It's snowing
At the beginning of the week, France, Italy, Switzerland and parts of Austria were walloped by the white stuff - followed by further snowfalls on Thursday and Friday. Some of the deepest snow is now lying at St Moritz, in Switzerland, which is covered in a thick blanket of white up to 130cm deep. St Moritz also has lots of skiing above 2,200 metres - an essential insurance this winter against the föhn (the strong southerly wind that did so much to spoil the snow last month, and is set to return next week). If you fancy dashing out to ski it, Momentum (020 7371 9111, www.momentumski.com) is offering four-night breaks in mid-December for £585pp, B&B, including flights and rail transfers.
The Price-cutting has started
Yes, the euro is strong, but at least the price of your package holiday is dropping. Despite efforts by tour operators to reduce capacity, there are still too many holidays on the market, and prices have been heading downhill for some weeks. Christmas in particular looks like a bargain, now that there's snow (although you still need to aim high to be sure it stays put). The chalet specialist Ski Beat (01243 780405, skibeat.co.uk) has chalets in the French resort of La Plagne over Christmas for £549pp, half-board, including flights and transfers - a saving of £150. Check out the discount websites and specialist travel agents such as ifyouski.com, igluski.com and www.snowfinders.co.uk.
All-inclusives can beat the euro
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Holidays can shield you from the power of the euro: with Club Med (0845 367 0670, clubmed.co.uk), a week for two, from January 10, staying at its newly upgraded resort in Val d'Isère, France, costs £1,142pp, full-board, including lift pass, drinks, ski instruction and access to the gym and sauna. At the other end of the market, Action Outdoors (action-outdoors.co.uk) markets all-inclusive holidays for 18- to 40-year-olds - and, if you're happy to sleep in a four-bedroom dorm, they're a steal: arriving on January 2, a seven-day holiday in Tignes, France, costs £655pp, full-board, including coach travel, lift pass, ski hire and full-time ski instruction.
Chalet chefs are cheap
Fish&Pips (0845 474 1054, fishandpipsmeribelskichalet.co.uk) has just won Times Online's chalet chef of the year competition. If you fancy a taste, book a last-minute week in one of its chalets, arriving this Saturday, for £375pp, including transfers, but not flights. Snowjet (020 8652 1222, snowjet.co.uk), has flights that day to nearby Chambéry from Gatwick and Manchester; prices start at £150 return.
This is the year of the flexible ski holiday
Time was, during peak periods such as New Year and February half-term, you had to book a whole week or nothing. Not any more - tour operators and hoteliers are becoming more flexible. Ski-2 (01962 713330, www.ski-2.com), for example, has three-night breaks between Christmas and New Year in the cute Italian village of Champoluc, beneath the Monte Rosa massif, for £575pp, full-board, including lift pass and transfers, but not flights; with EasyJet (easyjet.com), return fares from London to Turin start at £240.
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The French love us
Well, they're trying, anyway. Now even the Ecole du Ski Français (ESF) is hiring British ski instructors in a bid to get us back on board. You'll be able to find the first of the new wave at resorts already popular with British skiers, such as La Plagne, La Rosière and Les Deux Alpes. A private lesson with a British instructor at the school in La Rosière (00 33 4 79 06 81 26, esflarosiere.com) will cost £36pp for two people for two hours. With Esprit (01252 618300, www.espritski.com), a Christmas holiday for a family of four in the resort, arriving on December 20, costs just £425pp, half-board, including flights and transfers.
Kit is cheaper
Two years ago, Ski Republic revolutionised ski hire in the Alps with its two-for-one rental offers on the internet. Now everyone is offering deals - with Skiset (skiset.co.uk), for example, you can find discounts of up to 40%. A week's ski and boot hire in La Rosière starts at £80.
The pistes will be quiet, too
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We don't want to rejoice in other people's misfortune... but recessions do have a habit of leaving the slopes blissfully empty.