I had quite a few people comment on my post about our family ski holiday in the French Alps with Snowbizz and say that they’ve never really fancied skiing, so not considered a ski holiday before. Now this might seem like an obvious thing to say, but actually there is potentially a lot more to a ski holiday than just skiing.family ski holiday activities Snowbizz

It might be a little bit silly to book a ski holiday if you have no intention of skiing whatsoever, but if you are married to a skier for instance and aren’t so keen yourself, there is no reason why you can’t take the kids away for a ski holiday and enjoy all the benefits of being away from home whilst your other family members take to the slopes. I have a friend and fellow blogger who regularly does just that – her husband and children ski and she enjoys the time to herself, reading, relaxing and drinking hot chocolate. Sounds like a pretty decent holiday to me.

Here are some of the things that Belle and I recommend on our Snowbizz ski holiday:

Go out for breakfast

There is something about eating breakfast out that is much more exciting than any other meal. I don’t know if it’s because you have things that you would never normally eat at home, but breakfast is always one of the best bits of going away for me. I love hotel breakfast buffets and the challenge of eating as much as the possibly can (not really the point I know, but it’s included in the price, so you have to do your best) and in Puy we loved going down to one of the cafes for crepes. You can’t go to the French Alps and not eat crepes can you?

Go sledging

If you’re not a fan of skiing but still want some snow action then sledging is a great option. For starters, you are already on your bum, so there’s no risk of losing your feet from underneath you. (I say that, but Belle still manages it in this video.) There are loads of sledges available to borrow from the Snowbizz team so you don’t need to worry about taking one or buying one. Other standard snow activities include snowball fights, snowman building and snow angels.

Try a sirop

If you’re done with the usual soft drink offerings in UK pubs and cafes, check out the range of crazy syrup flavours in the cafes in Puy. Not only did Belle learn a lot of useful French vocabulary, but I got to have a drink that tasted of parma violets. Awesome times. It was such lovely weather when we were there that we could sit outside with our exotic syrups playing ‘Go Fish’ in just t-shirts. Don’t say we don’t know how to live the rock and roll lifestyle.

Eating and drinking at Puy st Vincent

Swim outside

The outdoor pool at Puy was open from 3pm everyday and if you arrived early enough there was a good chunk of the pool that still had the sun on it. You might not think that being outside in water and surrounded by piles of snow would be the most relaxing of experiences, but there was something very magical about having part of your body in warm water and the rest in the cold air. Belle loved the pool and we went most days. We made up several very entertaining dances and played a strange game that was either called ‘Rabbi Dolphin’ or ‘Rabid Dolphin’ – I was never really sure.

Go shopping

Although it’s a relatively small resort, (I think, never having been on a skiing holiday before), there are plenty of little shops selling sports and ski gear, outdoor clothes, souvenirs and sausages. In fact, our apartment had a sausage and cheese shop underneath it, so the delicious smell of garlic and cheese filled the air for the whole week. I bought back a rather extensive cold meat selection and now every time I open the fridge I get a whiff and imagine myself surrounded by snow. I also just had to add to my ‘adorably tacky holiday fridge magnet’ collection.

Snowbizz ski holiday Puy St Vincent fridge magnet

Watch a film or read a book

You don’t have to be skiing, sledging and swimming all day long you know – a holiday is meant to be chance for a rest as well. We had a DVD player in our room and the Snowbizz office had loads of DVDs to borrow, so we really enjoyed having the time to watch a few films and generally veg out a bit. Belle’s favourite was About A Boy – a Hugh Grant classic. If you wanted a more authentic French experience there is actually a small cinema within the resort. We spent a bit of time on Amazon before we went too and chose a couple of new books each for the Kindle, and picked up some magazines at the airport.

What are your favourite things to do on holiday?

Disclosure: We went on holiday as guests of Snowbizz – thanks Snowbizz!

 

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Well.

Skiing hey? Me, the woman who sometimes loses her balance standing at the stove stirring a pan of beans. You might think that I’d be a bit hopeless at skiing.

You’d be right.

When we set off to the French Alps with Snowbizz on March 9th is was with high hopes that by the end of the week I would be the next Eddie the Eagle, but unfortunately my natural cackhandedness won through and it was not to be. When I stepped out on to the snow that first day in my ski boots and immediately fell flat on my back it was a sign of things to come. You’ll notice that there aren’t any pictures in this post with actual skis in – this is because I didn’t trust myself to carry a camera or phone of any kind whilst my skis were within a 100 yard radius.

Snowbizz family ski holiday

Fortunately, my lack of natural skiing ability definitely didn’t stop Belle and I enjoying the stunning scenery, beautiful weather and copious amounts of meat and cheese. Seriously, it was gorgeous – 17 degrees every day by 10.30am and stunning deep blue skies as far as you could see. I came home with an entire suitcase full of clothes I didn’t wear at all because it was so hot.

If, like me you’re a newbie to skiing and want to compare destinations, you can always check out Bluehouse Skis for help picking your ideal ski holiday.

