#urbanfamilyinrovaniemi. Santas Village
Thinking of an amazing White Christmas Holiday your children will never forget? Look no further!! This is it.
Why are we posting in July? Because you need to plan WAY ahead to book this one.
Rovaniemi - Santas Village, Lapland.
As a child I’d conjure up images of Santa Claus and his home in the North Pole, but the thought of actually being able to visit was not something I ever dreamed was possible. Santa’s village was only something that existed in movies or your imagination. I had never even heard of this magical place until my Mum told us it was her dream to spend Christmas there with all of her grandchildren, and by default, her children which includes me! Yay!!
Santa Claus’s Holiday Village is the official home of Santa Claus and is just a 5 minute drive from Rovaniemi airport in the Lapland region of Finland.
The Village is truly magical. The traditional Finnish buildings are lined with fairy lights and lit with coloured lights throughout the day and night. With only around 6 hours of daylight at Christmas time the village can be very busy once the tourist buses start arriving.
Accommodation – Santa’s Holiday Village
https://www.santaclausholidayvillage.fi/en/home/
All of the cottages are cosy and well appointed and come complete with a Finnish sauna, which believe me, is very handy!
We stayed in the Superior Cottages, which are slightly newer and were comfortable enough for a family of 4.
Breakfast and dinner are included in your accommodation however lunch options are limited. And with the tourists all visiting it is difficult to find somewhere to sit down and enjoy lunch. I recommend a trip to the supermarket in Rovaniemi to keep your room stocked with a few snacks.
Whilst there are many different accommodation options in Rovaniemi city centre, staying at the Village means that you can choose the optimal time to participate in any of the activities on offer.
The absolute highlight of staying at Santas Village over Christmas is that Santa will come to your room and personally deliver your presents!! This little cherry on top is not included in your accommodation so make sure you allow for it in the budget. It is a MUST DO and definitely something the children will never forget.
Tip: Accommodation at the Village books out up to 12 months in advance so you will need to make sure you plan ahead.
Activities
There are a range of tours to choose from that include multiple activities that can all be booked once you are at the village. On days where the temperature is hovering around -25 degrees Celsius you don’t want to be outside for any great length of time so I wouldn’t recommend pre-booking any long tours outdoors.
The absolute must dos are the Husky Ride, and for the children, the Reindeer Ride. Both of these are available at the village on a first come first served basis and even in the peak time we didn’t have to wait longer than 10 minutes.
Husky Ride
We chose the 2km Husky Ride which when the temperature was -23 degrees was all we could handle. It starts in the park amongst snow-covered trees and opens up into the most stunning white landscape with the sun reflecting in colourful hues off the snow. This image will remain with me forever.
Tip: If you want to take photos or video, take a Go Pro – it is way too cold to take your hands out of your gloves!!
Reindeer Ride
This is a beautiful experience for people of all ages. The reindeers walk slowly through the forest so we opted for the 500m ride, which was plenty. Watching the children’s faces as Santa’s actual reindeer were leading them was priceless.
Whilst this trip is obviously not something that will suit everyone’s holiday budget, it is certainly something to work towards if you have young children. It’s a spectacular, once in a lifetime experience that will stay with the whole family forever.
