Snowy holiday

[Banrion]

Hi I want to take my children 11 and 8 away just after Christmas. It's just me and the kids as my husband passed away during the summer. So i want it to be easy... i don't really know where to start and did a bit of googling. Avoriaz looks good because of the water park but I think it's far from an airport and i think expensive? Someone recommended Solden to me which I looked at and looks nice and close to airport but doesn't really seem to have anything other than skiing. But maybe it does and I just don't know.
We've never done it before and I can't see us wanting to ski every day. I was thinking if there was tobogganing or swimming it'd be nice. Or just wandering round shops and drinking hot chocolate... I suppose I'm not sure really. But if anyone has any hotel or area recommendations that would be brilliant. Also closeish to an airport would be great too.

If you're going to a ski resort, the expectation is that you'll have lessons and ski every day, rather than dipping in and out. The norm is 3 hour lesson in the mornings and then you can spend the afternoon practicing together or do other activities, depending on what the resorts offer. Bear in mind that a lot of low resorts didn't have snow last Christmas, so it can be a bit hit and miss in terms of weather. Avoriaz is close to Geneva but didn't have much snow last Christmas. You could hire a private instructor, but I think kids learn at a faster pace than adults and are generally better off in a class with other children, so might not be the family experience you're after.

We took our dc years ago on a day trip to Lapland: wonder if a longer trip to somewhere in Lapland would suit you, but with the emphasis on eg. husky rides, visiting Santa, staying in an ice hotel. Canterbury Travel was the company we used (it was a long time ago though - am sure other companies do similar) but might be worth checking out.

Very sorry for your loss. This sounds like a lovely idea after the year you've all experienced.

Esprit Ski has triple rooms available 31Dec. Check their site out. You'll need to be 1800m and above for New Year skiing.

You could also consider Finland, low resorts but snow in early season, Crystal and Inghams cover these resorts, tie in a Santa trip. Short days and cold, but that's what you'd expect!