Can anyone suggest where to go skiing over Christmas. We are a family of 6 adults, mostly beginners, and one non skier keen to try other things like snow mobiling,tobogganig etc. We would like self-catering accomodation too. Main thing is to know where we are most likely to have snow at ground level --- around us!! Thanks for all suggestions. Open to Austria as well.

Tignes is the highest place in france for skiing (3200 m I think) so there's always 1m to 3m of snow.

Choose a starting altitude of at least 1000m; the higher, the better.
Christmas is the top high season and you should try to get a reservation as soon as possible - many places are booked already and many owners of self-
catering places use them themselves in this period so the choice is even smaller. Many places also require a 10-day or 2-week stay at this time of year. You might try
www.frosch-ferienhaeuser.de
since they maintain a special list of self-catering apts. and houses that are still free at Christmas/New Year. (It's all in German but you could try sending an e-mail in English).

Why not try Levi in Finland. A small town, north of the Artic circle. For beginners it should be great, plus there are lots of other things to do that are well organised, such as snow mobile treks, husky dog sledding (sp?) etc.

Reliable snow that early is "very variable". Since my family likes ski vacations at that time of year, I've been checking out the snowfall "data" the last couple of years. Seems that the only guaranteed snow that early is near glaciers, altho, as others have said, the higher altitudes generally have the best snow first at the more northern resorts. This website might be helpful www.ifyouski.com

Thanks to you all for your suggestions and help. I have found a very nice Chalet in Le Tour and another in Le Plagne ---- anyone been to either over Christmas??