Winter activity vacations are a big pull on the family budget, especially on the back of Christmas. Although, if you choose wisely, they can often be the most memorable escapes you will have together. Most importantly, frosty, family fun doesn’t have to mean downhill skiing. Try hiking through the snow dusted Grand Canyon, snowshoeing and jumping into thermal pools in Slovakia, or reindeer/husky sledding in Lapland. There are many carefully crafted and expertly guided winter vacations for families out there, which go way off piste and way off the tourist trail too. Leave the chair lifts queues behind and lift your snow angels’ spirits in a completely new and exciting way.

Children’s adrenaline will be pumping on a winter activities vacation, but nothing will stop them in their tracks, or have their heart beating quite as hard as when they see an elk standing proud in the Finnish wilderness. Or a chamois leaping from one icy rock to another in the Alps, an Arctic hare dashing across Lappish snow or a polar bear crossing the tundra.

Laura Greenman from our winter vacations supplier Magnetic North, and mum: “The outdoor life helps family life as young and old can connect in nature - perhaps working together or enjoying a stunning sight. Our guides pass on their love of the outdoors to the younger generation, partly for fear that society is becoming too sedentary! Many families comment that they have felt closer after experiencing the quiet nature in Norway and spending quality time together away from any distractions. Many trips are adapted for a wide age range such as dog-sledding, snowshoeing, reindeer sledding, camping in the wild, and ice-fishing.”