Waking up on Christmas morning with a winter wonderland outside is a secret hope of children everywhere, but if you live in Texas, a white Christmas hardly ever happens. My native Texans have often wished aloud for snow at Christmas, so we checked two items off their bucket list with a Christmas vacation that coincided with their first ski trip. Winter Park, Colorado, is an easy choice for a first-time skiing destination because of its close proximity to Denver and the “kids ski free” program.
Day One
Winter Park (970/726-1564, winterparkresort.com) has long been known as an unpretentious ski village that serves local skiers with low-priced food and lodging, but an accessible base village constructed over the past decade has plenty to entice out-of-state families. Along with lodging, stores and restaurants, the village is a hub of family fun such as storytelling, s’mores around the fire and free ice skating lessons.
The first order of business is checking into the Zephyr Mountain Lodge, a condo resort located just steps from the ski lift that includes a full kitchen and plenty of bedrooms for everyone. Along the way, the kids stop to play a tune on the community xylophones and duck into the snow-covered playground features spread throughout the village.
With so many kid-focused activities at the base of the mountain, I wonder if we’ll ever be able to lure the kids onto the slopes, so at the advice of one of the ambassadors in the village, we book tickets on the afternoon snowcat tour. The heated 13-passenger vehicle provides a scenic tour of the mountain and an overview of the trails, as well as beautiful views of the Continental Divide. Watching the skiers zip over the glistening snow convinces the kids that they’re ready to hit the mountain, so we channel that energy into renting our gear in preparation for morning lessons. We also get a taste of action on the Coca-Cola tubing hill before bed.
Day Two
With a fresh blanket of snow falling overnight, the mountain seems to embrace us for our first ski run. Winter Park offers private lesson packages that include rentals for the entire family; they’re a perfect fit for novice skiers who want to learn together. Our first attempts on the bunny hill are filled with tumbles and laughter, but soon we’re getting the feel of our skis, so our instructors loose us on the trails. By the end of the day, the same kids who could barely stay on their feet are skiing short trails through the trees and catching air on mini-moguls.
Although the grownups are exhausted, the kids are invigorated by the activity in the village, so we stop for a story and s’mores at the community fire pit. We lure the kids back to the lodge with promises of hitting the hot tub before bed, but exhaustion hits them before we get a chance to make good on our promise.
Day Three
With Christmas just two days away, we retreat to C Lazy U Ranch (970/887-3344, clazyu.com), a luxury guest ranch boasting a range of activities and personal touches that create all the memories of Christmas without the hassle. We have our own Christmas tree to decorate when we check into our little cabin in the woods, but the kids have already caught sight of the goings-on in the common area: typical ranch activities, such as horseback riding and animal-feeding, as well as any imaginable winter sport supervised by a fun group of camp counselors. (Parents can join their children – or seize the moment to ski or go on a wine-and-cheese snowcat tour.) Christmas-themed events are high on the list, and while the kids make plans to join a hockey game at the pond later in the afternoon, they’re already engrossed in building a gingerbread house. There are murmurings that Santa will be making an evening visit, so the kids put the final candy touches on their creations and head over to the main lodge to string popcorn for the giant Christmas tree.
After a gourmet dinner served family-style, ranch guests gather around the roaring fire for a Christmas sing-a-long. As the piano notes fade, a faint tinkling of bells is heard outside, and the kids race to the window to see Santa pulling up on a horse-drawn sleigh. He hauls a giant bag of presents into the toasty lodge, takes a seat by the tree and begins doling them out (parents provide a gift for each child). As if on cue, a light snow begins to fall outside – sweeping all of us into the enchantment of the season.
Published December 2013
