Is your skiing holiday looming and you haven't prepared anything yet? Don't panic! This article will help you to get everything organised calmly.
What do you mean it's skiing season already? Yes it is! In a few weeks, the kids will be on mid-term break (again) and winter sports require logistics that are similar to those involved in organising the World Cup!
Of course the lucky people who live close to a ski resort already have all their material and their thermal underwear sorted into piles according to size and colour and are chuckling to themselves, but for those of us who get to load up the car for a 9 hour drive with 10 tons of luggage and arrive in our rental chalet to find that it is not equipped with cupboards (have you noticed that rentals never have cupboards, probably because they don't want us to stay for long!), it is quite another story.
So, to try to add a little organisation to all this and above all to enjoy the holiday as much as possible, because it is your holiday after all, here are the best tips from organised mums.
The bags of ski necessities sorted by size: While most of us put gloves with gloves and glasses with glasses, what were really need is to sort the equipment by size. "Every year, I wash and sort into full outfits by size. One set for age 6/ one set for age 8… etc. In December I kit out the eldest in a sports shop, because come January there is nothing left. Two weeks before leaving, we hold a trial to make sure that everyone is fully equipped: a bit long, a bit short… it always works." declares Marielle who has four children.
The babysitter: yes, rather than scrambling to find one when you get there, find one ahead of time for an afternoon or an evening. These are your holidays, and the skiing logistics can sometimes give you the feeling that you are too involved with the kids. So how about a welcome raclette or fondue evening with friends/as a couple?
Well, I'm not going skiing this year, but I'm making a note of everything for next year!