What could be more Christmassy than Christmas itself? Try spending the festive season at a snow covered ski resort, decked out in holly and twinkling lights and brimming with holiday cheer.
Most mountain resorts already rate highly as winter wonderlands, but a few have that extra bit of magic to conjure up a real Christmas spirit.
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Here are the 11 best ski resorts for a cosy, joyful getaway over the holidays and throughout the ski season.
Kitzbuhel, Austria
It is famous for the most prestigious, and most daunting, downhill on the ski racing calendar, but away from Hahnenkamm race week Kitzbuhel is an elegant medieval town with a cobbled centre that is perfect for soaking up the charm and traditions of Christmas as it used to be.
Advent is a joyful time across the province of Tyrol, and the scent of mulled wine and cinnamon, the shimmer of fairy lights on trees and townhouses, and the sound of carols and brass bands make Kitzbuhel's Christmas market a magnet for holiday lovers.
By day you can enjoy 230 kilometres of pistes spread across the Kitzbuhel Alps, dipping into the many mountain huts to tuck into hearty Tyrolean dishes such as dumplings, cheese spatzle, Tyrolean grostl (potatoes with bacon and egg) and kaiserschmarrn (a shredded pancake dessert).
Inspired by the Christmas spirit, you can try skiing parts of the notorious Streif race course, an icy ribbon that drops from the top of the Hahnenkamm all the way down to the edge of town.
Festive hotel: The Tennerhof is a luxurious old world timber chalet style hotel with three gourmet restaurants and views over Kitzbuhel and the Hahnenkamm.
Festive feast: Sonnbuhel claims to be one of the oldest mountain huts in the Alps, founded between 1924 and 1926, but today it is a stylish slopeside spot that is easy to reach from the top of the main Hahnenkammbahn gondola rising out of town.
Zell am See, Austria
This lakeside beauty in the heart of Salzburgerland ticks every festive box.
Historic old streets and chalets strung with lights, chestnuts roasting on open fires, stalls selling seasonal treats such as vanillekipferl Christmas cookies and lebkuchen, warming drinks, regional arts and crafts, and entertainment for the little ones.
For a watery flourish, giant illuminated stars float on the lake.
Above the town rises the tree lined Schmittenhohe ski area, with links to Saalbach Hinterglemm and Fieberbrunn, creating a vast expanse of terrain to explore.
Nearby, high above Kaprun, sits the 3,203 metre Kitzsteinhorn glacier region, which makes this area snow sure at Christmas.
Festive hotel: Hotel Tirolerhof has been owned by the Posch family for 40 years and is a comfortable, stylish place with a central location that is handy for the lifts and the lake.
Festive feast: Mayer's Restaurant is a stylish fine dining spot led by acclaimed Bavarian chef Andreas Mayer, set in Schloss Prielau on the northern shore of the lake. The eight course tasting menu features delicacies such as Breton lobster ravioli, fillet of halibut with a wild mushroom sauce, and plum tart with vanilla ice cream and cinnamon sponge.
Courmayeur, Italy
If the end of the year is a time to eat, drink and be merry, then Courmayeur at the top of the Aosta Valley is the perfect place for a festive break.
The historic town at the foot of Mont Blanc is a foodie's paradise, with rustic huts and mountain restaurants scattered like baubles across 41 kilometres of ski runs.
The atmospheric centre around Viale Monte Bianco is a mix of cosy cafes, intimate bars and bistros, plus designer boutiques, and it is the ideal place for a stroll, an aperitivo and a dose of alpine atmosphere.
Thrill seekers and photographers can ride the Skyway Monte Bianco, a rotating glass gondola that climbs to 3,466 metres up the flanks of Western Europe's highest peak. It opens up plenty of off piste routes, including the famous 22 kilometre Vallee Blanche down to Chamonix in France. A qualified mountain guide is essential.
Festive hotel: For lovers of alpine charm, plenty of rustic timber, welcoming fireplaces and an outdoor hot tub, the Chalet Svizzero is an excellent choice with a handy location. Perfect for couples.
Festive feast: Restaurant Pierre Alexis 1877 serves "reinvented" alpine cuisine, such as fillet of Arctic char with caviar, nettle and yarrow cream, or fillet of beef with aromatic herbs, braised salsify and wild broccoli.
Wengen, Switzerland
This car free gem, perched high above the Lauterbrunnen valley in the Bernese Oberland, was one of the first winter sports bases and is a treasure trove of timber chalets and grand old hotels watched over by the mighty Eiger, Jungfrau and Monch peaks.
