A family ski holiday is something that you want your children to love and remember for a long time. For them, it is often a chance to experience things they would never get the chance of doing at home (Well it depends where you are from but we don’t get good snow in England anymore do we?). What better way for them to enjoy all that there is to offer in the ski resort than by inviting an expert of all things fun in-resort to come and look after them? Booking a luxury chalet with childcare might just be exactly what you need for a totally trouble free and relaxing vacation.

I caught up with Tina Elides from “Jelly and Ice Cream“, who set up her own childcare service in Val d’Isere and then expanded to other resorts in the Alps, to find out why a nanny is a must for your next family skiing holiday.

You Scream, We Scream, We All Scream for Jelly and Ice Cream!

What made you start offering childcare in Val d’Isere?

“I set up my first childcare service in Val d’Isere in 2006/7 after finishing my first winter and summer season in resort looking after the two very sweet daughters of the English in-resort doctor. Val d’Isere ski resort is an amazing place which offers so much in the way of skiing and things to do in town. I have loved living and working here ever since.”

What experience is required of your nanny and childcare team?

“I carefully select experienced staff for my team each year and ensure that every member of my hardworking and fantastic team is CRB verified, first aid qualified and have at least one to two years’ experience working with children. We understand how important it is for our clients to have a trustworthy nanny service looking after their children as it means they get to truly relax themselves, knowing that they are in safe hands.”

What makes your experience for the families so good?

“From even before you arrive in resort we are working hard to make your nanny service personal to your particular requirements.

We believe it is our flexibility that makes the experience for every family so special. We can offer services for children as young as 6 weeks old up to pre-teens and older, and cater our service around what you want from your holiday. We are also able look after children with disabilities who may not be able to go out on the pistes or at least not for long periods of time. We can either stay in their luxury disabled friendly chalet or we know the best disabled friendly places and fun things to do in town.

Because we speak to our families well before they arrive in resort, we can make sure that our nanny is best suited to the family. We find that the children bond really well with our nannies and this ensures they have endless fun in the mountains. This is very important to build a child’s confidence in the snow and on ski holidays and it also removes the stress from parents who should get to enjoy their downtime equally, either on the slopes or even in a nice après bar!”

What types of service do you offer?

“We offer, happy, smiley and super fun service of course! …In more detail, we currently have nanny services across 5 resorts in the French Alps; Val d’Isere, Tignes, Meribel, Sainte Foy and Courchevel and offer varied services dependant on each family’s needs.  We can arrange a full time or part-time nanny for on the snow or back in the chalet for single children or groups. We are able pick up and drop your kids off at ski school so that you don’t have to rush around and we can prepare midday meals for your children too.”

In Val d’Isere, we offer a lunch club between ski schools hours (12 and 2pm) where our nannies take your children to a mountain restaurant for a hot meal, games and playtime. We know that you want your children to have a fantastic holiday but we think it shouldn’t be at expense of your ski time!”

Why do the kids love a nanny service? What special things do you get up to?

“The kids love having a nanny on a ski holiday because kids love to be busy. We strive to create an interesting and varied itinerary so every day is different for your children.

We like to organise fun activities out of the chalet from snowman building and sledging for the snow lovers to ice-skating, swimming or a trip to the local farm for the “I’m fed up of snow” kids. For in the chalet, we bring a good range of games, toys and arts and crafts and we are all quite good at making a lovely cup of hot chocolate to warm up with too!”

Thank you Tina for giving us a better insight into what in-resort childcare in Val d’Isere is all about! If this has got you thinking about looking for a family friendly ski chalet with a nanny for your next ski holiday, then please give us a call on +44 1202 203650 or send us an email and we will help you find the chalet that is right for you!