What’s in here?” asked my eight-year-old son, tugging at a suitcase in our Austrian hotel room after we’d unpacked. “It’s still heavy.”

“Oh, only the other suitcase and my ski boot bag,” I said quickly. It was a boring enough answer to make him turn away and watch the snow falling outside – promising the whitest Christmas he’d ever had.

Panic over. But if he’d followed his curiosity much further he would have discovered that, in the Alps at least, Christmas presents come not on Father Christmas’s sleigh but in mummy and daddy’s luggage. I had already had to distract Adam as airport security revealed the large metal robot in my bag, and was beginning to wish we’d followed more experienced parents’ advice. They had suggested telling him: “When you go away, Santa brings you only one present and leaves the others at your home so the reindeers don’t get too tired.”

It was a close shave but I have to say it was the only problem – and, six years on, we are still going to the Alps for Christmas. Adam is now as addicted to skiing as I am, Father Christmas is a distant memory, and even my nonskiing husband Bill is a fan.

Our most recent Christmas in the mountains was at the 57-room, chalet-style Hotel Osterreichischerhof in Bad Hofgastein, tucked two-thirds of the way along Austria’s Gastein valley. This pretty village, 860m above sea level, is about 90 minutes’ drive from Salzburg airport.

I’m happy anywhere that has snow, a mountain and something to haul me and my skis up it. Any ski village will tick those boxes, so for a special Christmas family holiday the final selection has to be built around the needs of nonskiers and the ages of the children. As it turned out, Bad Hofgastein offered even more tinsel on the tree than the brochures suggested.

A big year-round draw is the Alpen Therme, a glass-roofed swimming and spa complex in the centre of the village. A number of hotels, including the one we chose, are linked to it by underground passageways so guests can stroll from bedroom to poolside in swimming costume, bathrobe and slippers.

Entry costs from about £20 for a daily pass (under16s £10) but guests at our hotel were given an electronic fob allowing free entrance for the length of their stays. That’s a handy Christmas present before a sleigh bell has tinkled (yes, there are sleigh rides to be had).

Bill set off to explore Alpen Therme and discovered a gym, indoor/outdoor swimming pools, what seemed like acres of deckchairs to lounge in, a “sauna world” including everything from traditional searing Scandinavian heat to a soporific “light and mood” sauna, and even a swim-in cinema showing Mr Bean films. He returned to report that Adam might enjoy the Black Hole water slide and that there were lots of young people there, as well as smaller children enjoying the toddler area.

When Adam was small we went to Ellmau, another Austrian resort, where Santa Claus par-ascends into the village, disappears behind a barn and reappears with a sleigh full of sweets for the waiting children. We had been grateful for the ski-school nursery and children’s meal times.

Now Adam was older we needed somewhere with an après-ski life that would entertain teens still too young to hit the clubs but up for tobogganing, table tennis and fun. As we’d hoped, there were other families with similarly aged children staying at Hotel Osterreichischerhof.

Days settled into a happy pattern as Christmas approached. After a buffet breakfast I’d head for the 2,300m Schlossalm – where increasing numbers of Santa hats were replacing the bobble variety – while Adam went to ski school and Bill explored with the help of the tourist office’s Winterwanderwege map of walks. Sometimes he would take the funicular and meet me for lunch on the mountain. Our hotel had an indoor pool as well as a sauna and steam room and during the day he had these virtually to himself.

As dusk fell – at about 3.30pm in midwinter – everybody convened in the village centre, where fairy lights sparkled in the trees and along the streets. Cafes filled with the aroma of gluhwein, hot chocolate and blueberry torte were irresistible. We were lucky in having lots of snow in the village – Bad Hofgastein doesn’t guarantee a white Christmas on its cobbled streets.

On Christmas Eve the ski lifts closed early and the shops shut at midday. December 24 is the festive focal point in Austria, with families gathering for church services and dinner.

At our hotel, guests were invited to attend a drinks party around the tree followed by a gala dinner (seven courses instead of the usual four). As we toasted our fellow guests with Fröhe Weihnachten, Merry Christmas, Natale allegro and something in Russian, candles were lit on the floor-to-ceiling tree.

Dinner was served, with little gifts of homemade biscuits or tree decorations and accompanied by traditional zither and harp music. It was delicious enough for nobody to miss turkey and Christmas pud – freshwater carp, tender venison, champagne sorbet and wicked chocolate truffles are the Austrian staples – and perfectly paced so that anyone wanting to attend the “midnight” (11pm) church service would not miss out. We put on hats, coats and gloves and joined the congregation.

The interiors of Austrian churches are always spectacular but especially so at Christmas. Even small village altars are encrusted with gold leaf and surrounded by soaring oil paintings of angels and cherubs. Bad Hofgastein’s is no exception and at Christmas also features an almost life-size crib, full choir and swirling organ.

Although sung in German, the hymns were familiar and we mumbled along until the service concluded in darkness save for the candles on the Christmas tree as the choir sang Stille Nacht (Silent Night) exactly as it was intended. And as everyone filed quietly from the church, the sound of a lone trombonist playing Oh Come All Ye Faithful drifted over the village.

And now it finally was Christmas day and almost time for presents. “Ho, ho, ho,” said Bill and Adam.

Travelling from Gatwick with Crystal Ski (0871 231 5645, www.crystalski.co.uk), seven nights at the Hotel Osterreichischerhof including Christmas 2008 costs from £1,039 half-board (£419 for under12s)