. Also a good idea to have cereal bars or similar to put in the kids pockets when out skiing incase they need an energy boost. For meals think simple and quick - get some tinned soups for lunch / starters. And forget all your low carb vows (you'll be burning it off) - pasta / risotto / rosti with some meat and salad. Yoghurt or fruit afterwards. And book a meal in a restaurant for NYE if you fancy it. We stayed in with some champagne but your DCs are quite a bit older. We did take them out for a raclette on our last night and it took so long to arrive that they both fell asleep at the table.

Not been brave enough to take my Dc skiing yet, but this is what works for us when we SC with another family:

Take something ready made for first night eg cottage pie and a bag of peas or meatballs/sauce/pasta if no oven available.
Go out to eat on the final night, to save the stress of cooking and clearing up on top of packing.
Each adult plans and cooks one evening meal each.
Takeaway on another night.

Simple breakfasts - porridge, eggs, cereal, bread, pastries
Packed lunch - filled baguette, chocolate bar.
Afternoon tea - cakes and biscuits

Many thanks for your advice. We are driving so I had planned to take some food. Might bring a lot more. DS can be a bit fussy. Cottage pie or lasagna sounds good on the first night. Obviously need to do some planning!

Take away pizza!

We've done SC with another family for 2 years in a row - they have 3 DD and we have a DS nearly 6 and DD 8 so similar to you. We drive down in a day. We take loads of stuff divided across the 2 famlies and it works really well. Get loads of crips (lollies), sweets, cereal bars, biscuits, pasta, rice, loo roll, cleaning stuff, peanut butter, chocolate spread. We do a massive pan of porridge in the morning - usually a dads job while the mums help everyone get into their ski gear. We always make pack lunch for the kids for the slopes for after ski school then just order a few plates of chips and beers too. Evenings we do simple meals like spag bols etc. or those tins of frankfurter sausages go down well. And most importantly on day one we buy bucket loads of wine!!

Thanks.Feeling more positive.

We always pack small salt and pepper and olive oil/mayo/ketchup too as otherwise you end up buying them and promising to remember them the year after. Also recommend you take plenty of tea towels and some washing up liquid as well as dishwasher tabs if you don't know if the apartment will have them.
Good luck and enjoy.

Could you take a slow cooker and have that going all day so you come into something made? We've never self catered whilst skiing but this would be something I would think about if we did.