Catered or Self-Catered at Christmas?

What catered chalets include at Christmas

Most UK operators describe a similar Christmas, and a few add their own extras. These are taken from their current pages:

Operator	Christmas Eve	Christmas Day	Extras
Skiworld	Midnight mince pies and sparkling wine; canapés, aperitifs and crackers	Smoked salmon and Bucks Fizz breakfast; three- or four-course Christmas dinner with wine	Father Christmas visits on selected departures with a gift for children aged 2–11
Inghams	n/a	Turkey with all the trimmings, mince pies and Christmas pudding in all chalets	Celebration menu on New Year's Eve
VIP SKI	Vin chaud and homemade mince pies after skiing; champagne and canapés before dinner	Traditional Christmas dinner	Visit from Santa with gifts; childcare team not working on Christmas Day
Mark Warner (Chalet Hotel L'Ecrin, Tignes)	Dine-out night	Christmas dinner: turkey, sea bass or nut roast	20 December 2026 departure
Le Ski	n/a	Smoked salmon, roast turkey, Christmas pudding with rum sauce	Christmas week 20–27 December 2026
Bramble Ski	Stocking gift bag, festive cocktails and mulled wine	Breakfast in bed with a mimosa; Christmas dinner tailored to you	Father Christmas visits the chalet

Skiology offers Christmas lunch rather than dinner if that is your family's habit.

The staff night off in Christmas week

Catered chalets normally serve dinner on six nights of a seven-night stay. Inghams says its chalet day off "is usually a Wednesday". Skiworld says staff have one day off a week and confirms the day on arrival, with breakfast and afternoon tea laid out. For Christmas 2026:

• Skiworld: hosts' day off is Wednesday 23 December ("subject to change").
• Mark Warner, Tignes: dine-out night is the Thursday, which in 2026 is 24 December, with Christmas dinner at the chalet on the 25th.
• Powder Edition, an agent, describes the usual pattern as dinner six nights a week with one evening out, and says many chefs cook a festive menu on 25 December.

If the night off falls on Christmas Eve, book a restaurant well ahead. Several operators, Skiology among them, will make the reservation for you.

Some catered chalets now serve five dinners rather than six. More Mountain wrote in 2024 that the reduction came from Brexit, because chalet companies must follow French working-time rules. Check how many evening meals your week includes.

When the shops are open for self-caterers

France

Christmas Day is a public holiday, but the law does not require shops to close. The only day French employees must have off is 1 May. In practice most chains close on the 25th. On 25 December 2025, Carrefour hypermarkets, Aldi, Lidl, Auchan and Picard were closed, and Carrefour Market opened in only six cities. Supermarkets generally closed at 18:00–19:00 on 24 December, and most chains reopened on the 26th, which is not a holiday outside Alsace-Moselle. In resorts, expect shorter shop hours over Christmas.

Austria

Shops must close on Sundays and public holidays. Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day (26 December) are both public holidays. On 24 December shops may open from 6:00 to 14:00 when it falls on a weekday, and on 31 December until 17:00, or 18:00 for groceries. Tirol makes an exception for its season resorts, including St Anton, Ischgl, Sölden (which covers Obergurgl) and Kitzbühel. From 20 December, grocers there may open on Sundays and holidays for up to six hours between 8:00 and 20:00. The rule allows them to open. It does not require them to, so check your local shop.

Switzerland

Holidays are set canton by canton. The watson.ch newspaper reported that in 2025 the Coop in Zermatt was open 8:00–20:00 on both 25 and 26 December. In other resorts, check the opening hours of the local supermarket.

Italy

Christmas Day and Santo Stefano (26 December) are both holidays. The consumer group Altroconsumo advised in 2025 treating the 25th as a closing day and checking your own shop's hours for the 26th, because opening varies.

Getting food delivered

In French resorts, the Sherpa supermarket chain offers online ordering for in-store collection or delivery. Some catered operators, and many chalet agents, offer a pre-arrival shop.

Is catered or self-catered cheaper?

We found no published, dated comparison of catered and self-catered chalet costs for Christmas week, so we have not given one. The price difference depends on the chalet and on how often you eat out. Groceries and restaurant meals at Christmas can close some of the gap, as Ice & Fire noted in 2026. For your own sums, compare the catered price with the self-catered price plus a week of shopping and at least two restaurant meals, one of them on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Which suits you?

• Catered suits families who want Christmas dinner cooked and the washing-up done, and people arriving on 19 December who have no time to shop before Christmas Eve.
• Self-catered suits groups with firm Christmas traditions, particular dietary needs, or a cook who enjoys it, as long as the shopping is done by lunchtime on the 24th.

Sources

• skiworld.co.uk — Skiworld Christmas inclusions; host day off Wednesday 23 Dec 2026; Father Christmas gifts for children 2–11
• skiworld.co.uk — Skiworld: evening meals on 6 nights; one day off a week confirmed on arrival; breakfast and afternoon tea laid out
• inghams.co.uk — Inghams: turkey, mince pies and Christmas pudding in all chalets on Christmas Day; NYE celebration menu; dinner six nights
• inghams.co.uk — Inghams: chalet staff day off usually a Wednesday
• vip-chalets.com — VIP SKI Christmas Eve vin chaud and mince pies; Santa visit; Christmas dinner; childcare not working Christmas Day
• vip-chalets.com — VIP SKI Christmas Eve champagne and canapés
• markwarner.co.uk — Mark Warner L'Ecrin: departure 20 Dec 2026; dine-out night Thursday; Christmas dinner options; dinner 6 nights
• leski.com — Le Ski Christmas week 20–27 Dec 2026 and menu
• brambleski.com — Bramble Ski stocking bag, Christmas Eve drinks, breakfast in bed, tailored dinner, Father Christmas
• skiology.co.uk — Skiology Christmas lunch option; restaurant reservations on nights off
• powderedition.com — Dinner six nights with one evening out; festive menu on 25 Dec
• moremountain.com — May 2024: catered nights reduced from 6 to 5 due to Brexit and French working-time rules
• service-public.gouv.fr — France: only 1 May obligatorily non-working; 26 Dec a holiday only in Alsace-Moselle
• bonial.fr — France 25 Dec 2025: Carrefour Hyper, Aldi, Lidl, Auchan, Picard closed; Carrefour Market open in 6 cities; most chains open 26th
• testsdeproduits.fr — France 24 Dec: supermarkets generally close 18:00–19:00
• ovonetwork.com — Limited supermarket and shop hours in resorts at Christmas (Oct 2025)
• bmwet.gv.at — Austria: shops closed on Sundays and public holidays; tourism exceptions by the Länder
• jusline.at — Austria ÖZG §6: 24 Dec 6:00–14:00; 31 Dec to 17:00, food to 18:00
• wien.gv.at — Austria: 25 and 26 Dec public holidays
• tirol.gv.at — Tiroler Öffnungszeitenverordnung: winter season from 20 Dec; Sunday/holiday sales in season resorts (incl. St Anton, Ischgl, Sölden, Kitzbühel) max six hours between 8:00 and 20:00
• watson.ch — Zermatt Coop open 8:00–20:00 on 25 and 26 Dec 2025 (article 23 Dec 2025)
• seco.admin.ch — Switzerland: holidays set by cantons; 1 August only federal holiday
• altroconsumo.it — Italy 2025: treat 25 Dec as a closing day; check 26 Dec locally
• sherpa.net — Sherpa online grocery ordering in French resorts
• ice-fire.co.uk — Groceries and eating out narrow the catered/self-catered gap (Mar 2026)