Let’s face it, there’s about as much chance of a white Christmas in most parts of the UK as there is of a big red fellow sliding down your chimney on the morning of the 25th, covering your carpet in soot and asking for a large glass of brandy for Rudolph.

So, if it’s the white stuff you’re after for Christmas – and, by this, I mean not the possibility of a flurry, but an all-but-guaranteed carpet of white, crunchy, kickabout snow – where do you go?

GRINDELWALD, Switzerland

If you want something more spectacular than a Christmas tree to look at, head for the Jungfrau, in Switzerland. This mighty massif, which tops 4,000 metres, drops away on its northern side in one of the most breathtaking scenes the Alps have to offer. I promise even the most talkative member of your party will be struck dumb by it.

But there’s plenty more to do here than stare, slack-jawed, at the view. Especially if you base yourself in Grindelwald, which is the most rounded of the three resorts in the area. It’s home to an excellent network of toboggan runs, including one that winds down beneath the Eiger, and there’s plenty of snowshoeing, skating and cross-country skiing on offer, too. If – heaven forbid – there’s no snow down in the village, then you can catch a train to the highest railway station in Europe, at a staggering 3,454 metres. Though, at this altitude, you probably won’t have too much energy for a snowball fight.

The family-holiday specialist Powder Byrne (020 8246 5300, www.powderbyrne.com) is offering discounts on its one-week Christmas holidays in the resort, with the four-star, chalet-style Hotel Schweizerhof starting at £1,457pp, half-board, including flights and rail transfers.

INNSBRUCK, Austria

Need some city with your snow? Innsbruck is your safest bet in Europe. There are others, such as Tallinn, in Estonia, which have a higher chance of seeing snow on the streets on Christmas Day – but in lowlying cities such as this, if the weather doesn’t oblige, you’ll have no fall-back plan.

In Innsbruck, you just head uphill. This ancient regional centre, briefly the Hapsburgs’ imperial capital in the 15th century, is wedged into a deep Alpine valley, and several of its suburbs are mountain villages. One – Igls – has an Olympic bobsleigh course, and was the place where Franz Klammer won his skiing gold so spectacularly in 1976.

Down in the city, there’s a Christmas market running right through the festive period, as well as one of Europe’s best provincial art museums. Up in Igls, December 23 sees the traditional Bergweihnacht procession through the village, while on Christmas Day there’s the not-so-traditional bobsleigh – when the Olympic run is opened to the public for guided descents.

Made to Measure (01243 533333, www.mtmhols.co.uk) can tailor-make a trip: one week, arriving on December 23 and staying at the four-star Sporthotel Igls, costs £1,424pp, half-board, including flights and car hire.

LEVI, Finland

Something of a Santa industry has developed in Lapland, and one-day encounters with the Bearded One are now retailing at about £380pp, including flights.

Call me a Scrooge, but it sounds about as atmospheric as a Saturday afternoon in Hamleys. Far better to visit this empty region for a whole week and let the Arctic work its magic at a more leisurely pace. It’s going to be pretty dark most of the time, but the action never ceases in this northern outpost; downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, dog-sledding and reindeer sleighs are all on offer. And you might well see the northern lights if conditions are right.

Inghams (020 8780 4444, www.inghams.co.uk) has the largest programme of holidays in the region. A week at the four-star Levitunturi spa hotel (which has a large pool), costs £1,281pp, half-board, including flights, transfers and a gala dinner with Father Christmas, no less.

GEILO, Norway

If you’re one of those people who hates overeating at Christmas, can I suggest Geilo? I’m not suggesting it as a place to fast – rather, as somewhere to burn off all the calories after the traditional festive splurge. This is one of Europe’s great cross-country-skiing destinations, and there is no winter activity known to man – short of wading through a snowdrift without any snowshoes – that will give you a more thoroughgoing workout.

Geilo’s secret is the vast, high and snow-sure Hardangervidda plateau, which is crisscrossed with 130 miles of trails, some of which are floodlit. There’s something here for all levels of skier, from complete novices to Lycra-clad Olympians.

A UK tour operator, Headwater (01606 720199, www.headwater.com), runs one-week holidays in Geilo that are designed to introduce Brits to the sport. These have the added advantage of being based at the four-star Dr Holms hotel, the best in town. One week, arriving on December 23, costs £1,199pp, half-board, including flights, rail transfers and a festive dinner on Christmas Eve. Lots of other winter activities are available in the village, from snowmobiling to tobogganing.

