Our Family Ski Holiday Packing List that Thinks of Everything

There are two kinds of family on the first morning of a ski holiday. The first has packed thoughtfully; everyone is dressed, suncream has been applied, anticipation for that first run is building, and they are all enjoying breakfast together before the children head off to ski school The second is upending a suitcase and scrabbling around through various hats, ski socks, snow boots, and base layers frantically hunting for a second glove, because the first glove has been found and the second has not, and a one-gloved child cannot ski.

We have been both families. This list is the accumulated wisdom of being the second one too many times. It covers the things everyone remembers, the things everyone forgets, and the handful of small items that quietly make a week in the mountains just that little bit easier. We can also send you a printable version to tick off as you go for feeling über organised.

Start with the stuff you can't easily buy in resort

Some things you can pick up in resort without much trouble. Others are either impossible to find, wildly overpriced, or both, and these are the ones to pack with real care.

The genuinely non-negotiable, can't-replace items are the documents and the medical. Passports (checked for validity, six months beyond your travel dates to be safe), your EHIC or GHIC card, travel insurance documents that explicitly cover winter sports and off-piste if you'll venture there (standard policies very often don't, and this is the single most common and most expensive mistake families make), and any regular medication in its original packaging with enough for the trip plus a few spare days. If anyone in the family has an EpiPen, an inhaler, or anything similar, pack two and split them across different bags.

After that come the things that are merely annoying and expensive to replace in resort: ski goggles (resort prices are eye-watering), prescription glasses or contact-lens supplies, and any specialist kit your family relies on. Everything else, you can broadly buy or hire if it comes to it. But the document folder and the medical kit are the two things to assemble first and check twice.

The clothing for that all important warmth

Most families either over-pack clothing wildly or get the system wrong, and the second is worse than the first. The principle that matters is layering, because a cold child is a miserable child and a sweaty child is a cold child an hour later.

The system, per person, is: a base layer (thermal top and bottoms, merino if you can stretch to it because it doesn't hold smell, two sets so one can dry), a mid layer (fleece or light down), and the outer shell (waterproof ski jacket and salopettes). Then the extremities, which is where families come unstuck: proper ski socks (not thick hiking socks, which bunch and cause cold feet, and at least one pair per day because damp socks are the enemy), waterproof ski gloves or mittens (mittens are warmer for younger children, and always pack a spare pair per child, see the glove hunt story above), a neck gaiter or buff (warmer and safer than a scarf, which can catch on lifts), and a hat for off the slopes plus a helmet for on them.

A few things people forget and shouldn't: a warm hat and gloves for everyone for the evening, not just the slopes; sunglasses for the (fingers' crossed!), blue-sky lunch terraces; and proper waterproof snow boots for walking around the village, because trainers in slush make for cold, wet, grumpy evenings.

The small things that punch above their weight

These are the items that cost almost nothing, weigh almost nothing, and are non-negotiables for family ski holidays in our book.

High-factor sun cream and an SPF lip balm, because the combination of altitude and snow-glare burns faces astonishingly fast, and a sunburnt, chapped-lipped child is a sad sight by Tuesday. Hand and toe warmers, the little disposable ones, which are pure magic for cold-extremity children and cost pennies. A small backpack for the slopes to carry water, snacks, sun cream, and a spare layer. Reusable water bottles, because altitude dehydrates you and on-mountain drink prices are a scandal. Snacks for the slopes and the journey, because hungry children ski badly and melt down predictably. Plasters and blister plasters for the inevitable boot rub. And a small bag of clothes pegs or a travel airer, because dry gloves are of the utmost importance.

One more, less obvious: a few resealable plastic bags. For wet gloves, for a phone in a snowstorm, for the goggles, for the inevitable thing that leaks. They weigh nothing and are so surprisingly useful.

Packing for the very youngest: babies and toddlers

If you're travelling with a child under about five, the list grows, and the priorities shift. The skiing kit becomes almost beside the point; warmth, comfort and logistics are everything.

For babies and toddlers who won't ski, the focus is keeping them warm, dry and happy while they're out in the cold (a proper insulated, weatherproof all-in-one snowsuit, far warmer than the layering system works for tiny bodies; waterproof mittens that actually stay on, which is harder than it sounds; and warm, waterproof boots or booties). Bring more than you think for the inevitable nappy changes, spills and snow-soakings, because doing daily washing on holiday is nobody's idea of relaxing. If you're relying on a resort crèche, pack whatever they ask for and a comfort item from home. And don't forget sun protection scaled for delicate skin, a baby's face burns even faster than yours.

