Let's set expectations early. On your family's first snow day, somebody will cry, somebody will lose a glove, and at least one adult will fall over in the car park in front of strangers while carrying four hot chips.

This is normal. This is, in fact, the whole point. Ski fields are one of the very few places where absolutely everyone is bad at something in public, and there's a strange freedom in that.

July is peak season across the country, the holidays line up, and the mountains are open. Here's how to do it without losing your mind or your mortgage.

You don't have to ski

Genuinely. This is the great secret that nobody tells first-time families.

Plenty of children have their best mountain day without ever clipping into a ski. Sledding, tubing, snowman construction, and the ancient art of throwing a snowball at a parent's back are all free or close to it. Most fields have a snow-play area, and several have dedicated tubing runs.

If your kids have never seen snow, the snow itself is the event. Don't over-engineer it.

If you do ski: lessons, not Dad

Every year, thousands of hopeful parents attempt to teach their own children to ski. Almost none of them are still speaking by lunchtime.

Book a lesson. Instructors do this all day, they know the tricks, and — crucially — your child will listen to a stranger in a way they will never listen to you. Meanwhile, you get an hour to remember what your knees used to do.

Dress like you mean it

The mistake is nearly always cotton. Jeans on a mountain are a slow tragedy: they soak, they freeze, they end the day early.

Layers, instead. Merino or thermal against the skin, a fleece or jumper over it, then something waterproof on the outside. Two pairs of socks is a myth — one good pair is better. Waterproof gloves, not woollen ones. And a spare set of everything in the car, because everything will be wet.

The sunburn nobody expects

New Zealand's sun is fierce, and snow throws a huge amount of it straight back up at you — a bright day on the mountain is like being lit from below.

Sunscreen goes on faces, ears, and under the chin and nose, which is where everyone gets caught. Sunglasses or goggles for everybody. The Kiwi snow sunburn — white forehead, scarlet everything else — is a look you can absolutely avoid.

The unglamorous logistics

• Check the road. Chains are often required, and hiring a set is cheaper than the alternative.
• Go on a weekday if you can. The holidays are busy; Tuesday is calmer than Saturday.
• Rent, don't buy. Children grow. Skis do not.
• Pack the food. Mountain chips are excellent and priced accordingly.
• Leave earlier than you think. Always.

Then get off the mountain early

Here's the pro move: stop before everyone's exhausted. Come down mid-afternoon with a bit of goodwill still in the tank, find hot chocolate, and let them tell you the story of their day while it's still fresh.

They will not remember whether they skied well. They will remember that they were freezing, and then they were warm, and that you fell over in the car park.

Honestly? Give them the fall. It's the best bit.