We had been to Manali from Dec 25 - 30, 2008 for our Honeymoon . It was just wonderful. The place is Nature lovers paradise. Though we were warned of heavy snowfall, it did not snow an ounce when we were there. We selected Manali for snow , but unfortunately we could not see it falling.
It was damn cold, once there you would need lots of warm cloths. Since it had snowed in mid Dec, we could get to play in bountiful of snow in higher ups of Snowpoint (Gulaba). Solang Valley was a disappointment as there was no snow at all.
Make sure you take a Guide ( costs are bundled with Snow wear) who will take you to best snow spots once up there, he will also teach you the skating. We were lucky - our guide took us to some of the best spots where no visitors had reached this season. Manikaran - is around 100 Km away one can see Natural Hot water springs. HPTDC has bus service every day.
We stayed at HPTDC Hadimba Cottages - Excellent cottages and Service. Beware of special occasions like New year , Chritsmas etc during which HPTDC triples the charges and you have no options else to pay up . This was the downside of our visit. There are some good discounts also during off-seasons , check out , speak to HPTDC on phone before you make bookings online.
Try and walk around the city if you want to enjoy the nature. You can buy some good woolen stuff real cheap - Bargain hard - its okay. Also you can pick up some good dry fruits local as well as from surrounding areas. Beware of Road side Saffron vendors - all fake . Generally people are Nice
After Manali we went to Shimla - the less said the better. Its a BIG damper after a wonderful visit of Manali. Its commercialized, crowded and no local site seeing spots worth its name. However nice people.