The family with school-age children

You’re looking to get away with the entire family, but are somewhat hemmed in by school vacations and swim practice. You’ll likely need to pounce the moment a good deal arises. Another wrinkle: You’re competing with thousands of other parents who are looking to get away at the same time, which will likely include the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Set your price alerts

Sites like Kayak, Skyscanner, Hopper and Google Flights have alerts that will track flight prices and notify you of changes. On the flight results page, simply elect to track or follow the prices, and you’ll receive email or mobile phone notifications. Hopper and Kayak will even advise you on the results page whether to buy tickets now, or wait for a better deal.

If you’re watching a particular route or date range closely, I recommend enabling push notifications on your phone — when prices drop, they don’t always last very long. Hopper and Kayak also allow you to set alerts hotel rooms, in addition to flights.

Target places with deals for children

Vacationing with children can certainly be expensive. A ski vacation needn’t burden the wallet, however, given the number of opportunities for kids to get free lift tickets or ones at a greatly reduced cost. In New York , third and fourth graders can receive three free lift tickets from a selection of over two dozen resorts in the state ( and you don’t have to be from New York to take advantage of this ). The program, through I Ski NY, grants eligible children the free tickets with the purchase of adult tickets (there is a $27 processing fee). Several other states, including Pennsylvania, Utah and Vermont, have similar programs that grant children’s lift tickets for a nominal fee when applied for ahead of time.

Individual resorts have their own deals, as well. At June Mountain, near Yosemite National Park, children aged 12 and under always receive free lift tickets. Keystone Resort in Colorado allows children 12 and under to ski for free with a stay of two nights or longer. The popular Mammoth Mountain isn’t quite as generous, but even they have a deal: children age 4 and under, and seniors 80 and above ski for free.

Book early

While many early-bird, ski-package specials have deadlines in the summer, it’s not too late to find a deal for booking early. Even popular resorts like Whistler Blackcomb and Aspen Snowmass offer reduced lodging rates for those who are willing to make a commitment. When you know you’re working with firm dates, it can be a good idea to book as far in advance as possible.