Tahoe Recommendations

We have done the cabin thing, and that is very convenient and lots of fun. We would usually stay in the north shore and go to a snow play area called Granlibakken. We don't stay there because the rooms are expensive, but the kids play area and skiing is inexpensive and perfect for young kids.

We have also done south shore and stayed at Mont Bleu. It has a wonderful indoor pool with waterfalls and a huge hot tub. The kids LOVE to play in the pool after a day in the snow. We have even done the pool after breakfast and then again in the evening. Then it's a short walk to the village, and there are snow parks in the area as well.

Northstar at Tahoe is pretty kids friendly. Ice skating, skiing, restaurants, sledding, etc. Squaw Valley is also pretty cool with the Village, tubing and then ice skating up top. There will be a lot going on in December no matter where you go. (we live in North Lake Tahoe). Feel free to e-mail me if you have specific questions.

I would stay in the village at North Star. They have an ice skating rink with fire pits for roasting s'mores, sledding, and skiing. Renting a home in Donner is another great option because there is a fun sledding/tubing course there and the ski slopes are great for kids and not as crowded as some of the larger resorts.

Granlibakken! We attended a late June family wedding here. It was beautiful! I can only imagine how it would look under a blanket of glistening snow. Also nearby is Squaw Valley...another beautiful resort. (I recall that they had ice skating.)

Now in the interest of full disclosure, we took this trip BK (before kids). Ah yes, there was a life BK, or so I am told!!

Best of luck!

My family and my brother's family shared a great three-bedroom condo at Northstar in January. We all had an awesome time - my son was two and my brother's kids were six and eleven. The six and eleven year old learned to ski, and my son just got a kick out of playing in the snow (we don't get snow at home - he still talks about playing in the "snows"). They have a lot of family activities available.
My only complaint is that the condo was three stories high, with an internal balcony. I felt that the rails on the balcony were too far apart, and posed a risk of falling for my very skinny son. I had to make sure he never went up to the third level alone (the resort offers gates for the staircases, but they didn't fit correctly).

NorthStar is a super kid friendly ski resort!

if you're looking for a fabulous place to eat, try Bert's Cafe. A local rec. to us & there was a long wait but so worth it. A great place for breakfast