Lapland this December - yes or no?!

[user58486267489]

Posting shamelessly here for traffic. I need opinionated people and people who have gone to Lapland in equal measure!

I booked a holiday to Lapland for the Christmas holidays (December 2022) ages ago. My children will be 9 and 10. Booked through Canterbury. 2 nights.

I’m now thinking again - do we commit to going (more than £3000 in total) or pull out?

is it really amazing? Is it worth it? I love snow, my children have great winter ski kit so I’m not worried about them being too cold etc.

Is there another obvious fun way to go to Lapland without the Father Christmas your bit?

PLEASE TELL ME WHAT TO DO. I’ve over thought it all.

Can I afford £3000? Not easily, but yes I can do it. It means we won’t go away this summer (we’ll go camping but that’s v cheap).

happy to answer questions. Thank you all.

So. AIBU to go to Lapland this winter or should I save the money for something else?! Thank you!

@Snoken so, so helpful, thank you

When I lived in Sweden I went up to Swedish Lapland a couple of times and it was amazing. Also a lot cheaper to sort out yourself. As you don't seem so dead set on the Santa's village stuff, if I were you I would go to somewhere close to Abisko. It is close to the airport in Kiruna and there are a lot of nice hotels and Sami homestays and camps in the area and lots of companies that offer activities such as snow shoes hikes, Nordic skiing and husky rides. You also have an excellent chance of seeing the northern lights if the sky is clear. I can personally only comment on Sweden but it was a really amazing experience as an adult and I think something most children would really love.

At those ages I wouldn't bother with the expensive Santa themed trips and just book a normal holiday to Lapland, more time to enjoy the snow and do the activities you all want to do rather than the organised ones that they might find too babyish.

And admittedly biased, but I'd say Finnish Lapland over Swedish Lapland - most of my childhood holidays were in the Kemijärvi region and they were the best holidays.

We've booked to go in dec with dd 9.
We've booked a 4 night trip with tui costing £3900 for 3 of us.
I think it's a once in a lifetime thing and don't expect to go again.
Dd loves the snow so I expect most of our time will be spent sledding and playing outside. She also loves animal so is really excited about the husky's and reindeer.
If you can afford it I'd say do it.

We went for five nights and it cost £3k all in DIY for four of us. I’d definitely try to rebook for a longer holiday. I can give you our itinerary if you want it. I’d feel hard done by at £3k for two nights.

I'd love to hear more about your trip and how and what you booked please. Wanting to do DIY for DS and myself

100%. It was the best holiday we have ever been on. We went with Tui and there were alot of families with teenagers. It was so magical that I don't think it matters if the children believe in santa or not. We paid extra to do experiences like the husky ride as the ones included were very short. We also went skiing/snowboarding when we were there.

We are going in December I’ve booked 4 days in Finnish Lapland I’m so excited as I used to live in Finland so I can’t wait to take my family now.

I think we went in 2018, DS 10 and DD 4, it was amazing.

We went in 2019. Loved it. It’s quite a magical experience and even if your DC don’t believe in Santa it’s still really special. In your shoes I think I would go - it is usually a once in a lifetime experience.

100% go. We went 9 years ago with the kids and still talk about it all the time. It was amazing and magical and the memories last forever.

We went in Feb half term one year do no santa stuff, just is doing what we wanted. All booked independently and just did subs skiing, reindeer and stuff, saw the northern lights under our own steam and had a blast. Much, much cheaper than a package deal and much cheaper than Christmas.

Feb/March are definitely best for Lapland (so long as you don't go when its half term) as its lighter, more snow, and the right snow for cross country skiing. But can still do Santa stuff any time of year, I took my kids in July last year.

@BroadWalk I’ve copied what I sent a friend for you. There are lots of tips on the DIY Lapland Facebook group. Ours was a bit cheaper because two of the nights were spent on the train. You could actually fly home on the fifth evening and save yourself another hotel evening.

We flew with SAS to Helsinki via Copenhagen. We had a big stop in Copenhagen so we cabbed in and back quickly so we could go to the Xmas market and have lunch. Arrived into Helsinki in the evening and got the train to the main train station. Really easy.

Got the Santa Claus express at about 11pm. Tickets are released in roughly September and the price goes up the closer to the date it gets. Under 10s are free and you phone separately to add them to the booking. Get a cabin with a bathroom as they’re higher up and, well, they have a loo.

We got cabs everywhere. It added up to about £500 I think between the two families. You can hire a car easily. Think that’s expensive too so won’t be much in it.

First day

Santa Claus village which is lovely and you can do tasters of everything.

We did a reindeer ride and met some huskies (not worth it).

Day two
Cabbed out to the ice skating place. Frozen path through a forest. One of the best things we did. Sledged there too and got a free sauduage and hot drink and sat around the fire to eat them.

Afternoon
Guided tour to meet the big man. Kids were really excited and was well done but actually the least memorable thing we did.

Day three
Santa Claus village again and did a husky ride. This is a must and we did it just outside the village and was a better deal than the one in the village.

Also send postcards home from the arctic circle. That costs £50 🙄. Was a bargain compared to everything else though since it was warm and you got to sit down while they wrote them.

Evening - cabbed out to arctic hotel and that was brilliant. Did a self guided tour where you just get to run around all the rooms and they’re amazing. Had dinner in the restaurant and then moved to a bar with heating afterwards.

Got the train back to Helsinki about ten pm or so.

Last day (5 nights total)
Helsinki Xmas markets and played inside at the children’s museum because it was SO COLD. That’s more than enough for Helsinki. If the covid restrictions hadn’t been in place, we’d have got the ferry over to Tallinn for the day.

Hotel in Helsinki and flight home next afternoon. Flight was cancelled so was glad we booked SAS as they had lots of option so we weren’t really later home.

Never been myself and would imagine it’s very magical if they believed. However you can go to Finland and do all the things you think they’ll love, leaving out the Santa experience. You can do husky rides, reindeer rides etc. Imagine it would be cheaper than at Christmas, maybe Feb half term.

Why’ve you booked it if you don’t know if you want to go?
we went with 1 believer and two older kids (10 and 12). It was magical start to finish. Such an amazing trip regardless and whether you believe in Santa. Worth every penny. I would go.

Lapland is gorgeous and worth the visit. With that money i wouldn't go for 2 nights. I'd probably go for longer and buy my own tickets and accommodation. Especially if your kids are into skiing, snow and all that stuff. There are several sides to lapland.

Oh it was a 🧟‍♀️

We’re doing the New Years holiday with Canterbury because it’s cheaper and 6 nights. I’m also worried about Santa Saturation- we’ve booked a private one to come to our log cabin one evening but that’s it for Santa stuff. I think humans dressed up Wouldn’t fool my 9 yo!

I mean humans dressed as elves, obv I know Santa is also a human!

Thank you 😀

I've never been to Lapland, but it seems expensive for 2 nights.
You could probably spend a week in Spain in summer for this money (although I have to admit I'm not aware of current prices, so might be wrong).

If you could easily afford it, then I would have said "go for it", but seems like you can not, so I'd cancel in this situation.

At that agei would go another time than December. We went last February, 4 of us for 7 nights to Helsinki and to Lapland on the sleeper train, for much less than that and no queues,

We did a day and it was knackering but amazing. We want to go back for a couple of nights.