First time family skiing holiday. What do we need to pack?

[BoogleMcGroogle]

We are a family of four first time skiers, heading out to the Alps for half term. Ski, boot and helmet hire is all booked and we will have had six family lessons before we go. Children are in morning ski school with ESF. We hope to have some private lessons. It's a very small, tame resort. All are very excited!

I feel a bit daunted about packing all the things we need. I really want to make sure we are all dry and cosy, but don't want to buy/borrow unnecessary stuff. We will be driving over, so can fill the boot.

Can any experienced skiers help me out with some packing ideas? Thanks ❄️

I live in the Alps
Take far less than you think!

Skiing areas aren't ever a fashion resort. Hotels, restaurants etc all accept outdoor style clothing even 5 star simply because of the locations

-Take salopettes and ski coat each
-2 thermal leggings
-Layers on top no need to be fancy. just layer up what you already have. Top layer handy to have zip to undo if hot, but wool regular jumper fine no need to buy sporty extras. (i just wear vest top from h and m, any long sleeve top, plus a woolen jumper usually.)
-3 pairs ski socks, 3 pairs thick socks to wear in evenings

• take neck buff

-decent waterproof gloves for skiing, plus a regular pair to wear walking around

• hat to wear when not skiing
• I wear a head band thing under helmet to keep ears warm and helmet snug.
• take slippers

Clothes wise to wear when not skiing, you really only need one or two changes as only really wear later afternoon/evening. If your staying in a hotel, most kids will wear comfy pjs style things in the evenings, so maybe take something casual like joggers and jumpers to wear instead of pjs.

Strawberry has nailed it.

I found bibbed salopettes a lot easier to work with than normal trouser style, due to all the layers and waistline issues (ahem). You don't want to be constricted in your first trip, you'll spend a lot of time getting up off the ground!

One add: Take snowproof (eg walking) boots as well, you'll probably be walking on packed snow not paths at the resort at least some of the time as you head out for evening meals, shopping etc.

And painkillers. Have a decent quantity of painkillers around, ski boots are bastards, particularly when you're learning, and will leave painful dents in you.

Thanks so much StrawberryTraveller. From your list, we have all of these things for the kids and will stock up for the grown ups from Amazon this week. I thought packing less would be the way to go. I also want to pack three oil radiators and a heated surer in the boot! Where do you live in the Alps? My father in law has a chalet near Evian, which we use a lot in the summer, but this is the first time we've been in the winter. If we don't have something, I guess there will be a version if it from 1983 in the cellar somewhere! I know that the resort is definitely not glam ( well it's not in August) and that we are likely to be there in a very cold week so your list sounds spot-on.

SpoonBlender. Thanks for the tip about salopettes. I think I've bought bibbed ones for the kids. You mean the ones with elastic braces? I'm a bit worried about the kids not being able to get them off to wee. I think we might need some practice sessions.

We are in Austria.
I'm not sure whats nearby to where your going, but where we live you can drive to an actual town within 30mins of most ski areas to buy any forgotten essentials in regular stores rather than inflated price ski resort ones.

If you're driving you might need snow chains for the tyres. You can get textile ones that are fairly light and easy to put on.

Good long ski socks.
I prefer tights to leggings under ski trousers (no seams to rub your legs under the ski boots)
Sun cream & lip balm.
And don't forget ski goggles.

Decathlon are good for cheap ski gear if you have one near you.

StrawberryTraveller I've been warned about 60 euro ski gloves in the village! We've spent summers there so I know every cheap supermarket selling clothes around. France is very good for that, I do love a french supermarket.

@gastropod, your leggings should never ever be inside your boots anyway. Nothing should be inside your boots apart from one pair of proper technical ski socks.

Tucking leggings in is a good way to give yourself a horrible bruise.

Most things have been covered, but might also be an idea to take spare ski gloves for the kids as they can get very wet and possibly a second pair of salopettes depending on their age as my two had form for weeing in theirs when they were small.

I have a packing list for our ski holidays - see below!
This is 20 years of packing experience in a nutshell....

Ski clothes - salopettes/coat/hats/balaclavas for under helmet.
Long johns/thermal layers for under the salopettes.
I have dodgy knees so I take knee supports.
Tons of different thickness socks so you can combine them to make your boots comfier.
Gloves - thick outers/thin inners
We tie the gloves on elastic for the DC which runs through their coats so they can't drop them.
High SF lip balm.
Snow boots - travel in these and don't bother taking anything else.
Sunglasses (on cords so they hang round your neck) and goggles - essential when it's very cold. Laos help you see the piste in a white out.

