Advice on taking a two year old on a ski trip.

[MGC40]

Hi!! I go skiing every year and now have a little one in tow. We hope to go away with friends in Jan 22 (fingers crossed!!) By that time my girl will have just turned two. But I have no idea what I should look/plan for in a ski holiday with a tiny one. So looking for advice from fellow mum skiers!
I know we need a resort with other activities perhaps, or a hotel with a pool? But what about dinners....do hotels allow babies to have a little food earlier? Most hotels don't serve until 7.30 which would be too late for a two year old to wait...
Thank you for any help xx

I've been taking my 2 since they were tiny. I never fancied putting them in childcare so we always went as part of a group and stayed in catered chalets and my husband and I would get a half day skiing each. So one of us would have a lazy morning and take little one up mountain for a play, meet for lunch and then swap over. By going with likeminded friends it meant we all had someone to play with. Chalets usually do an early tea for little ones so they'd get fed and put to bed before we settled down to dinner.

To offer a different view, we have always used childcare, nannies to start with (in hotel or chalet) and then crèche once we wanted the older children to have kids groups and activities for them. We have tended to go with family ski operators and it was always quite an expensive holiday so wanted to get the most out of our mere six days! The nannies and crèche have always been absolutely brilliant and they came with a book and bags of photos of things they had done etc. A chalet is lovely and very comfortable as they will do a kids’ tea etc but who knows whether the whole set up will all survive covid and Brexit. Some ski hotels are geared to families with young children and have their own crèche and they can work really well if you can get a particular recommendation for somewhere you want to go. We always took our baby to an early sitting of dinner and it’s only really France where they tend to eat later (am
Basing this on experience of one quite traditional French hotel we went to a few times; I’m sure there are more flexible options! We have found in Switz and Austria it can be possible to eat earlier which works quite well with an early start for skiing anyway. And we are usually knackered as our days of partying late then up for the first lift are long behind us!!

Definitely budget dependent @abricotine . We've always gone for the cheap option and were lucky enough to have a large group of likeminded friends with kids the same age. Who knows indeed what's going to happen with the catered chalet concept. :-( Thankfully my kids are 12 and 15 now so don't have the same constraints.

Hi @massistar and @abricotine Thank you for the messages! Yes, I did originally want a chalet but there doesn't seem many at all available. And prices seem to have shot up!
I will have a look about and see if I can see some deals where there is childcare. Though, if I am honest I am a little nervous about it. Please bear in mind I'm a first time mum so it's really just been me and my girl (and her dad) since birth thanks to lockdown, I haven't left her even with family.
May I ask..do you think I need to look for a resort with other activities or bubba will be happy playing in the snow for a few hours before lunch? Maybe a swimming pool etc...
Unfortunately it's looking likely to be a hotel so me and my partner will have to take it in turns each night between who goes to bed at 8 and who has a drink! 😂

We are going in a group, for reference...but she is the first little one to come with us.

My top advice is 'Get Fit' having a toddler in a ski resort is exhausting.

Most staffed chalets do 'high tea' around 5pm & staff are usually pretty happy to cook whatever your DC will eat IF you let them
know on the booking form (their budgets are incredibly low and if they've spent it on the usual high tea provisions they have to grovel for more funds (usually refused) or spend their own money in hope a tip covers the cost)

Self catering chalets are great in some ways, but not in others (mainly catering)

Personally I don't think you need to look for many additional things in resort as snow provides endless fun!

However, if she likes the water and you're looking at hotels- check the prices of ones with pools

Even more important to check out drying room facilities

It'll save you money if the accommodation has sleds etc

Also if there anything you really feel you need cot/highvhsir etc you need to book it in advance, don't sssume they'll be there. It can be a bun fight on arrival getting one of the 2 cots the company has in resort.

As cute as the idea is of taking her, would you not all enjoy the week more if she stayed with grandparents. 🤣

Personally, having done many seasons in resorts (manager for ski company) I would not leave my 2 yo with the childcare in resort. Some are brilliant, some are crap
snd it's hard to tell the difference before you book. Even with word of mouth there's no guarantee because of the staff turnover.

Obviously it's easier to go to a resort you already know, or one that's child friendly (places to play - not all are good for toddler playing/sleds for tiny ones).

We tend to do group holidays and switch between parents - a bit of a pain as I didn't get to snowboard with husband but it worked best for us. (Best was the year we paid for my mum to come with us and she loved it as well)
We tend to do our own thing for food - never been tied to hotel times. At that age and in the mountains we did not stick to routines - child is hungry - feed her, child is naggy but can be placated with some snacks - feed the snacks and don't worry that she won't want a proper meal when that happens... Have a good pram for the terrain - so that sleepy baby can be put in the pram for naps. Look out for bars/restaurants to hang out in where there is room for the pram next to your table. We're big fans of Italy and tend to find restaurant managers/owners very helpful... Learn to master a sling - we've had ours all over the place in them!

Definitely a good time for bonding with the grandparents

I’ve got 3 kids and have always taken them skiing, only missed 3 years when they were each newborns. We have been with various companies where childcare was provided: Esprit, Ski Famille, family ski company and an independent one in Switzerland. Ski famille was probably the best childcare for a 2 year old - they kept all the kids from the chalet together with the nannies so if they were taking them sledging they also took the babies with them. The other companies put all the kids of one age together. I recommend ski famille in Les Gets.

To be honest @MGC40 most nights I'm lucky to see 10pm before I go to bed anyway. It is a very tiring holiday. I wouldn't bother too much about non ski activities but a pool can be nice, particularly if the weather is poor. My 2 played in the snow for hours. Samoens was a big hit. They had a big kids area up the mountain with inflatables and tents and stuff near a bar so we would use that as a base and take turns going off and doing a few runs. It's not the same as going without kids but we love being in the mountains so much that we were quite happy to do that.

