Planning on a ski trip for our family the week of Christmas. The kids 13 and 16 have never seen snow, and for hubby and I it has been years since we strapped skies to our feet. I am leaning towards Colorado and don't really want to fly father west than that (am scared of flying, so don't want to add on more flying hours from Florida). Our son is an avid skate boarder and wants to try some snow boarding. However my primary goal is atmosphere. I grew up in Europe and fondly remember the cozyness of the skiing villages there. Although I would like to ski, other winter activities would be fun as well, like snowmobiling or ice skating. We are not on too tight of a budget, but are not Aspen material either. Would love to hear your recommendations!

Keystone would be a good choice for you. They have a variety of runs plus good boarding areas. They also have a lake for iceskating. I believe they also have some dogsledding and snowmobiling near by. There are a nice variety of condos available throughout Keystone. We did this a few years ago at Christmas and had a blast.

I agree with Keystone. Another fun winter activity there is the sleigh ride dinner. Great for families. Snowmobile tours and dog sledding can be arranged by the the Activities Desk. They'll pick you up at the Lodge and take you to the place near Breck where it happens. It's an exciting thing to do, but check your insurance!

Book your condo soon. They get sold out fast.

I think Breckenridge is a great town to stay in for your first visit to Colorado. It's got a small town feel but all the comforts you might desire while on vacation - restaurants, shopping, skating, and or course skiing. You're within close driving distance to other resorts as well - including Keystone and Copper Mountain. Copper is outstanding for snowboarding.

You may also enjoy Crested Butte (you'll probably want to fly into Durango for that as it is a 4 hour drive from Denver) for a great small town feel.

Winter Park is very nice, two ski areas in one (Winter Park/Mary Jane), lots of lodging, lots of winter sports. If you can, you could try to get a cabin or other lodging at Snow Mt. RAnch, the YMCA of the Rockies (bargain!), where they have shuttles to the ski areas, rentals, terrific cross country trails, horse-drawn wagon snow rides, even an outdoor ice rink--almost a postcard for a Christmas holiday. Plus, it's only a short drive to the Rocky Mt. National Park western entrance.

For the combination of skiing and village, I'd suggest Breckenridge or Vail.

Keystone really doesn't have a village, and whenever we've been there, it's been icy.

I love Winter park, but thre certainly isn't a cute village.

Steamboat Springs is a great resort and neat town. Check their website for information.

Definitely second the Crested Butte suggestion if atmosphere is a a main goal - it is such a neat town, absolutely beautiful and very friendly and quaint, great food, relaxed atmosphere, and they have fabulous festivals and activities in town if you are not skiing - check out the links below. The resort is up the road at Mt. Crested Butte, but it is very easy to shuttle up and down to the the main street of the town, Elk Street. It is also a snowboarders mecca so your son would enjoy that (they hosted the X-games a few times).
The only negative is it seems (in my not-so-experienced-skier opinion anyways) to be on the more challenging end of ski runs for complete beginners, so you may want to ask specific questions on that.

Also - as far as travel - Yale suggested flying to Durango, but that is a pretty tough drive on narrow, curvy roads (although certainly beautiful) and takes close to 3 hours anyways. If you don't want to drive from Denver, you could also fly to Colorado Springs, which is a little closer but you still need to go over Monarch Pass which is brutal in the winter (and dangerous). Haha, now after scaring you will all that -- the easiest way to get to Crested Butte is to fly to the smaller airports in either Gunnison (a half hour away) or Montrose (a little over an hour). Mostly, those are connecting flights out of Denver, but in the winter they have direct flights from the south as well, esp. Houston.

I lived in Gunnison for a while, and absolutely loved going up to CB!

Here are some links, and they include photos:

http://www.crestedbutte.com/
http://www.visitcrestedbutte.com/
http://www.crestedbuttenews.com/
http://www.gunnison-co.com/main/transp.htm

I would stay away from Breckenridge. The times I have been there it has been so crowded at the bottom near the base that it is dangerous in my opinion. Vail is nice and has that adventure ridge (I think thats the name) with the laster tag, skating and other stuff for other activities. Also, a suggestion for you mom. I hate flying and I hate taking medications too. So for years, I either avoided flying (I even drove back from Charleston to upstate NY once to avoid flying) or I would hibernate under a hooded sweatshirt holding on to my husbands arm when I did fly. This past winter I had to take my daughter without my husband to a bunch of snowboard competitions so I finally broke down and called my doctor and he prescribed Xanax. I take one pill about an hour before my flight takes off and it makes a HUGE difference. I am not nervous at all. I can even look out the window now. It does not make me feel drugged in any way either. It has made a huge difference for me.
Another good source for information on ski trips is www.epicski.com.
GOod luck with your trip

I would avoid Summit County altogether the week of Christmas. There will be many "daytrippers" from Denver as the local population will be out of school and on vacation. My family made the mistake of going to Keystone and Breck last Christmas and hated it. The mountain was so packed with people who didn't know how to ski and the lift lines were crazy. We're the kind of people who are the first on the lifts every day and the last ones off the mountain but we blew off two days and wasted the money we paid for our lift tickets and ski rental due to the crowds.

Go somewhere that is more of a destination resort farther from Denver so there are only as many people on the mountain skiing as there are staying in the town. Aspen, Telluride, Crested Butte...

I still believe that Winter Park is a good option for this trip!

I lived in Aspen for 2 seasons and I would not hesitate to recommend Snowmass/Aspen to you. The great thing about Snowmass is that it is a village where you can feel comfortable and safe as a family. It is also about 90% ski-in/ski-out so you don't have to worry about driving and carrying skis and all. Then go to any of the other 3 (!!!) mountains for a day away from Snowmass and a change of scenery. The ski shuttles are free, easy and run all of the time. For your son, especially, go to Buttermilk Mountain (one of the Aspen Mountains) about 7 miles away from Snowmass to enjoy the world's largest terrain park. It is also the home of the Winter X-Games! He can get his fill of skateboarding, sowboarding, etc.

Trust me, you will be a big hit with everyone if you choose Aspen/Snowmass.

Don't forget to plan a evening in Aspen for you and your husband. The resturant selection will blow you away.

If you do it right Aspen is not out of your price range. Just shop around. You will save money by buying the right ski pass, taking advantage of the free transport, and staying in a place in Snowmass where you can prepare your own food.