Reached by cog railway, Wengen shares its ski area with Grindelwald, not the dark wizard from Harry Potter, but a picturesque village at the foot of the Eiger's notorious north face.
Right across the valley lies the old village of Murren, home to Piz Gloria on the Schilthorn (2,971 metres), where the cable car station and revolving restaurant are familiar to James Bond fans as the mountain hideout of villain Blofeld in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".
How about a Christmas trip up to the Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe at 3,454 metres? Boarding the cog railway at Kleine Scheidegg above Wengen, you climb up inside the Eiger, pausing to peer out of a gallery window at the notorious north face, the scene of many mountaineering dramas. The mountain scenery from the summit, with the vast Aletsch glacier, the mighty Finsteraarhorn and the spire of the Matterhorn in the distance, is breathtaking.
Festive hotel: The Maya Caprice is a reworked and updated take on the traditional chalet hotel, with a cosy bar, a Tuscan style restaurant and big screen views of the Jungfrau massif and the Lauterbrunnen valley.
Festive feast: The atmospheric Restaurant 1903 in the revered Hotel Schonegg is a stylish option, serving mains such as venison stew with red cabbage, glazed chestnuts and herb spatzle, or roasted fillet of aged beef with truffle potatoes, egg yolk and pumpkin.
Val Gardena, Italy
This scenic valley in the heart of the Dolomites is a Christmas gift waiting to be unwrapped.
The three towns that make up Val Gardena, lively Ortisei, laid back Santa Cristina and higher up Selva, traditionally make a big deal of the festive season, blending their Italian, Austrian and Ladin heritage.
You can usually expect lavish decorations, stalls selling arts and crafts, the scent of spiced gingerbread, South Tyrolean panforte and mulled wine, nativity scenes and Advent calendar windows.
The skiing, 175 kilometres of mostly intermediate runs, unfolds beneath the towering Sassolungo, but the area is also linked to the vast Dolomiti Superski region.
Val Gardena is also a gateway to the famous Sella Ronda, a 40 kilometre circuit around the Sella massif that takes in some of the most spectacular scenery in the Dolomites. It can be tackled in a day by confident intermediates, depending on how long lunch lasts in one of the many mountain huts.
Festive hotel: Spacious, luxurious and modern, the Hotel Granbaita Dolomites is a plush retreat in Selva with indoor and outdoor pools, a wellness complex and a stylish bar and restaurant.
Festive feast: White with sky blue shutters, the Rifugio Emilio Comici is a retro chic mountain refuge on a sunny plateau at 2,154 metres below the Sassolungo peak. It is renowned for its seafood and champagne, and the bubbly beats and open fires on the terrace add a festive touch.
Val Thorens, France
Christmas comes early in the alpine season, so for skiers craving plenty of the white stuff, the rule of thumb for the festive period is to head higher.
Val Thorens, at one end of the huge Les Trois Vallees region (actually four valleys, including Orelle), is brilliant for exactly that.
A five time winner of the World's Best Ski Resort award, it combines top class hospitality with more runs than most people can handle, starting at 2,300 metres and reaching across the well known resorts of Les Menuires, Meribel and Courchevel.
It is more functional than chocolate box, but with fireworks, torchlit descents, mulled wine and all the usual Christmas trimmings, it is sure to deliver a joyful Christmas.
Festive hotel: The five star Hotel Pashmina is a designer boutique hotel leading straight onto the slopes, with a panoramic terrace and the Les Explorateurs restaurant, led by Michelin starred chef Josselin Jeanblanc, offering a truffle based menu or other delicacies such as Mont Blanc snails in mushroom ravioli with caramelised fennel and a broth of alpine pastis and spirulina.
Festive feast: Set in a collection of restored old barns, a working farm in summer, Chez Pepe Nicolas serves up Savoyard character by the snow shovel with a modern seasonal twist. Dishes range from traditional fondue and croziflette to pea soup with mint and duck breast.
The terrace offers a stunning view over the slopes of Val Thorens and the pistes of La Masse above Les Menuires.
Alpbach, Austria
For a full on, chocolate box winter wonderland, Alpbach is a great choice.
It is often rated the prettiest village in Austria, with all the timber chalets and quintessential alpine quirkiness needed to create an enchanting festive scene.
The village sits at a low altitude of 1,000 metres, so there may not always be snow on the ground, but it remains a gem in the heart of the Ski Juwel region, linked to the Wildschonau valley in the heart of Tyrol.
