Snow for Christmas
 

We live in Houston and I miss seasons (!!). So I'm currently getting past my depression because of lack of fall weather by looking for ideas for somewhere to go with my husband and 2.5 year old around Christmas. I'll be 4-5 months pregnant. We will not be skiing, or anything similar. I want cozy fires, relaxation, gorgeous scenery, decent restaurants, and lots of snow to introduce my girl to snowmen, snow angels and snow ball fights. I don't mind paying a good bit ($500/day total?), but would rather not pay for amenities like ski slopes that we won't use. Anyone have ideas?

TIA

Your best bet for snow that early in the season is probably Colorado or Utah. In either case you'll be in a skiing environment but just don't pay for the ski slopes. Breckenridge, CO has a nice "real town" environment. Park City, UT is nice, might be a bit pricier if you stay somewhere like Deer Valley. I've never been to Jackson, WY but that might be worth looking into.

Anywhere in the northeast is no better than 50/50 for snow that time of year. Without the altitude the weather is very unpredicatble.

Chicago at Christmas is beautiful.

The one time we went to Park City - in Feb of all times - there was little to NO snow! Can you imagine? What about going some place in Canada? I think you are sure to get snow then. :)

While Canada is a big place and effectively includes the north pole, most places you can easily fly to from Houston are not all that snowy in Dec. Going to Vancouver and then driving 2 hours up to Whistler might be a good bet but often Whistler is only snowy on the mountain as the base is only at ~2k'. Vancouver definitely not.

Toronto is unlikely to have snow. Montreal=50/50. How about Calgary? Not sure how accesible it is or what the weather pattern is like there.

Sorry Loki- I guess I should have been more specific. :) I think Canada and think SNOW. I was just looking at exchanging our timeshare a a few place in Canada came up so I had it on the brain.

Devil's Thumb Ranch in Colorado might work for you, although the selection of good restautrants in the area is somewhat limited. They do have restaurants on site.

www.devilsthumbranch.com

Breckenridge CO and Park City UT are both good ideas. I'd also highly recommend Steamboat Springs CO. We spent the week before Christmas there 2 years ago. We had 3 generations with us so many didn't ski - still no problem with finding lots to do. Steamboat was a mining town before skiing, so it also has that town feel with lots of shops, restaurants, activities, etc. And LOTS of snow.

One big advantage IMO is that you can fly non-stop from IAH into Hayden on CO, which is an easy 30 min drive from Steamboat. No hassles with Denver, and it really cuts down on travel time.

Park City is a fun town. We were there mid-December a few years ago, and the snow was not great for skiing (not enough of it yet), but that didn't mean there was no snow -- there was plenty of snow just "around". It snowed one night while we were there, which was like magic. Plus it has great shopping and eating, and it's a "real" town (old mining town) as opposed to a strictly ski village. It's so easy to get to, too -- just 35 minutes drive from SLC airport.

sls15,

I suggested Devil's Thumb Ranch because you mentioned that you did not want to pay for the amenities associated with a ski resort. Devil's Thumb will give you far better value in that respect than any of the areas mentioned.