Winter sports holiday before Christmas

With just weeks to go until the first ski lifts open, now's the time to start planning your first winter sports holiday of the season. If you can get away before Christmas you'll be able to pick up some cheap deals and have the slopes pretty much to yourselves, but if you are planning to slope off that early you'll have to choose your resort carefully to guarantee there'll be plenty of on -piste action. Here are some places where you're most likely to find snow in December.

La Plagne, France

One of the most snow-sure resorts in the Alps, high-altitude La Plagne links to neighbouring Les Arcs via a double-decker express cable car to offer one of the largest and most exciting ski areas in the world. Purpose-built, La Plagne is not the most attractive resort in the Alps, but if you want door-step skiing early in the season, it's pretty unbeatable.

Two other high-altitude French resorts, Tignes and Val Thorens, are also worth considering for a pre-Christmas holiday.

Crystal has 7-nights self-catering in La Plagne from £290pp, departing on December 13.

Saas Fee, Switzerland

Skiing on the glacier is available almost all year and runs to the village usually have enough snow cover from early December. Car-free and dominated by gigantic peaks, this is one of the most picturesque alpine villages with plenty of cosy bars and restaurants. If you can tear yourself away from the slopes, you can visit the world's largest ice grotto nearby.

Kuoni has 7-night half-board packages to the four-star Schweizerhof from £685pp, departing on December 1.

Obergurgl, Austria

One of the highest resorts in Austria, Obergurgl is also one of the most snow-sure and generally ski conditions are good here from November through to May. If they aren't, you can always head up to the Rettenbach glacier above Solden.

Inghams offers early ski trips to Obergurgl to enjoy the first snow, departing on December 6 and December 15 for 7 nights. Prices start at £474 including flights, transfers and B&B accommodation. If there's no snow in Obergurgl, transport will be provided to the glacier.

Mammoth Mountain, California

Mammoth is exactly what you'd expect — absolutely huge. Standing at 11,000 feet, it boasts 3,500 acres of skiable terrain, divided into 150 runs. Better still, it gets a consistent 32 feet of powder each year and 300 days of sunshine. The resort opens early and closes late, so you can be skiing here from November until July.

Virgin Holidays has 7-night packages to the 3-star Alpenhof Lodge, the closest hotel to Mammoth's new gondola, from £629 including room only accommodation and flights, departing on December 1. Ten-night packages cost from £707.

Ruka, Finland

One of the countries most likely to have snow in early December is Finland. Admittedly the downhill skiing is limited but the gentle slopes make this a great place to learn and there are lots of other winter activities besides. You can go husky dog sledging, ice fishing, take a reindeer ride, hire a snowmobile or try cross-country skiing instead. If you're lucky you may even see the Northern Lights, and if you've got the kids in tow you can always pop in on Santa.

Thomson has 7-nights in an apartment with a sauna from £435pp, departing on December 7.