First time skiing: what do I need to know?

[custardlover]

We are escaping this Christmas! DH, the DCs and I are going skiing and very excited about it! We are utter novices and trying to borrow and buy our gear but have just realised how clueless we are! For instance, kids' snow boots; do you buy them a size bigger to accommodate thick socks and hand warmers (as a friend advised) Or is that already accounted for? Do I need post under armour long johns or will Primark leggings work?

Please help - I need the real, basic details please! Thank you!

(Oh and DC are 6 and 8)

You are going to love it!! (especially the kids).
We are going for Christmas week too. You should be fine with primark leggings under. Snow boots do need to accomodate the socks but they're like wellies - always seem to come up big anyway.

I never bother with hand warmers. Mittens are warmer than gloves, although my 7 year old refuses to wear them and will only wear gloves. My 5 year old loves his mittens. If hands get cold stop for hot chocolate. Buy good gloves. Not £4.99 gloves. Ebay is a good place to look. Hestra or Polarn o pyret are good brands.

So, thermals, fleece or wooly jumper, ski jacket. You only need 2 pairs of ski socks each. Just rewear them. Same with thermals. I take a tube of hand wash to rinse stuff in the sink if it gets dinner spilt on it.

You'll be sledging in the afternoons, or maybe swimming if there is a pool? Because if you and DH are beginners you wont be confident enough to take the kids skiing with you alone in the afternoons. (Are they ski school in the mornings?) You could always book a private lesson for the 4 of you one afternoon so you can ski together.

Take spare gloves for the children. They will get them wet making snowballs etc.

That was supposed to be 'posh under armour' rather than post.

All brilliant tips thank you - I just had 14 pairs of ski socks in my Decathalon basket so you just saved me a fortune!

Do you need more than one pair of ski trousers for a week?

One pair of ski trousers for the week is fine.

Sports Direct thermals are really good and cheap too. You definitely don’t need the Under Armour ones!

One is enough.

Kids and I have...
2x thermals
1x fleece
1x ski jacket and salopettes
3x socks
(DH has more but skis for work as well as a holiday... 6 weeks total this year)

Don't try to take kids out yourselves until competent- and that's not a few days of ski lessons. DH is a qualified instructor and still uses a ski school for the DC as they are at different stages- but this likely to be the last year.

I got a few sets of thermals from Aldi or Lidl. Or get them online. Older kids can get hot skiing so not too many layers. I was told that proper ski jackets are a must - not puffer jackets (unless it's just one day). TK Max is a good source.
Balaclava and proper goggles. Absolutely wear a helmet.

14 pairs of ski socks glad I caught you in time! Yes just one pair of sallopettes.

Are you going catered or self catering? Have you thought about what you want to do outside of ski school hours? Some resorts have huski rides etc you can book.

Don forget goggles or at least sunglasses (for everyone!) you can really ruin the day if it is sunny and you don’t have them.

Now, going into the negatives... get everyone to the toilet before you put the damn boots on (and don’t be tempted to buy a one piece jacket/trousers no matter how wonderful you look

If you are going in top season or to a busy place, it is much better to book a instructor for the family rather than sending everyone to different classes (problem with beginner classes is that you spend the vast majority of the day waiting for the rest of the class to manage to stand up so you don’t get much practice and the queues for the lift are... eternal.... so you would get more run for your money in a smaller class especially if you all are at the same level.

I second the comment from previous poster about good gloves. Everything else from Aldi is fine but I would invest in gloves and/or mittens.

Also agree that you should not expect to be able to ski with your kids till you can ski yourself so lessons are vital.

Esp for the 6yo, get an elastic cord for the gloves/ mitts. You don't want them getting lost.

Do your ski exercises before you go, especially for strengthening ankles.

Ski exercises?!?!?

Ok off to YT...

Yes to ski exercises, especially quads!
Aldi have ski gear in at the moment and it's perfectly good quality IMHO
Their kids stuff is brilliant

Neck gaiter/buff for added insulation around neck of jacket and over mouth as it can be bitterly cold. If resort/hotel has a pool swimwear in case of taking time off for aches and pains' short skiing days or bad weather. Layers for under waterproof outer layer. Nothing makes a child more miserable than being cold and/or wet. Small suncream/lipbalm to keep in pocket - wind chill and altitude can still burn skin even in Mid winter. Card with emergency contact details for each child. Cheap thermals are fine (decathlon, uniqlo).

I'm 50 and I have cords on my mittens! (from Amazon)
Don't take many clothes for the evening, if you are in a chalet you'll want to be in soft comfy clothing, eg leggings (it's the only time I wear them) and layers, chalets can be very hot I've found.
I second taking spare kids gloves for snowball making.
Sun cream and really good factor 50 lip balm is essential, I use Sunsense factor 50 from Amazon and we were the only ones without crispy lips last time.
Take chocolate bars for keeping energy up especially but not only, for the kids https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sunsense-SPF-Plus-Lip-Balm/dp/B00LUMV5TW/ref=mpssa111_sspa?keywords=sunsense+lip+balm+spf+50&qid=1574893828&sprefix=sunsense+lip&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFPVzlVUVdGV1VITlgmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA3ODA1MTFDUFVONU1MMkNXQkUmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMTAwMzYzODFQN0k0R0dGSVZNT0omd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Oh good god yes if you haven’t started doing your squats you need to start now!!!

I do bodypump at the gym for ski fitness but there will be stuff on YouTube too.

Always send your kids to ski school with a little chocolate bar in their pocket. Most kids will have something similar for snack break.

Buy helmets here, you don't want rental ones!! Take a big bag to carry your bits down to the boot room and back again if in a hotel- shoes/ gloves/ hats etc. Saves juggling them

Big comfy knickers - thongs can be a total PITA when skiing and difficult to hoike out under layers......
Good insurance
Ibuprofen and massage oil
Small rucksacks.
A small multi gang extension lead attached to an adaptor - so you can plug in & charge your UK stuff without needing lots of sockets & adaptors.

Lots of squats!

Top tip - don't go! It's cold, and it's awkward walking around wearing uncomfortable boots and having to carry skis. Book yourself a week in the Caribbean instead

Following this as dd in going skiing next year with school

Top tip - don't go! It's cold, and it's awkward walking around wearing uncomfortable boots and having to carry skis. Book yourself a week in the Caribbean instead

You forgot to add or let le hubby take the kids and spend the day at the spa!

Very stressful after the kids become more competent (easily more competent than you) and disappear, so you spend a good chunk trying to find the over confident older ones or convince yourself they won’t be throwing themselves in the wrong slope because you know, teenagers always always know better, while queuing at the toilet hoping your little one does not end up covered in wee by the time you are out.

I’m sorry OP, I used to love skiing until the kids were around. Most stressful holidays ever, these days I don’t enjoy skiing, I just endure it. make the best of this magical time when you are all beginners and enjoy some good family time together