December in Chamonix: What's on and weather

What are the weather and snow conditions like?

Whilst there will be snow up the mountains, a white Christmas is never a guarantee in the town itself. However, it's definitely cold with temperatures averaging from -3°C to 5°C, with around 10-11 days of snowfall. Make sure thermals are on your Christmas list.

Opening parties

If, like a lot of people, you like to follow several hours of exercise with several hours of drinking, especially during the festive season, you can hit up any of a number of opening nights and local après-ski sessions. Down at the bottom of the Brévent slopes, you'll find world-famous La Folie Douce, or head to Rue du Moulin for a range of eateries and bars, or to Cham Sud where you'll find bars offering great music, delicious food and happy hours. For late-night entertainment, the clubs hold special nights on most days of the week.

New Year's Eve

Always a big night in Chamonix, the town is full of revellers who tend to congregate in Place Balmat for the countdown to midnight, some fireworks and popping of Champagne corks. The restaurants will be busy, so it would be best to make a reservation to ensure you can get a table, and many of the bars and clubs are ticket-only, so if there's somewhere you plan to see the New Year in, make sure you've planned ahead.

Ski Schools in Chamonix

The Compagnie du Mont Blanc usually schedules a partial opening of the ski areas in the Chamonix valley around the beginning to middle of the month, with full opening planned by Christmas. Of course, this absolutely depends on snow conditions, so keep an eye on our news page and social media as we'll let you know as soon as there's any new information.

Christmas and New Year is a popular time for families so the slopes are noticeably busier as soon as the holidays begin. Fortunately, the Chamonix valley ski area is so vast, that even in high season you can find quiet slopes and minimal lift queues. Here are our insider's top tips for the school holidays:

• group lessons are the best option in the busy period, as private lessons are almost impossible to book - unless you got in early, so make sure to get your ski and snowboard lessons booked well in advance to avoid disappointment
• if you're not in ski school, be an early bird - arrive at the lifts before they open so that you get up and away before the ski school classes set out around 09:15
• ski over lunchtime when the slopes are calmer (between 12:00 and 14:00) whilst the French take a leisurely lunch break
• avoid the queues and make the most of your time in the mountains by pre-booking your lunch reservation - some restaurants offer a Click & Collect service
• seek out the peripheral areas - try to avoid the busy main ski areas closer to Chamonix town, mainly Brévent and Flégère, and head to the edges of the valley as Le Balme / Vallorcine and Les Houches may be a bit quieter 
• if you have a Mont-Blanc Natural Unlimited pass, remember that you can also head across the border into Italy and ski in Courmayeur
• get off-piste - competent off-piste skiers can book a local mountain guide and explore the vast off-piste areas in the valley or even go touring to find complete solitude in the backcountry. 

Winter Things To Do in Chamonix

Family fun

Christmas is synonymous with school holidays. As hundreds of children and their families descend on the pistes, the Chamonix valley puts on a show for them. There are lots of activities to keep the little ones entertained on and off the mountain. Les Houches, the most family-friendly of all the resorts in the valley is worth checking out for sleding and night skiing. Try your hand at cross-country skiing, there's a couple of easier tracks in the centre of Chamonix.

December events in Chamonix

Christmas - markets and Santa

At this time of the year there are markets up and down the valley, and a Christmas market pops up in the centre of town with stalls in small wooden huts, selling wares of all kinds, plus food and drinks. A perfect spot to pick up a last minute gift, or something to take home. You can browse local, handmade gifts, jewellery, soaps and a lot more while you indulge in some vin chaud or a local beer. Open from mid-December until the new year. 

Make sure you pop along if you want to meet Santa, as around Christmas Eve he usually makes his way around the town, be sure to get a selfie for the folks back home.

There will also be festive events for all the family to enjoy from Christmas discos for the kids to matches at the ice hockey rink.