Snowbizz family ski holiday

Snowbizz family ski holiday

We were met at the airports by two ‘Pink Ladies’ – the name given to the girls working with Snowbizz, running the crèche, and supervising our activities. They were all absolutely adorable – so sweet and enthusiastic that you felt you could ask them anything at all. When I dropped Belle off at ski school on the first morning and was too scared to walk down the slopes in my boots I barely felt stupid at all asking Lucy for help.

“Don’t be silly,” she said sweetly, “it feels weird for everyone to start with. Even I have bad days still, it’s nothing to worry about!”

We stayed in a two bedroom apartment right in the centre of the resort, with brilliant views out over all the action from our balcony. In the morning we were woken by the crunching of snow under dozens of pairs of ski boots and by night we were treated to an array of fairy lit, snow covered buildings. Our balcony was also a great sun trap, making it the perfect spot for relaxing with a cup of tea and a magazine.

Our apartment was simple, but had absolutely everything we needed and lovely touches like bottled water and a litre of milk in the fridge waiting for us. (Top tip: check the facilities before you pop to the resort supermarket – we bought four ‘bake in the oven’ baguettes and then got back to discover we only had a hob and a microwave! There was a dishwasher though – an essential for any relaxing holiday.)

Snowbizz family ski holiday Puy St Vincent

Snowbizz family ski holiday

The instructors were all excellent too, and extremely patient, especially with me. Our instructor spent most of his time skiing backwards, holding both my hands, while I made squealing noises, but not once did he tell me to grow up and stop being such a baby. They were really brilliant with the kids too, especially the younger ones in the snow garden.

Belle and I had a private lesson one afternoon to try and boost our confidence and our instructor was very swift to untangle us and stand us upright when I accidentally skied at speed into Belle, knocking her to the ground. Belle was very brave and only bought it up about 27 times during the rest of the week. I did apologise, (I yelled ‘SORRY SORRY SORRY!!! as I ploughed into her), and she was very forgiving.

Snowbizz family ski holiday

As we seemed to spend most of our time on our bottoms, sledging felt like a much more natural option for us. The Snowbizz team had a big stack of sledges for visitors to borrow (as well as DVDs for when you needed to put your feet up afterwards) and Belle really enjoyed digging out tracks for herself and getting good and snowy. I enjoyed the sledging too, although was a little put out at the heartiness of Belle’s laughter as I rolled like a screeching heffalump whizzed gracefully down the slopes.

Snowbizz family ski holiday

Snowbizz family ski holiday

Another thing I hadn’t expected were the relationships you could quickly build up with the other skiers on the trip. I don’t know if it’s because Snowbizz is a family run business, and this rubs off on the group, or because of the fantastic personal service, but it’s very easy to get to know other people in your group. The other families staying at the same time with us were all very friendly and supportive, giving a lovely extra dimension to the holiday.

Because I’ve never been skiing before it’s difficult for me to compare Snowbizz to other ski companies I have known. I did meet one woman in the pool though, who told me a bit about her experiences.* This woman had skied the world. She was a properly hardcore skier, who had learnt as a child and skied through blizzards in Canada. She told me that it was once so cold on a trip to Canada that if you lifted your head up out of the hot tub, your hair immediately froze solid. That’s serious commitment.

This was her third trip with Snowbizz and she had nothing but positive things to say about the resort, the staff and the skiing. If this woman has come back three times, I figured it must stack up pretty well against the competition.

Snowbizz family ski holiday

*It was a tricky conversation as I was trying to get that difficult balance between being low enough in the water to stay warm, but not so low that my boobs bobbed awkwardly out of my inappropriately low cut swimming costume. I don’t think she noticed though.

A huge thank you to Snowbizz for having us as their guests for the week!

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As you know, Belle and I are off on a ski adventure in a few weeks with family run ski company Snowbizz. 

Snowbizz prides themself on being welcoming and friendly, especially for families, and the Snowbizz team are always at the end of the phone happy to answer any questions, to make sure that everyone has a fantastic time on their ski holiday. To prove this point, I wanted to share with you a letter sent from Wendy, founder of Snowbizz, to Belle. Belle likes to know the details about things, and so Wendy took the time to let Belle know exactly what was going to happen on the trip. Wendy didn’t just write this because she wanted to impress us – this level of personal care is absolutely genuine and is what keeps people coming back to Snowbizz for their family ski holiday year after year.

Snowbizz family ski holiday

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With actual skis on real life snow!

I have never ever been skiing before, but in around six weeks Belle and I will be jetting off to Puy St Vincent in France as the very grateful (if not slightly clumsy) guests of Snowbizz.

Snowbizz are family ski specialists and pride themselves on their very own kids’ ski school and fantastic personal service. I can vouch for the fact that ever since we were invited to go on a family ski holiday with them, Wendy and the team have bent over backwards to make sure all of our questions are answered and that we feel totally prepared for our very first adventure on the slopes.

It’s a good job, as Belle has a lot of questions.

“What will happen when we get there?”

“Well, after we land we will be met by a coach,” I reassure her.

“How big will the coach be? How long will it take to get there? When we arrive, where do we need to pick up our ski boots from?”

“I don’t know,” I say, “I’ve not been there before.”

“What’s the adult to child ratio in the kids’ club?”

“I’m not sure, but I can find out.”

She’s big on details. View Post

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