From staff reports

Skiers and snowboarders throughout Idaho have much to celebrate this holiday season, with all 19 ski areas either already open or opening the day after Christmas.

All three ski areas in North Idaho – Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area near Mullan, Schweitzer near Sandpoint and Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg – are fully open for the season.

Skiers and snowboarders dressed from head to toe as Santa can purchase a lift ticket at Lookout for only $20 on Thursday.

One north-central Idaho ski area – Snowhaven Ski & Tubing Area in Grangeville – has opened for the season, and the remaining two will begin operations during the holidays. Bald Mountain near Pierce and Cottonwood Butte Ski Area near Cottonwood are slated to open Monday.

All four ski areas in southwest Idaho – Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area near Boise, Brundage Mountain Resort near McCall, the Little Ski Hill in McCall, and Tamarack Resort near Donnelly – are open for the season. Bogus Basin is celebrating its 80th birthday . Visit Tamarack dressed as Santa, Mrs. Claus, or an elf on Christmas Day Sunday and ski or snowboard for free while enjoying the VIP zone at midmountain, where a live DJ will help celebrate a night well done delivering gifts to all the Santas on the mountain.

All three southern Idaho ski areas – Magic Mountain Ski Resort near Hansen, Pomerelle Mountain Resort near Albion, and Soldier Mountain near Fairfield – are open for the season.

Sun Valley Resort in central Idaho has been open since Thanksgiving. The region’s other ski areas – Lost Trail Ski Area on the Idaho-Montana border near Conner, Montana, and Rotarun Ski Area in Hailey – opened last week.

Most Idaho ski areas are open daily for the holidays through Jan. 2.

Not all ski areas are open Christmas Day and some are closing early Christmas Eve on Saturday, so make sure to check their websites for more details and operating hours.

Stocking stuffer ideas

The Idaho Peak Season Passport – which lets fifth-graders ski or snowboard three days for free at each of 17 ski areas throughout the state and offers sixth-graders two days free at those mountains – is a great, last-minute holiday stocking stuffer.

Complete the online application at skiidaho.us/passports and pay an $18 processing fee to order a passport for your child and Ski Idaho will email you a passport you can print out and place in their stocking. Children must have a parent or guardian present with them to use the passport, and they must show their passport (a printout or on a smartphone) to receive the lift ticket.

Meanwhile, the Idaho Department of Motor Vehicles offers two ways for skiers and snowboarders to show their support for their hometown ski hills: personalized specialty license plates for vehicles and customizable souvenir plates.

In addition to personalization and vehicle registration fees, Ski Idaho vehicle license plates have a $35 program fee for the first year with a $25 renewal fee each year thereafter.

Ski Idaho souvenir plates – which are for novelty purposes only and cannot legally be used as license plates on vehicles – cost $30.

Both types of plates are customizable with a maximum of six characters including spaces, cannot contain punctuation, and must be tasteful in any language.