In these leaner times, ski resorts aren't just offering deals—but deals on top of deals—to get you to bring your kids to the slopes.

One of the best we've seen: Vail and Beaver Creek are reprising their Kids Fly Free Program, where a child between the ages of 2 and 12 can fly free into the local airport with an accompanying adult who has booked lodging and lift tickets in Vail/Beaver Creek. Once there, you can also take advantage of its Ski Stay, Stay Free deal, where you get a free night of lodging and lift tickets with a three-night lodging purchase.

The fly-free deal offers you the conveniece of flying right into Vail's Eagle Airport (EGE), saving you the three-hour drive from Denver. A smaller airport usually means fewer family-friendly non-stops, but the deal's sponsiring airline, American, as well as carriers such as Continental, Delta and United, offer winter non-stops from 11 major airports, including Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and the NYC airports. 

So how much do you really stand to save?  Here's what the combined deals offer:

• Free airfare for child ages 2-12, per paying adult (to compare, we found a roundtrip airfare in February from Dallas-Fort Worth: $475 x 2 kids= $950 value)
• Free skiing or snowboarding for kids, as part of the Fly Free deal (4-day pass: $224 x 2 kids = $448)
• One free night lodging, as part of the Ski Free Stay Free Deal (we found a two-bedroom condo at the Westwind  in Lionshead Village, convenient to both Vail and Beaver Creek, starting at $235/night)
• Added day of free lift tickets for two adults ($148 value)
  

Bottom line: When we test-booked a four-night ski trip for a family of four flying in from Dallas, the total for airfare, lodging and lift tickets came to $4,045. If a Dallas-area family booked the same trip with these two packages, they'd stand to save $1,635, which translates to a huge 40% savings. Granted, they would spend more per adult flying into EGE. When we priced flights from Dallas into Denver, for example, airfares were about $120 cheaper per person. But on balance, getting two free airline tickets, kids' ski passes, and no long drive still adds up to a much better deal.

The one problem: You can't book this offer online and even when browsing online, you can't easily find out which of the dozens of hotels or condos in the area offer the Ski Free Stay Free offer. When we talked to a reservations agent instead, she gave us good advice on where in general to stay. For example, Lionshead Village is walking distance to the kids’ ski school—and the agent gave us a few lodging options to check out online.

Ground rules: You are restricted to flying into EGE on Sunday through Wednesday, and must depart out of EGE on Tuesday through Friday. A minimum two-night stay is required, with a maximum stay of seven nights. The valid travel dates are  now through February 16, and February 27 to March 10.  You have to book lodging in order to get the airline tickets, and you must book airline tickets by February 17. You must book the fly-free deal by phone at 866/668-8245.