It's almost surprising my family decided to make a second Christmas ski trip to Utah after last year's goat rodeo.

The parents and two brothers showed up from South Carolina on Christmas Day -- right after I found my apartment had been burgled. So I took us out for dinner, but the restaurant had run out of beer and several food items by the time we got there.

I prayed skiing the next day would go more smoothly. Um, no. By 8:30 a.m., I had lost my credit card and broken my phone, my dad's rental car had a flat tire, and the roads were insane. We had to take the ski bus up Big Cottonwood Canyon.

"Skiing is pretty much just peeling off twenties and throwing them out the window," my dad grumbled as he paid the fare.

We finally got to Solitude, and the fam hit the rental shop. Now, I must say here that I love Solitude dearly. The mountain is never crowded, the other patrons are mellow and it's affordable. Learning to ski there has been one of the best experiences of my life.

The wait for rentals was 90 minutes.

We had awakened in downtown SLC at 6 a.m. with one goal: get on a ski lift.

That happened at noon.

And for four hours, it was a great day.

Then we had to get home. Ski bus after ski bus was full. We started waiting at 4 p.m. We got back to town about 6:30 p.m.

My family had spent a lot of money to come out here on my promise that "It's so convenient! Skiing is right out my back door, no waiting! I'll take care of everything! It'll be great!" But after day one, no one was too happy.

When we collapsed at Village Inn, my 14-year-old brother innocently asked, "How long before our food comes at this restaurant?"

I snapped.

"Hmm, I don't know! Why don't we clock it with a stopwatch so we can all bitch when it takes too long?!"

At that point, I realized two adjustments are necessary for holiday skiing.

First, be ready for every step to take longer. Just factor it in. Commit to not getting frustrated. I'm used to being on a lift 50 minutes after I wake up, but that's absolutely not going to happen this weekend or next.

Second, plan ahead. For everything. Get tickets, rentals, restaurant reservations -- EVERYTHING -- in advance. If you have guests, take care of those things now. Brace them for the waits and remind them the investment pays on the mountain.

And if things do get stressful, just remember: A temper tantrum will never help as much as a shot of Ten High.

Stay merry, and watch for happier Albertys if you're in the Wasatch this holiday season.

Erin Alberty has more Utah adventures and musings on her blog, poorpenmanship.com.