ICEHOTEL, Sweden

To really get in touch with your inner snowman, how about tucking up in a bed of reindeer skins and polar sleeping bags in the Icehotel? Arctic Experience (01737 218800, www.arctic-experience.co.uk) is offering five-day Christmas trips to this chic and chilly spot (which has an Absolut ice bar), although many might be secretly relieved to learn that only one night is spent in the cold part of the hotel. Christmas Eve is spent in the Esrange space centre, where a guided tour includes an explanation of the northern lights, and among the host of optional extras are snowmobile safaris, which include a night in a wilderness camp. Prices start at £1,023pp, B&B, including flights, transfers and two gala dinners.

QUEBEC, Canada

For a spot of luxury with your snow, try the Auberge Saint-Antoine, in Quebec City. Recently voted one of the world’s 100 best hotels, it’s the perfect place to snuggle up while blizzards swirl outside. When it’s not snowing, you might take in one of the many carol concerts or venture out into the snowy wilderness beyond the city limits – for snowmobiling at the Parc des Laurentides, perhaps, or to try your hand at a little gentle skiing on the local slopes at Mont-Sainte-Anne.

Frontier Travel (020 8776 8709, www.frontier-travel.co.uk) has a five-night Christmas break at the Auberge from £1,135pp, room-only, including flights and transfers.

YUKON, Canada

For anyone who really wants to escape from Christmas – but still wants to be surrounded by snow – dog-sledding on the Iditarod trail, in Yukon, has to be the answer. It certainly isn’t cheap, but it’s hard to think of a trip that will take you further away from civilisation without strapping on skis and setting off on your own into the wilderness.

For the first two days, you’ll be staying at base camp and familiarising yourself with your team and basic sledding techniques. You then set off for a three-day run up a section of the Iditarod racecourse. To begin with, the trail is easy – mostly over frozen lakes – but it gets progressively harder and, by the finish, will be giving your driving skills – and your rapport with your dog team – a proper workout. Accommodation en route is in heated tents, and everyone is expected to muck in with setting up and striking camp. Softies need not apply.

The trip costs £1,325pp, full-board, excluding flights (which start at £750pp extra), with Activities Abroad (01670 789991, www.activitiesabroad.com), which also offers a range of less hard-core trips in the region.

SEEFELD, Austria

Austria gets two bites of the cherry in this piece because it’s had such a wonderfully snowy start to winter. Nearly two metres of snow fell in some mountain resorts last weekend, and there has been more since then.

For those who only want a little downhill action, mixed in with lots of other wintry activities, Seefeld is the place to target – a pretty town, set in a flattish bowl at 1,200 metres and surrounded by wooded peaks. The level ground means cross-country skiing is easy, and there are 280km of trails to be tried here, as well as sleigh rides, skating and snowshoeing. Or you could just gaze at the view from the window of your indoor swimming pool.

The four-star Garten Tümmlerhof has a nice one in its vast spa: a week costs £1,055pp, half-board, including flights and transfers, with Crystal (0870 160 6040, www.crystalholidays.co.uk).

RILA MOUNTAINS, Bulgaria

There’s no better way to soak up the stillness of a snowy environment than snowshoeing. It takes only a few minutes to master your new high-tech feet, and then you’re off into the big white wilderness. All you’ll hear is your own breathing and the occasional croak of a raven.

You can sample it in any mountain resort, but the tour operator Explore (0844 499 0901, www.explore.co.uk) has devoted an entire trip to it in the Rila mountains, Bulgaria. The itinerary also includes a trip to the Rila monastery – a Unesco World Heritage Site. A four-night trip, departing on December 22, costs £629pp, including flights, transfers and most meals.

CHAMONIX, France

It snowed in France, too, this week: but, even if it hadn’t, the one place you’d have been absolutely certain of seeing at least a little of the white stuff would be Chamonix, crouched in the shadow of the 4,807-metre peak of Mont Blanc.

All right, so there’s still a faint chance December will see a thaw, and there might not actually be any snow lying in the valley. But ride the cable car to the 3,842-metre summit of the Aiguille du Midi and you’ll get an eyeful – courtesy of the Vallée Blanche glacier.

Accommodation to suit every budget can be found in town, but anyone with money to burn should target the rustic but luxurious Auberge du Bois Prin, where double rooms with Mont Blanc views are still available over Christmas.

A four-night break, arriving on December 22, costs £988pp, B&B, including flights, car hire and a gala dinner at the hotel, with Momentum Ski (020 7371 9111, www.momentumski.com).