THEY are cute at any time of year but French mountain towns peak the two weeks before Christmas when streets are lined with decorated trees, covered in real snow.
In the third week of December last year, my family and I squeezed in some skiing at La Rosiere, a child-friendly resort 1,850m up in the Savoie region of the French Alps.
Skiing in December can be a gamble weatherwise, but La Rosiere is very high up and better for snow than most, so the white stuff was at least a foot deep everywhere.
La Rosiere is particularly great for festive feels, as it’s a traditional town with plenty of old chalets and little cafes.
There is also very little traffic and scores of festive activities, including a Christmas market and a visit from Santa.
We were staying with package holiday company Ski Beat in one of its shared chalets right in the middle of the action — a blessing given that we were travelling with my five-year-old son.
The resort’s learner slopes were perfect for a first week.
On the first day with the Evolution 2 ski school, he learnt on a tiny hill of snow and by the second day, he was ready for the simplest of slopes.
Buoyed by his success we celebrated with tea and cake back at the chalet.
By the fourth day, he was taking the drag lifts halfway up the mountain and riding the kid-friendly green slopes, lined with little tunnels to whizz through and bells to ding on the way down.
On the fifth day, he was fine to try out one of the easiest blue runs.
There was plenty of ground for my boyfriend and I to cover while our son was in lessons, too.
La Rosiere is relatively small, but with 83 runs of varying difficulty, it kept us very happy for a whole week.
And on one afternoon, my partner skied into Italy to try out their slopes . . . and pasta.
That’s not to say there wasn’t delicious grub back at our chalet.
Ski Beat is very reasonably priced for the quality of the catering and chalet staff.
The young couple who ran our property were lovely and doted on our son, even when he fired questions at them pre-7am as they made everyone’s hot breakfast.
We had some of our favourite evening meals there, including an excellent tartiflette washed down by far too much red wine.
The chalet was very comfortable and cosy with a modern look.
Our triple room had plenty of storage and a spacious en-suite bathroom, with a pared-back, natural palette.
Thanks to our location, it was easy to venture out for meals, too.
The Hotel Relais Du Petit Saint Bernard at the bottom of the main ski lifts was the perfect pit stop for a long lunch after the morning’s lessons.
After our dishes of steak hache and raclette, my partner and I sipped beer in the afternoon sunshine while our son dug holes in the snow with a gang of French children.
Meanwhile, the Caffe Latte tea room along the high street was a great place for a midafternoon hot chocolate and cookies, when my son and I bunked off skiing one afternoon to browse the souvenir shops for alpine-themed Christmas presents.
But the absolute highlight of our meals-out was at L’Ancolie.
The log cabin-style restaurant, tucked away at the bottom of a ski slope, was weighed down under a foot of snow, with rustic wooden walls, open fires and red checked curtains.
We ordered fondue, of course, the delicious house special featuring wild mushrooms the chef-owner picked locally before the snow fell.
As a lifelong fondue fan, I thought that would be the highlight of the meal, but a pudding with meringue, chocolate sauce and ice cream was so delicious it still makes its way into family discussions.
Possibly the best part of the evening was the journey, though.
The restaurant is reached from the town by a 1km path through the forest, which was lined with multicoloured lights.
Away from the roads, it was the perfect festive evening walk as well as an opportunity for a drawn-out snowball fight.
When it was time to head home on December 23, it felt like we were preparing for Christmas round two, such was the extent of the eating, drinking and general fun-having we’d already enjoyed.
GETTING/STAYING THERE: Ski Beat has catered ski chalets in seven of France’s highest altitude ski resorts.
Prices for a week’s stay in La Rosiere are from £842pp, including chalet hosts to prepare cooked breakfast, afternoon tea with homemade cakes and three-course evening meals with wine, return flights from Manchester or Gatwick and transfers.
See skibeat.co.uk or call 01273 855100.
