We all celebrate the holidays differently—some roast chestnuts over the fire, some sing carols with their families, and others…do intervals before everyone wakes up in the morning.
No matter who you are, we all have that favorite gift and memory of the holiday season. This year, we asked our athletes about their favorite gifts and holiday ski memories. Scroll to find your favorite athlete, or read through and dream about what your favorite ski-related gift is.
Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, AK)
My freshman year of high school I was so excited to get a brand new pair of skate skis and carbon poles for Christmas. Before this I was skiing on hand-me-down combi skis and my new ones felt so fast!
When I’m home for Christmas (the last time was 2009), my family always goes out for a ski together after a Christmas day brunch. I love the combination of family time at home, good food and some good activity outside enjoying the snow all together.
Ida Sargent (Orleans, VT)
I got a pair of new skate skis one year for Christmas when I was about 7 or 8 years old and I remember being so excited about it! I skied on them for the very first time the next day…and I went off a jump and crashed into an icy snowbank and broke one of the skis in half.
My family would always go skiing together as a family on Christmas Day. Sometimes we would go on some trails from our house and connect to the snowmobile trails and other times we would ski together at Craftsbury. I remember seeing Andrew Johnson doing intervals on Christmas Day at Craftsbury one year when I was a kid and I thought he was totally crazy. I couldn't believe people would do that on Christmas, but now I have definitely done intervals on Christmas too!
Erik Bjornsen's favorite ski suit.
Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, WA)
The best ski-related gift I got was a ski suit from a friend of mine, Jim Bishop. I’m not sure exactly where the suit came from, but I’m guessing from some Canadian club team. One thing is for sure: I loved that suit and wore it for every race I entered, until I couldn’t fit in it anymore. Here is a picture:
My family would always go for a ski on Christmas. We would wake up, open our presents from Santa, have breakfast, and then grab our gear and hit the trails.
Sophie Caldwell (Peru, VT)
The best ski related gift I ever received at Christmas was probably my first pair of skis. I believe I got them for my first Christmas, so I was 9 months old and just learning to walk. As a result, I picked up skiing and walking at about the same time! They were a pair of white, pink, and purple skis that I could just strap my boots into and off I went. I don't remember exactly how I felt about those skis, but judging by the photos, I was willing to give them a try!
It's definitely not a given that we have a lot of snow over Christmas these days, but I think when I was growing up we were usually lucky to have a white Christmas. We didn't have any really strong skiing traditions, but if the weather was nice and the snow was cooperating, my family would often go for a ski at Wild Wings—the ski center that is right down the road from my house. My parents, brother, and sister all ski, so it's an activity that we can all enjoy doing together. I'm proud to say that my siblings and I are now faster than my parents, but we can tone things down a notch when it comes to family skis!
Jessie Diggins (Afton, MN)
I think the best ski-related gift I ever got was not directly for Christmas, but it was when my Dad let me race on his skis for my first Junior Nationals. It was a big deal for me to be able to race on those fast boards! They were definitely too tall for me, but they sure were fun!
On Christmas we always go for a nice family ski, usually in one of the parks near Afton, MN. Or if it’s a low snow year, we’ll go hiking out in the fields behind our house. We love being outside and enjoying winter together, and what better time to enjoy it as a family than Christmas Day?
Noah Hoffman (Aspen, CO)
I remember receiving a pair of U.S. Ski Team-member Wiley Maple’s GS World Cup Skis. They are 197 centimeters long and extremely heavy and stiff. They are incredibly fun on groomers and I could pretend that I race alpine, in addition to cross country.
My family doesn’t have any set holiday traditions, but often I’d wake up on Christmas, go do a cross country ski workout (often intervals), then come back and have a delicious breakfast with my family while we opened presents. Then we’d all go alpine skiing.
Matt Whitcomb in his favorite Brike Shot sunglasses.
Matt Whitcomb, Women’s XC Coach
I got a pair of Briko Shot sunglasses one Christmas. They fogged terribly but I became Vegard Ulvang the moment I put them on so it didn't matter.
If I was in school, I wasn't skiing. So naturally, I really resented having to go to school. Christmas vacations were the best. I lived only three miles from Hickory Hill in Worthington, Mass. and we'd spend the entire break up there on skis. There were about 20 families who built their lives around the sport in my town, so we always skied in big groups. I don't ever remember skiing alone as a kid.
Simi Hamilton, (Aspen, CO)
I’d say my best ski gift was a pair of hand-me-down Rossignol Tempos, given to me by my cousin when I was 9. They were 150-cm skate skis, but I was determined to learn to classic ski like a pro. The very first I skied on them that Christmas break, I slapped on some extra blue and skied 35 km with my dad. Afterwards, my dad took me to the Frisco A&W and I’m pretty sure I set a record for most number of french fries eaten by a 9 year old.
Nowadays, my family goes to our backcountry cabin every Christmas. Since I’m normally in Europe for the holidays, I usually miss out on skiing powder with them on Chair Mountain in December. But a few years ago, I was lucky enough to actually be home for Christmas. I stayed at home to train for the day while the rest of my family skied in to the cabin, and late that night I strapped on my headlamp and made the 10km classic ski on snowmobile trails to meet them.
By far the best part of the adventure was putting my sister’s 3-month-old kitten in my backpack with a couple of down jackets and bringing him in to hang at the cabin while we went ski touring the next few days. It was about 5 degrees Fahrenheit and snowing so hard that by the time I made it to the cabin that night I had about 8 inches of snow piled on top of my pack. But “Heyman” was sound asleep in the warmth of the down jackets. Occasionally, he would poke his head out of the top of my pack to check out what was going on and I’m pretty sure he loved the adventure. He was a pretty adventurous little dude to say the least.
Patrick Caldwell (Lyme, NH)
Best ski related gift: NEOS! They’re gigantic shoe/ boot covers that keep your feet dry through anything.
We have no set-in-stone traditions, but every Christmas my family gets up to do any activity outside together after breakfast: walk, ski, alpine ski, ice skate, run, you name it. We get up and get out the door.
Sadie Bjornson (Winthrop, WA)
I used to get water bottles full of candies from our Canadian friends on Christmas. When we would go on long skis during the holidays, we got to bring these water bottles along. There is nothing like pulling out your water bottle as a kid and having it full of candy rather than water on a long ski!
We always went on a family Christmas ski. It started with skiing downhill when we were young. Eventually it shifted into longer skis, including uphills and downhills and everything. It was always a family tradition though, so everyone was involved.
We also had a tradition in our neighborhood called "house to house." This is where we would ski through the meadows of our neighborhood from house to house and eat little hors d’oeuvres and snacks, and finish with hot chocolate and desserts. We often had four or five houses to visit with 50 or so people. This was a tradition we often did the week leading into the holidays.
Liz Stephen (E. Montpelier, VT)
We always spent Christmas at home in East Montpelier, spending family time, eating, opening presents and—whenever there was snow—going sledding and tobogganing. They are wonderful memories. Until I became a World Cup athlete, I don’t think I ever even touched skis on Christmas! Now, I feel like I often end up doing intervals on the holiday.
My best ski related gift was definitely a pair of really flashy ski pants that were very brightly colored. I loved them. I never grew very much, so they fit me for a long time!