Sun cream
First Aid
Camera
Knee supports
Snow chains - we always hire a car and the cost of buying chains is the same as renting. although they are very heavy.
Bum bags for tissues/keys /wallet/phone camera etc.
Phone chargers/adaptors
Drink bottles for water.
First aid kit - plasters/pain killers etc.
DVDs for the evening

Bib salopettes are a real pain when you need the loo as your pretty much have to undress.

Thanks @graffitiqueen, tried that - still prefer tights though!

Are you staying in an apartment or in a hotel?

If you're in an apartment - do you know if the kitchen will be stocked?

I'd take a thermos in any case.

If you are driving get winter or all weather tyres put on the car for the journey over. With snow chains in the boot for when you need them.

Buff style neckwarmers or fleecy ones.
I don't wear anything under my salopettes as they are warm enough.
Would also pack some mars bars or similar for during the day as well as buying fruity sweets when you're there for the odd sugar hit requirement.
My DCs wear skins style tops in several layers and are always ok. I wear thin cotton tops and a sweatshirt or old fleece.
Enjoy!

Some of those boilable hand warmers where you click the metal bit and it warms up.

Lots of clean pants if you are in catered accommodation - as you probably won't have access to a washing machine.

Oooh thanks OP - what a brilliantly timed thread. We are first-timers in Feb half term too!

Can anyone recommend good snow boots (or tell me what to look for/avoid?)?

I'd definitely add hand and toe warmers - these make a massive difference to your comfort on a cold day or when you're hanging around a lot.
We use the single use ones as they're smaller (and no faffing around boiling them up after use) and they last much longer. You can get toe warmers that are very thin and stick to the underside of your sock, and just keep your toes nicely at body temp (ie - they're not like a hot water bottle, they provide a constant lower level of heat, not a diminishing level).
Hand warmers are less essential because it's easier to warm your fingers, by scrunching them up inside your gloves, but worth having with you.

I do get very cold, so tend to have mittens for skiing, with liner gloves inside.

Only other thing is about the layers - someone upthread said about not needing specialist stuff, which I'd agree with, but THIN layers are the key as then you can still move, rather than feeling like the michellin man! I usually wear 2 layers - a base and a thin fleece - under my coat, but last week was very cold, so I used 3, which I could only do because they were thin. Normal wool jumpers would have been too thick.

And definitely what someone else said about socks/leggings - you should only ever have ski socks inside your boot - nothing else at all.

The other thing which makes a difference to my comfort is not wearing a normal (underwired) bra - I just wear a crop top. There's no high impact stuff when skiing, and I tend to wear a tight-ish base layer too. So much more comfy!

Other things we always pack...
Games!! Regardless of whether there are 2 of us or 8 of us - they feature every evening!
Plenty of moisturiser - cold air dries your skin, and it's nice to have something to rub in to your aching calves at the end of the day
Kendal mint cake (or something else high in sugar and hardy) for a super-quick energy boost
I saw someone with one of these last week, which was a genius idea - saved carrying water in a rucksack water bottle
Packets of tissues for the inevitable runny nose

Just for walking around I wear my hiking boots and so does DH.
Previously the DCs have been too small/fast growing to wear hiking boots (or bother buying them) so I just had hand me downs or eBay second hand for them.

On the subject of attaching gloves (and maybe scarves/hats to coats) ...

... depending on age of DC, many of my continental friends buy a certain type of elastic that can be found on-line/in any haberdashery which has button holes in it every 2cms or so. (It comes in black or white.)

The idea is that you sew a button to end of sleeves (and perhaps back of coat collar, anywhere where you want to attach a piece of clothing basically) and then a corresponding button on gloves (and possibly hat/scarves). Attach both together with special elastic! Voila! No lost gloves!

Sunglasses 100%

Think everything else has been said

I think the one pair of socks inside your boots only applies if you have your own boots. Rental boots can be fitted very badly and may need more layers of socks to fit properly. I only ear one pair of socks once I got my own boots, but usually wore 2 in rentals.

What we have learned is that holidays (especially for beginners) usually have the following pattern.

Day 1 - all new and exiting and you love it.
Day 2 - getting better but starting to feel tired.
Day 3 - you are now very tired and make more mistakes so you fall over more. May not be enjoying it so much.
Day 4 - do a half day and recover.
Days 5 and 6 - it all starts to come together and by the end of day 6 you don't want to leave the slopes.

Re snow boots - walking boots are just as good, but snow boots tend to be softer (good if your boots hurt) and easier to get and off, especially if you have lots of socks on.

Main thing is they have to be waterproof as the roads can get slushy.

Oh yes, if you are in France op, then Decathlon is great for reasonably stylish practical clothes. I've found the range slightly better than in UK stores.