There are 91 kilometres of slopes reaching up to 2,025 metres, with a decent scattering of mountain huts such as the rustic Boglalm in Inneralpbach.
Festive hotel: Der Boglerhof is an alpine chalet hotel in the centre of Alpbach, with a pool, a wellness centre, a sun terrace and cosy timber clad rooms.
Festive feast: Postalm is a lively, compact spot offering authentic local food and a warm Tyrolean welcome. A meat feast cooked on a "monk's cowl" grill, or local dishes such as spinach dumplings with bacon and onion, are popular choices.
Levi, Finland
High above the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland lies the resort of Levi, a frozen winter landscape tinted by the twilight of the polar night in December.
It is the largest ski resort in Finland, with 39 kilometres of gentle forest runs, many of them floodlit during the dark months.
Off slope activities are as plentiful as mince pies at Christmas, from husky sled safaris and reindeer sleigh rides, with sausage grilling and hot chocolate stops in remote huts, to snowmobile safaris, visits to traditional Sami tepees and overnight stays in glass igloos beneath the dancing northern lights.
Since this is Lapland, you can also visit Santa Claus and his elves in the neighbouring elf village of Tonttula.
Festive hotel: Levi Holidays offers two storey cottages in the local Finnish timber style, with verandas and pitched roofs, set within the Levi resort. Each cottage has a large fireplace, a fully equipped kitchen and a private sauna.
Festive feast: NiliPoro serves traditional Sami food such as reindeer soup or reindeer steak, meatballs or veal liver, with the meat coming from the family's own herd.
Saas Fee, Switzerland
Just a stone's throw from glamorous Zermatt, as the reindeer flies, the old fashioned village of Saas Fee offers plenty of festive fun for your money.
Its atmospheric, traffic free streets are lined with traditional Swiss timber chalets and hotels, with plenty of welcoming shops, bars and restaurants, plus a proper Christmas list of off slope activities such as gondola fondue, glacier tours, night sledging and torchlit winter walks.
Saas Fee is ringed by some of the highest peaks in the Alps, including the Dom, the highest mountain lying entirely within Switzerland. And with 150 kilometres of runs, including some on the Fee glacier reaching up to 3,600 metres, a white Christmas is all but guaranteed.
No wonder Wham! shot much of the "Last Christmas" video right here.
Festive hotel: Chic yet traditional, cutting edge yet full of character, the five star Hotel Capra is a highlight in the centre of the resort, with a wellness spa and the refined Brasserie restaurant on site.
Festive feast: A 15 minute walk through pine and larch forest brings you to the Waldhus Bodmen, a traditional Saas timber inn serving regional dishes such as venison in a creamy sauce or fillet of lamb in garlic sauce with potato gratin.
Stowe, Vermont
Stowe, which has been running ski lifts for more than 85 years, is a wonderful place to celebrate Christmas.
This is a classic Vermont town, with clapboard shops and a homely Main Street USA feel. Christmas decorations and events will be in full swing, and chic boutiques and art galleries sit alongside cosy cafes, country stores and craft breweries.
The skiing, up the road at the Stowe Mountain Resort, offers options for every level on a garland of trails dropping through the forests from Mount Mansfield, the highest peak in Vermont.
Festive hotel: The Green Mountain Inn, with roots going back to 1833, offers plenty of period features and timeless Vermont charm in the heart of Stowe. Its Whip Bar & Grill is a fun spot with hearty food and craft beer.
Festive feast: The Bistro at Ten Acres is a cosy yet elegant converted house with a stunning open terrace, offering a blend of American and international fine dining.
Are, Sweden
Home to around a hundred Christmas trees in full festive dress, Are takes its holiday season seriously.
Armed with a glass of glogg (hot, spiced mulled wine with blanched almonds and raisins) and nibbling on kanelbullar (Swedish cinnamon buns) or pepparkakor (gingerbread biscuits), it is well worth strolling the decorated streets by the shore of the frozen Lake Aresjon.
Are is one of the largest linked ski areas in Scandinavia, with 91 kilometres of runs winding down into the wooded lower slopes from the summit of Mount Areskutan at 1,420 metres.
Festive hotel: Hotel Aregarden is a modern take on an old Swedish hotel dating back to 1895. It offers cosy lounges, elegant rooms and two restaurants right beside the Bergbanan funicular.
Festive feast: Karolinen Taljstenskrogen, set in a cosy lakeside barn, serves dishes using local ingredients from Jamtland, often cooked on a red hot taljsten or soapstone (also a local
