Åre, Sweden

Åre is, possibly apart from Hemsedal in Norway, Scandinavia's only world-class ski resort, with 100km of piste. It is a charming village of pastel houses and hotels on the shore of a frozen lake. Beginners head for the Rödkullen area, a 15-minute free ski bus ride away.

• £729pp per week in the Holiday Club Apartments at Åre Village, including flights and transfers, from Neilson (neilson.co.uk). Price based on week starting 19 December

Big White, BC, Canada

Big White takes its name from the cloud that creates a phantom forest of trees frozen into eerie shapes. All the accommodation is ski-in ski-out. Highly recommended are Tot Town Day Care, for non-skiing children, and the Kids' Centre, from four years old.

• £1,649 per adult and £929 per child per week in a two-bed apartment at the White Crystal Inn, including flights and transfers, from Ski Independence (ski-i.com). Based on week starting 19 February

Obergurgl, Austria

With children, you want guaranteed snow on the nursery slopes, a long season, a short transfer and a virtually car-free village. Obergurgl has all of these. Many hotels have childcare and the charming Tyrolean atmosphere helps make the village family-friendly. For pre-teens, it's hard to beat.

• £1,334.50 per adult and £1,151.65 per child per week (based on four sharing a family room) half-board in four-star Hotel Bellevue, including flights and transfers, from Inghams (inghams.co.uk). Price based on week starting 21 December

Saas-Fee, Switzerland

One former ski area in this car-free high altitude village is closed to skiers and dedicated to tobogganing – a plus for families. Tour operator Esprit has a nursery and a Snow Club for older children. For a treat, have lunch at Waldhüs Bodmen (waldhues-bodmen.ch), a restaurant in the woods with pigs, rabbits and hens to watch (through a glass wall) as you eat.

• £939pp per week half-board at Hotel Annahof, including flights and transfers, from Esprit (esprit-holidays.co.uk). Child discounts of up to 50%. Price based on week starting 19 December

Serre Chevalier, France

This is the collective name for a dozen villages that share a varied ski area close to the Italian border. Lots of new lifts have been introduced in recent years. Serre Chevalier is in the southern Alps and considerably cheaper than equivalent resorts of its size in the main Alpine resorts. The quiet resort is not a place for party-goers, but new last winter was an on-piste nomad village, a collection of yurts and tepees from different parts of the world. As well as this there are educational ski-through tunnels where you can hear mountain animal sounds and learn about local history.

£198pp per week, based on 6 people sharing an apartment for 4-6 at Best Western Premier Chalet 52, including Eurotunnel crossings, from Erna Low (ernalow.co.uk). Price based on week starting 9 April and including an early booking discount of 15% if booked before 30 November

Felice Hardy is co-editor of the ski information website welove2ski.com