For the three-and-four-year-olds heading to ski kindergarten, you'll want the small-scale version of the proper kit (snowsuit or salopettes and jacket, mittens, a helmet, and warm socks), plus a great deal of patience and, frankly, a great deal of hot chocolate. Label everything, because a snow-garden cloakroom full of identical tiny gloves is chaos.

Packing for school-age children

From around five upwards, children pack much like adults, just smaller, with a few specific additions worth flagging.

The layering system applies in full, but consider hiring rather than over-investing on gear they'll grow out of by next season. The vast majority of families hire skis, boots and helmets in resort, particularly for children, to avoid lugging it all through the airport. Pack spare everything (gloves especially, and socks), because children lose and soak things at a remarkable rate. A small backpack of their own makes them feel grown-up and carries their snacks. And a few familiar comforts for the chalet, a favourite book, a card game, a tablet loaded with something for the transfer and the inevitable bad-weather afternoon, earn their place in the bag many times over.

Packing for teenagers

Teenagers will, in our experience, under-pack the practical things and over-pack the things they think they need, so a light parental eye on the bag before you leave saves trouble.

The kit is adult kit by now, but the things to check they haven't forgotten are the unglamorous warmth essentials (proper socks, spare gloves, a buff) that teenagers reliably deprioritise in favour of looking the part. Make sure their goggles and helmet are sorted, and accept that the phone, the charger, the headphones and a portable battery pack are now non-negotiable items in their world; the battery pack genuinely is useful, since cold drains phone batteries fast on the mountain.

The list you can print

Download the printable family ski packing checklist (we'll email it straight over), for the full itemised checklist split by category and age. It's the version we use ourselves, with the universal essentials and separate add-on sections for babies and toddlers, school-age children, and teenagers.

And if you've got the packing sorted but not yet the holiday, tell us about your family and we'll help you find the resort and chalet that fit, whatever ages you're packing for.

Full list

Documents & essentials

• Passports (valid 6+ months beyond travel)
• Travel insurance with winter-sports cover (check off-piste if relevant)
• GHIC / EHIC card
• Flight / Eurostar / transfer confirmations
• Accommodation details & address
• Lift pass / ski school / hire bookings confirmations
• Driving licence (if hiring a car or driving out)
• Cash (Euros / Swiss Francs) and cards
• Photos of all documents saved to your phone

Medical

• Regular medication (original packaging, plus spare days)
• EpiPens / inhalers (pack two, split between bags)
• Children's paracetamol / ibuprofen
• Plasters & blister plasters
• Antihistamines
• Any prescriptions or repeat-medication notes

On the slopes — clothing per person

• Base layers (thermal top & bottoms, x2)
• Mid layer (fleece or light down)
• Ski jacket (waterproof)
• Salopettes / ski trousers
• Ski socks (one pair per day minimum)
• Ski gloves or mittens (+ a spare pair)
• Neck gaiter / buff
• Helmet
• Goggles
• Sunglasses

On the slopes — kit & extras

• Skis, boots, poles (or hire in resort)
• Small slope backpack
• Reusable water bottles
• Sun cream (high factor) & SPF lip balm
• Hand & toe warmers
• Snacks
• Resealable plastic bags

Off the slopes

• Warm casual layers for evenings
• Waterproof snow boots for the village
• Hat & gloves for evenings
• Sunglasses
• Swimwear (most resorts have pools / spas)
• Comfortable indoor clothes & pyjamas
• Chargers & adaptors (Europe)
• Phone battery pack
• Travel airer or clothes pegs
• Toiletries
• Electricals: phone, iPad, headphones

Add-on: babies & toddlers (under 5)

• Insulated, weatherproof all-in-one snowsuit
• Waterproof mittens that stay on (+ spares)
• Warm waterproof boots / booties
• Plenty of nappies, wipes, changes of clothes
• High-factor sun cream for delicate skin
• Comfort item from home
• Whatever the crèche has asked for
• Pram / carrier suitable for snow (check resort)

Add-on: school-age children (5–12)

• Full layering kit (buy or hire, allowing for growth)
• Spare gloves & socks (more than you think)
• Their own small backpack
• Helmet & goggles (hire available in resort)
• Comforts for the chalet (books, cards, tablet)
• Labelled everything

Add-on: teenagers (12+)

• Adult kit — check the warmth basics aren't forgotten
• Spare socks, gloves, buff
• Goggles & helmet sorted before you go
• Phone, charger, headphones, battery pack
• A little independence (and a lunch meeting point)