Family Skiing Tips and Tricks

Are you planning to go skiing as a family soon? Is this the year you’ve decided to teach your kiddos to ski?

Maybe you love to ski and you want to take your kids skiing, but there is so much gear and so many things to remember. Where do you even begin?

I’m not going to promise you it will be easy, but I can promise you that by thinking ahead and using some of these tricks it will make it a much more enjoyable experience for everyone involved. If you spend the time upfront to plan and think about a few things ahead of time, then I think your kids will love the experience even more.

Quick Tips to Make Skiing with Your Kids Easier 

1. Pay attention to the weather - This may seem obvious but taking your kid skiing for the first time in freezing weather, during a blizzard, or on the most crowded weekend of the year is not the best way for your kids to have a great first experience. I firmly believe that thinking through the whole experience will help your kids have a great beginning and ensure success for years to come. I know we can’t always control the weather or the crowds but taking a few minutes to check the weather report and think about the conditions will help make your first days a huge win. Also, keep in mind that in addition to big holidays like Winter Break and Spring Break, long weekend like MLK and President's Day are BIG ski weekends at many resorts and might be best to avoid if you can. 
   
   
2. Take Breaks, play games – lots of breaks are key to making sure kids don’t get too tired and also ensures that they have lots of fun. Keep in mind that kids don't have the stamina that adults do and a few short breaks before lunch or the end of the day can really help. Also, when you are on a run that is longer than expected or your kiddos are starting to feel discouraged, try to bring out a few easy the games to make it more fun.  Try follow the leader, go around the cones, say hi to the trees etc.
   
   
3. Bring a sled - some ski resorts have wagons that you can borrow to haul your kids and their gear from the parking lot or shuttle to the lifts and this is definitely worth utilizing. If they don't, you can get an inexpensive plastic sled to pull your kids and their stuff back and forth. This is a game changer and makes the trek to the mountain a bit more of an adventure for your kiddos and then you can just stash the sled at the bottom of the mountain and then use it again for the end of the day for the "journey" back to your car. 
   
   
4. Bring lots of snacks and never underestimate the power of hot cocoa – snacks and hot cocoa can get expensive in the resort lodges, so we make it a habit to bring our own. Bars, trail mix, fun candies, and clementines all make great snacks that can fit in your pocket or backpack. You can also bring your own hot cocoa packets that you buy at the grocery store to make hot cocoa for a fraction of the resort price and can always get hot water for free from the resort cafeterias. This also allows you to split a packet into two cups for the littles kiddos who just need a bit of hot cocoa to power them up for the next run. 
   
   
5. Quit before you are done – end the ski day before you think you are done. If you push yourself or your kids too hard and try to do “just one more run” you may find that that last run feels like it is 50 miles long and everyone is cold and miserable. If you can, try to end the day on a good note, when everyone is still having fun and not too cold.

If you play to spend time in the ski lodge with your baby, make sure you have a good place to put your baby where they can stretch out and play and don’t have to be on your lap the whole time. Our Lay and Play Adventure Mat is perfect for to keep your baby off the icky lodge floor, keep them entertained and give you some hands free time. AND it also doubles as a changing mat so you don’t have to bring both. 

Learn more about the Lay and Play Adventure Mat 

Are you excited to ski with your kiddos but still overwhelmed by the amount of gear you need to bring? I get it, so I made a downloadable skiing packing list that you can download for free and use again and again. It's a game changer for my family and I hope it will be helpful for yours too! 

Download your Free Skiing Packing List

 I don’t know about you but the mental load of trying to remember everything you need to bring can make this task harder than it really is. I tend to forget the obvious things (like my own jacket!), so if I have a list that I can cross off and look at as we are packing that it saves me time and energy. My husband and I usually pack different items (he does skis, boots etc. and I do more of the clothing items) so this ensures that we don’t forget something obvious by thinking the other one packed it (did I mention we forgot my jacket earlier this year?).