Colorado’s ski resorts provide idyllic snow-globe backdrops for holiday traditions. Whether it’s bundling up for an adventure in the woods to cut down your Christmas tree or cozying up on the couch in front of a crackling fire with snow softly falling outside to watch your favorite holiday movie, mountain towns offer the perfect setting for magical holiday moments.
The Moving Mountains Staff share their holiday traditions, both past and present. We're all locals in our Colorado ski resorts and have been living the Christmas Dream with our families for many years!
Why not take some tips from our team members and incorporate them into your holiday spent in one of our Colorado mountain towns where a white Christmas is usually always guaranteed.
We work and play in the mountains, so are fortunate to enjoy skiing all winter long, but there are some days that we just don’t miss. Here are some personal recollections of spending family time on the slopes over the holidays:
I love the tradition I had for years of getting together with a group of girlfriends at 7am to skin up the mountain Thanksgiving morning and then mimosas at Paramount afterwards… That was the most wonderful way to start the day before the feast with family and friends!
Heather Craigen, Co-Owner
My family spent every Christmas holiday on a ski vacation. We would ski every Christmas Day after opening gifts, then back to the chalet for dinner where everyone prepared a different tapas dish paired with a bottle of wine. A big change from later years playing volleyball on the beach living in the Caribbean!
Jeni Osborn, Yacht Broker, Oceans by Moving Mountains
Growing up spending the holidays in the mountains, my family would hit the ski slopes after opening presents on Christmas morning. We would stuff our pockets with treats to hand out to the lift operators.
Teresa Wiedel, Guest and Brand Experience Manager
Even on Christmas and New Year’s Day, the complimentary Moving Mountains shuttles are available at your service, ready to take you to the slopes and back home. Tip: Take advantage of these days; they sometimes offer the best skiing experiences with fewer crowds on the runs!
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Off the slopes, there’s so much more to enjoy in Colorado’s mountains towns, especially during the holidays when we have family and friends visiting:
- Snowshoeing up Steamboat’s Emerald Mountain with headlamps to view New Year’s Eve fireworks
- Skinning up the mountain on New Year’s morning
- Soaking at Strawberry Park Hot Springs on Christmas or New Year’s mornings (yes, they’re open 365 days a year)
- Gliding across the ice at the outdoor rinks in Beaver Creek and Vail villages, Steamboat’s Skeeter's Rink, or Maggie’s Pond in Breckenridge
- Dining at Beano’s Cabin in Beaver Creek on Christmas Eve after arriving on a snow cat drawn sleigh
When my children were little, we would put on our Christmas pajamas, grab some cozy blankets and our thermoses of hot chocolate and drive around the valley looking at all of the beautiful Christmas lights from Vail to Beaver Creek to Broadway St in Eagle. Of course, we had Christmas music playing on the radio! As they grew older, we continued the sight-seeing tradition and started sledding on Christmas day. Our favorite sledding hill is on the west side of Nottingham Park in Avon, next to Avon Elementary athletic fields. There were always a few other families there sledding, some local and some visiting. I always loved sharing the tradition with families from states that don't get snow. Watching their kids (and their parents!) having a blast and making memories always reminded me how lucky I am to have raised a family in such a magical place.
Arianne Hughes, Front Desk Specialist in Vail
"During the Holidays we go to Keystone to ice skate at night around the Christmas tree with my brother, his wife and my nieces then dinner together. I also trek to Denver with my sister in law, and nieces for an evening to see the Nutcracker.
Nancy McDowell, Staff Accountant
“In addition to cutting down our Christmas tree, another family tradition was building a snowman in our backyard with all the fixings from a carrot nose to a top hat along with a jacket and scarf.”
Liz Piazza, Systems Administrator
Forget the Christmas tree lots when you’re surrounded by forest! A tradition for most Moving Mountains employees living in Steamboat, Breckenridge or the Vail Valley, is to strap on the snowshoes and venture into the backcountry to cut down their own tree (with a permit, of course.) One team member scouts the woods around her property all summer searching for the perfect tree!
We go up into North Routt with our neighbors, and I cut down two Xmas trees. Of course I can’t just have one tree; one for my dining room and one for my living room. I also LOVE to make pumpkin pie from scratch for all of the holidays the entire season.
Amy Davis, Director of Sales
Usually the Saturday before Christmas, since our kids were little, a group of families and friends have cross country skied out a favorite trail to the “Christmas tree” in the woods in our neighborhood. We bring an ornament to add to the tree and a drink to share, then back to someone’s house for a party and a White elephant.
Nancy McDowell, Staff Accountant
From a Florida family…we always came out to Steamboat for Christmas to enjoy the snow, pine trees and colder weather. One family tradition I can remember vividly…Getting a $10 permit to go into the woods on Rabbit Ears to cut down our very own Christmas Tree. It was typically an all-day event filled with fun times, hot cocoa, some yelling and crying (FL kids and all trying to trudge through deep snow) and inevitably coming back to the house with a FAR LARGER Christmas tree than what could fit in our house with vaulted ceilings. This either ended up with a bent Christmas tree OR just us using the top half of the tree we brought home.
Liz Piazza, Systems Administrator
Save yourself the trouble of packing a saw, lights and tinsel if you’re coming for a Christmas ski vacation. Take advantage of local decorating services that will source that tree for you and have it beautifully decorated by the time you arrive.
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The hustle and bustle of holiday shopping is actually enjoyable when you can leisurely stroll the streets of a picturesque mountain village. Some of us make a tradition of spending an afternoon with family picking up some last-minute stocking stuffers on Christmas Eve day. Along the way, pop in to a local coffee shop for a peppermint latte or cocoa. After all, you’re on vacation!
Check out our staff’s picks for finding the perfect gift, while supporting local businesses!
Grab the popcorn, it’s holiday movie night! Here are the top picks that Moving Mountains team members (and their kids) watch every Christmas:
- Elf
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas
- A Charlie Brown Christmas
- Christmas Vacation
- Love Actually
- It's a Wonderful Life
- A Christmas Story
My family takes gingerbread house building and decorating very seriously. It started when my now teenage children were young and the annual tradition has turned into a competition that gets more heated each year!
Melissa Caton, Operations Manager in Breckenridge
You can still enjoy those holiday movie and game nights in your vacation home away from home. Many Moving Mountains homes are entertainment havens, featuring theater rooms equipped with big screens and surround sound. You’ll also find fully-loaded game rooms with everything from classic board games to pool tables to arcade and video games. Visit here for homes with theater rooms.
Embrace your holiday traditions and maybe create some new ones during your ski vacations in a snowy winter wonderland. Here are more ways to make your Christmas even more magical.
