As the snow sprinkled down outside our hotel room, we could be certain we were truly going to have a White Christmas.
We had arrived in Whistler Canada the day before, a very tired family after a long day travelling from Los Angeles with 2 children a 7 month old baby. On arrival in Vancouver, we met up with our extended family and boarded the coach for Whistler. The cousins were delighted to see each other and chatted happily about the past few days our children had spent in Disneyland as we travelled 21/2 hours up to Whistler. The coach made its way along the Sea to Sky Highway – spectacular views up the mountain. We also saw a lot of road work – the highway was being expanded in anticipation of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
We arrived at our accommodation, the Westin Whistler Resort and Spa for a week long stay that had been long in the planning. After checking in and heading to our spacious suite which had a separate bedroom, kitchen and very cosy fire, the boys headed off to organise ski equipment for the kids. We had chosen the Westin as it is a full service hotel with restaurants within the building. As we were travelling with the children we didnt want to have to go out in the cold for every meal – particularly breakfast. The Westin also has a festive programme which includes activities for the children, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner options, photos with Santa and you can even have a Christmas tree delivered to your room fully decorated.
The next morning, the mountains revealed themselves – well, as much as we could see as snow was dumping down. The kids set off to the kids ski school programme – Whistler Kids. We checked them in at the Gondola and they were whisked away up the mountain for the day. Once there, they were arranged into groups according to their ability and then they set about having fun. Whistler Kids programme includes a hot lunch. With the husband tearing up the mountain and kids busy, I checked the baby in with the grandparents and headed for the day spa!.
As we were a large group (12), we had prebooked most of our dinners each night. The hotel gave us some great information before we arrived and we found that most of the restaurants had websites we could look at and send over for reservations. We did find moving around with a large group and so much snow a little tricky! It certainly pays to have the right clothing and footwear! My stiletto boots almost got me into trouble one night in the snow!. One thing to remember about travelling to Canada skiing – you cannot rent ski clothing as you can here in Australia. You can rent boots and skis but not clothes.
Christmas Day was our highlight with the children delighting in the snow and astonished that Santa had found them so very far away from home! We had a family brunch at the beautiful Fairmont Chateau Whistler which was truly magical with carolers singing and gorgeous decorations. Following our lengthy brunch, we took a sleigh ride over the Nicklaus North golf course – of course covered in snow for the Winter!
Whistler offers great family options as the village atmosphere offers alternative activities other than skiing. There are plenty of shops, great restaurants , spas and coffee shops – all making for a wonderful holiday!
by Louise McCarthy | 
