Skiers like an early Easter. It means they are more likely to get good snow. This season Easter breaks have sold much quicker than last year, largely because the holiday falls two weeks earlier - Easter Sunday is 31 March.
Like the Christmas and new year break, the Easter school holidays attract a large, loyal following of families. Many return year after year to the same chalet or hotel where they know they can trust the childcare facilities, good ski schools and a variety of runs.
If you still haven't booked your ski break, do it soon. There is still some family accommodation left, but it's disappearing fast.
The under-fours
Méribel: Leave your baby or toddler at your chalet in the care of a qualified nanny in this French resort with Scott Dunn Ski (020 8682 5050). The nanny can take three- or four-year-olds to Les Petites Loup kindergarten, where the children get used to the snow with the aid of qualified instructors, and enjoy ski tows or play with inflatable playground characters. The kindergarten is open daily from 9am until 5pm.
A week's stay at the Grand Ours catered chalet, which sleeps eight, costs £1,045 per person, including flights from Gatwick to Geneva on 24 March and transfers. You pay £720 for each child aged between two and five, and £895 for those between six and 15. Private nannies cost £275 a week for the first child and £95 for each additional one. A morning at the kindergarten costs around £12, or £68 for six mornings.
Flims: This traditional Swiss village, 90 minutes from Zurich, has extensive runs suitable for beginners and intermediate-level skiers in one of the largest interlinked skiing areas in the country.
A one-week stay at the three-star Hotel Waldeck with Powder Byrne (020 8246 5300) costs £887 a head, including flights leaving Heathrow on 30 March, transfers and half-board accommodation.
Parents of babies and under threes can drop them off at the crèche, a short walk from the Waldeck at the Hotel Adula. This runs from 9am to 4pm six days a week, and the children eat lunch there. The cost is £200 a week per child.
Children aged from four to nine can go to the Yeti club five days a week for£300 a head. They spend some of the day skiing and the rest doing supervised activities. One day a week, they can ski with their parents. There is a SnoZone for 10 to 14 year olds, which costs £280 a week.
Four to eight-year-olds
Courchevel 1300: There's no need to worry about dropping off your children at ski school with Simply Ski (020 8541 2209). This is another firm with a team of qualified nannies to do that for you.
Designed for children between four and 10 years who are old enough to attend ski school, the Snowflake Club brings them back for a hot lunch before an afternoon of activities, which could include building a snowman, model-making, painting and drawing. There are also toys, books and videos. The club finishes at 5.15pm, giving parents a full day's skiing before picking up their children.
A week's stay at the Chalet Senechal, which sleeps up to 21 people, costs £664 a head, including return scheduled flights from Heathrow to Geneva, transfers, seven nights' accommodation and chalet board with three-course dinners and wine.
The Snowflake Club costs £110 a week per child, and the Snowtime Ski Lessons are £97 for six mornings a week.
La Plagne: Keep the children occupied with ski school in the mornings in this French resort and organised activities in the afternoons. Esprit Ski (01252 618300) offers Chalet Le Freney, which is right next to the beginners' slopes and within easy walking distance of shops and restaurants. The company has appointed its own English-speaking instructors to run dedicated ski classes.
Children are escorted to their lessons six mornings a week by Esprit staff, and can take part in afternoon Snow Clubs, where Rangers run activities, ranging from snow art to nature trails and tobogganing.
One week's stay, leaving on 31 March, starts at £729 per adult, including flights from Stansted and seven nights' catered chalet accommodation, including dinner and wine. The price for a child of seven is £583.20, and £546.75 for a four-year-old. The children's ski school costs £120 each, and a week at an afternoon club is priced at £110 a head.
Eight to teens
Ellmau: This pretty, quiet family resort in Austria offers plenty of activities for children who don't want to spend all their time skiing. These include ice skating, bowling and tobogganing on an illuminated run. There's also a large leisure centre with indoor and outdoor pools and water slides. Children aged between three and 14 are looked after at a ski kindergarten from 10am to 4pm each day. Part of the extensive Ski Welt, Austria's largest linked ski and snowboard area, the terrain is most suitable for beginners and intermediates.
The centrally-located Hotel Hochfilzer has its own swimming pool and children's playroom, and offers free supervision between 6pm and 8pm from Sunday to Fridays, allowing parents time to enjoy the other leisure facilities such as the sauna, whirlpools and a Turkish bath.
Inghams (020 8780 4433) is offering a week's stay for a family of four - two adults and two children - in a four-bedded room from £515.60 per person, including half board, unlimited free drinks with dinner, return flights from Gatwick and transfers.
Passo Tonale: One of Italy's highest resorts, albeit not the most attractive. However, it does boast sunny south-facing nursery slopes near the village centre and good skiing for beginners and intermediates.
Thomson Ski (0870 606 1470) offers a pick-up and drop-off service for ski-school children aged between three and 13, which costs £139 for six days. Two hours' skiing is included, in the morning or the afternoon. The rest of the time the children are entertained with games and other activities. An extra charge is made if children want to ski more than two hours a day.
Families can ski right up to the door of the three-star Hotel Flora Alpina. Prices start from £425 a head, including return flights from Gatwick, transfers and half board. Thomson is giving away ski helmets to children whose ski and boot hire is booked in advance.
Teenagers
Avoriaz: If you have snowboarding-mad teenagers you can't do much better than this car-free, purpose-built French resort in the Portes du Soleil.
This was one of the first places to encourage snowboarders, who have a dedicated snowboarding park and a specialist snowboard school. There's also a 'micro-fun' park for the younger snowboarding children and a snowboarding village for those aged between six and 16.
There is lots of self-catering accommodation, much of it right next to the piste. An extensive ski area offers slopes for all levels.
Leisure Direction (0870 442 8955) is offering a week's stay at a self-catering studio sleeping up to four people for £419 per person from 23 or 30 March. This includes return Channel crossing for a car and passengers.
Arinsal: Free lift passes for children under 14 and a high standard of mainly-British, English-speaking instructors make this resort in Andorra a good choice for teenagers. The resort has slopes ideal for both beginners and intermediates, and last season doubled its ski terrain using a new lift link with nearby Pal.
The Hotel Princessa Parc has masses of facilities to keep teenagers amused in the evenings, including a bowling alley, table football and a pool table. Neilson (0870 333 3356) offers a week's stay from £445 a head for teenagers and adults. The price includes flights departing on 23 March from Gatwick, transfers and half board.
