Festive Lapland
Having two young children meant I wanted to make this a Santa trip and go before they got too old although I knew that my oldest son, at 10, was already possibly too old to believe in Father Christmas (not that he would admit it yet!) But even without children, Lapland is a magical place with plenty to do.
Day 1 - We flew on Christmas Eve morning from Gatwick to Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland in Northern Finland. We hadn't booked our holiday as a Santa package, so some people commented that not having elves meet us at the airport wouldn’t be festive enough for them. But it didn’t matter to us.
Arriving in Rovaniemi, we walked out of the airport to plenty of snow. Our holiday included car hire which I was very nervous about, but the weather was typical for the season and the car had snow tyres which coped admirably with the conditions. We stopped at a supermarket to stock up on essentials and got on the road. Once outside of the city, they are straight and wide with the snow compacted enough that you don’t actually realise you are driving on it.
It was an easy, two hour-drive to Levi, where we were staying, but felt very strange to be driving in twilight in the middle of the day. It doesn’t get any sunlight in December but wasn’t completely dark all day. Daylight came at around 10am then it was like a very gloomy day back in the UK until 2pm when darkness fell. We drove into Levi at around 2pm and were immediately captivated. Lapland celebrates Christmas on 24 December and there were hundreds of people enjoying the festivities at the bottom of the ski slope that were just finishing.
We had decided on a chalet as we like to have lots of flexibility and there are plenty to choose from in Levi, as well as numerous hotels. After unpacking, we put on our full snow gear and headed out to explore. There are plastic sledges everywhere and you can help yourself to them if they haven’t been personalised. The kids jumped on and we had an amazing time pulling them through the resort and sledging at the bottom of the ski run that was now closed for Christmas Eve. Once we’d had enough, we had dinner in the Colorado Bar and Grill, where everyone stripped off their outside gear and walked around in their socks! This became a familiar sight as the snow gear was too hot to wear indoors. Once we had eaten, we headed off to bed to await Father Christmas!
Day 2 - We had told the children we were visiting Father Christmas on Christmas Day after he had delivered all the presents so, after breakfast, we headed down to the meeting point. We were with two other families and a minibus took us to a secluded setting where we were met by elves. First, we went on a reindeer ride, then the children were taught how to be elves. Once they had graduated from Elf School, we met Mrs Claus and went in to see Santa. My children were amazed when he pulled out a present for them that he said he had kept for them (I had handed it to an elf earlier) but no other family did that and one of the other eagle-eyed children asked their parents why! My children loved the whole experience and it was such a picturesque setting with so much snow they could dive into it.
Following our Santa visit we went for a traditional Lappish meal in an underground restaurant called Saamen Kammi. The food was beautifully cooked. We ate reindeer cooked in several different ways and salmon cooked on an open fire while being entertained the Lappish way. It was one of those rare days where every member of the family enjoyed themselves and we were so glad we had come.
Day 3 – We had started learning to ski at our local ski slope, so we did a half day skiing on the Levi family slopes, called Kidsland, which are free for everyone to use. We all had fun. In the afternoon, a 5km husky safari was on the agenda. It was noisy, smelly and extremely exhilarating. If I had known how amazing driving a husky sled was going to be, I would have booked a longer ride. Children can’t drive the sled, but they sit in it covered in reindeer hide to keep themselves warm. When the ride is over, you get chance to interact with the huskies and feed the reindeer, then grill sausages on the fire and drink hot berry juice.
Day 4 – My eldest son and I have been bitten by the ski bug and we wanted to ski some more. We went to Levi’s south slopes, which are more suitable for beginners, for another half day of skiing. Once we were skied out, we took the gondola up the main mountain and found the secret café in the woods. The scenery on the walk to the cafe is quite simply stunning. We were wandering on our own through the forest and I had never experienced anything like it.
We followed that with a family snowmobile safari in the dark. First the children rode small snowmobiles round a short track, then we rode the big snowmobiles with the children as passengers on a track through the woods. I found riding the snowmobiles quite scary as they go so fast, but my husband and children loved it. We ended the day at the Wanha Hullo Poro restaurant eating buckets of buffalo wings, before we returned to our chalet and packed up ready for our departure the next day.
Day 5 – It was another easy drive back to Rovaniemi airport and soon we were flying home, with loads of amazing memories to take back with us.
We are yet to see the Northern Lights as it was cloudy for our entire stay (that did mean the temperature was -10 instead of -25!) And as it was such an amazing experience we all said we would go again. In fact, we are booked to go again in February 2022 and we already can't wait.