What does a crown prosecutor, painter and decorator and a comedian have in common?

Well I will help you out on this – all three have a passion for winter sports.

I’m writing this item on a glacier in Monterosa, Italy, which will be our last opportunity to enjoy the perfect snow conditions for this year.

And, to make the experience even better, the cost of this holiday adventure was less than a third of normal holiday package prices, which is down to the fact that we are outside of the school holiday period.

As you know, the school holiday period is an exorbitantly expensive time to take the family on holiday and many destinations are financially out of reach for most families.

Off peak holidays offer the same benefits and facilities as on peak holidays.

For the majority of us, they become more of a bargain and I can see the great temptation to take our children out of school to benefit from an affordable family holiday where magical memories can be created.