Ski holidays for New Year

Make this New Year’s Eve one you’ll talk about for years to come! If you are considering a New Year ski holiday in France, we can highly recommend Morzine and Les Gets. Prettily illuminated by fairy lights, these down-to-earth ski resorts promise relaxed après-ski parties, fireworks, ice rinks and torchlit descents as the year ends. You can party into the early hours; or cosy-up in front of your chalet’s fireplace, clinking bubbly or marshmallow-laden hot chocolates. Then, one sleep later, there’s also something impossibly perfect about beginning a new year by skiing down pristine slopes.

Jump to the bottom of this guide to see our available chalets over New Year's Eve.

Over Christmas and into January, Morzine’s square hosts the Enchanted Village: a twinkling place of light shows, face-painting stalls, performers and an ice-skating rink. During early evening on New Year’s Eve itself, ski-school instructors usually zig-zag down the nearby Pleney slope, dramatically carrying red torches. The main square in Morzine morphs into one large, jolly dancefloor, with locals and visitors gathering for (usually) two fireworks displays, one early evening for families and one at midnight, their dazzling colours lighting up the surrounding mountains. Celebrate in one of our chalets or apartments (many have professional bars and sound systems), or head out to one of Morzine’s many bars and restaurants.

Les Gets’ village square is always charming, but over the festive period – with colourful Christmas lights strung in trees, an outdoor ice-skating rink and traditional carousel set up, and warming hot chocolate or mulled wine on tap – it’s especially bewitching. Once Father Christmas and his elves have retreated to their home in the illuminated forest on 28 December, New Year’s Eve brings a speech from the mayor and then a fabulous fireworks display. There is one nightclub in Les Gets, a bowling alley, traditional cinema and a few bars and restaurants to help see in the New Year. This family-friendly village remains abuzz with special activities on New Year’s Day, and during the following days; Monday evenings also see the ski school memorably stage synchronised, torchlit runs down a nearby slope.

Whether you want to go catered, hosted or self-catered over New Year, our luxurious chalets and apartments promise a stay to remember. Not only do these hand-picked homes in Morzine and Les Gets rank among France’s finest, but we enhance them with an ‘anything is possible’ service style. Each catered chalet comes with a host, a talented chef who’ll cook four-course dinners, an on-call 24-hour resort driver service, and – especially handy on New Year’s Eve – complimentary bubbly, fine wines, spirits, beers and soft drinks. As for our self-catered chalets, we recommend booking a restaurant well in advance if you'd like to eat out on New Year's Eve. All of our guests have access to our Concierge service, a team that is on hand to help your book restaurants and experiences.

Planning is key to ensuring a successful ski holiday for New Year. With the high demand for accommodation and ski lessons during this time, it's important to book early to secure your lessons and equipment hire. We recommend booking a year in advance if you can! Once you've booked a ski chalet or apartment with us, our complimentary concierge service will be available to book you ski lessons and ski equipment hire, which can be fitted in your chalet on arrival. This saves you queuing up in one of the shops in town with the kids! The later you leave it, the harder those ski lessons (and childcare) are to find.

Start by deciding on your budget and how many people will be in your group. It’s always useful to work out what you are happy to pay per person and times this by the number of people you are travelling with. It’s also helpful for us to know if you are travelling with infants or children who are happy to share a bunk room. This helps us narrow down the options and find the right ski chalet for you. Jump to the bottom of this guide to see the chalets and apartments currently still available over New Year's Eve.

If you're staying New Year week, it’s peak time in both Morzine and Les Gets, so the resorts will be buzzing and the tourist boards go all-out to make families happy with firework displays and events. You can take the kids on the all-season mountain rollercoaster in Les Gets, book them ski school, go ice-skating (indoors or outdoors) and book tickets to see the Alta Lumina lightshow in Les Gets, a magical walk through the woods where you follow the story of the Music Maker. For more inspiration, check out our things to do in Morzine during winter and things to do in Les Gets during winter features.

While some ski resorts in France opt for all-out glitz and glamour, you’ll find a far more down-to-earth and friendly vibe in Morzine and Les Gets. Both resorts have picked up awards for being family friendly and both resorts are fantastic if kids are learning to ski. There are Magic Carpets and easy greens in Morzine and Les Gets to make learning as fuss-free as possible, with restaurants (and toilets) close-by so you can break up the day into easy chunks and restful moments on sunny terraces dipping into cheesy fondue.

Many of our year-round team have chosen to bring up their own children in Morzine and Les Gets, so if you have any questions then don’t hesitate to ask. While family-friendly, there is still a buzz if you are looking for apres. Morzine in particular has a great choice of restaurants, bars and restaurants, while Les Gets has a slightly quieter and smaller village vibe with a good choice of bars and stylish restaurants. Both resorts are an excellent choice for skiing in New Year, so we hope to see you soon!