Hello. I would add it is quite hard work taking a 2 year old skiing, but equally it is quite hard having a 2 year old at home too (!) and im sure you deserve a break in the mountains. I think as long as you are aware that you prob wont get in quite the amount of skiing as you used to you can really enjoy a ski trip.

My first choice for childcare would be persuading a grand parent or niece or friends who love helping out to come too but this isnt always easy. You could also tag team the childcare between you (which is what often happens). There are quite a few nanny agencies in France in the bigger resorts with lots of Brits (Meribel, Morzine etc) I personally would prefer to pay for a few hours nanny than a club at that age.

Austrian hotels tend to be well set up for earlier meal times and younger children. Many have 'winter gardens' which are for indoor play for little ones. I agree pool always good for kids but the snow is exciting enough i dont think you need to go crazy looking for lots of stuff.

Thank you all so much for the messages!
I can't leave DD with the grandparents, they are too old for cop for a week! 😂
Plus we'd love to take her...
Thank you for all the suggestions for and against childcare...I reckon she will probably stay with us!
@massistar Thanks for mentioning Samoens! Will have a look...and yes, throw in a glass of wine at dinner and I'm sure I'll be dribbling by 10pm 😂
@jillandhersprite Thank you, yes, think I need to understand routine will go out the window...she'll probably have a good breakfast and lunch so dinner can be hit/miss. I would love to go to the local restaurants but our group would be a nightmare! 😂 Unless I prebooked all the restaurants (we are a big group).
Love the thought of her sleeping in the pram as I have dinner, that's what my parents did with me in Italy... I've just had no practice with this lockdown baby 😂🙈

You'll have a lovely time OP. Mine adore skiing and snowboarding and are devastated not to be going this year for the first time ever. 😭

I agree with massistar... Different families choose to do it different ways but I have three who’ve grown up going to the mountains every year since they were babies and it’s just something they have grown up doing and they all love it. Thankfully have not had any holiday childcare experiences as referred to above but I agree as said above that’s about personal choice and also budget. 2 is old enough to have a great time in the snow and a bit of sledging... we always had the Polarn o Pyret snowsuits so get something waterproof and warm and gloves and boots too and she will have a blast. And so will you here’s hoping for a fantastic 2022 season.

Can grandparents go with you OP? This is what we did, along with other extended family who were able to help. Everyone skied, I hasten to add, but grandparents were happy to help out and look after our dc, provided they got their quota of time on the slopes. No experience of catered chalets, as we've always done self-catering, but I liked the flexibility with little ones and again, plenty of babysitters available if dh and I wanted an evening out.

@stringbean No, we are a large group of friends, we go every year...the grandparents wouldn't come even if I wanted them too 😂 They wouldn't do the cold! I'm happy to share the skiing time with my partner..and we'll share the nights out too. 😂

Taking a 2 year will be hard work but can also be fun. I would start by choosing a resort which has a good mix of non skiing activities and slopes to suit your groups needs. I have been a nanny in ski resorts for many years. Most hotels and catered chalet will provide early dinners for little ones around 5.30/6pm.
If you want a non stressful holiday you could get a private nanny who will come to your accommodation to look after your little one. The nanny would provide toys and do lots of fun activities like sledging and arts and crafts but can work around the childs routine. If you wanted to see to your little at any point but don't going all the way back your accommodation the nanny could also meet up with you up on the mountains.
I am a nanny who is now based in Morzine. I find Morzine a great resort for families as it has lots of non skiing activities like horse and carriage rides, fun train, carrousel and a play park. It is part of the portes du soleil and you can easily access other resorts like Avoriaz. Les Gets and even ski into Switzerland which I find is normally less busy over there.
Check out my website if you want to book childcare or have any questions. altitudenannies.co.uk/

I've been following this thread - going to Courchevel next year in a large group of friends. Youngest is 4 and the Mum and Dad are absolute beginners. They're finding it difficult to coordinate lessons for them as they can't find any classes for the 4 year old apart from a 9-11 class in 1850. Staying in 1300 so 1850
Convenient for the gondola.

@Tdaulphi1 Thank you so much for the tips.. I will have a look at your site.
Not many deals currently to Morzine at the moment... It has been on our list to go.

We used childcare. If you don’t, I think you do need a chalet or an appartement. Not all kids love snow, and even if they do they will get bored and cold. It won’t be a full day’s entertainment every day for a week. And what if the weather is bad? Hanging out in a tiny ski hotel bedroom all day with a two year will get old very quickly. And you don’t need to stay in the same place as your friends - same resort is fine.

Honestly - I'd go for a company that specialises in family friendly ski-ing. takes the pain right out of the equation. Can heartily recommend Espirt, Mark Warner and Club Med.

In my experience splitting the days in half doesn't work as it restricts the other parent and by extension the others in the group as well, which maybe ok for 1 day but gets annoying day 2 onwards. And taking alternate days is just awful - you haven't got all your normal "distracting a 2yr old" kit around you. Whereas a creche will have toys, etc, they will know the playparks etc. Also companies such as Espirit will sort out nappies so you don't have to use your luggage allowance on them.

Can also tell you companies to avoid if you like as well

Did you book op?
We went went Family Ski Company for years and not everyone in our group of friends had kids.
If you book a chalet that fits your group exactly you’re not going to have to out up with any other kids! Their childcare was superb and the provide babysitters for the chalet staff’s night off so you can relax and go out.

We used a nanny service in resort a couple of times. Much more flexible than crèche or in chalet care.