To go to Lapland and not see Santa/ do anything X mas related

[Onemoresleeeeep]

Is that just plain weird?

we’re Muslim BUT I’ve just seen some pictures of a Lapland holiday and it looks so lovely. Obviously we don’t celebrate Christmas but the dog sleds, the skiing, the northern lights, the camp fires, the skidoos and sleigh rides, staying in an igloo.

i obviously don’t want to confuse my kids but aibu in thinking there’s still a fair amount to do if you don’t want to partake in the Christmas stuff

Absolutely fine, as long as you're aware that it'll be pretty Christmassy there and you're fine with that, then go, enjoy!

We went in Feb half term to Saariselka one year and had a brilliant time, not one bit of Christmas then! We're going to Pyha in 2024.

Yeah lights and decor is cute to look at and we love observing other cultures just wouldn’t partake in the Santa post office and Santa activities as such.

have you been, would there be enough to do? Google looks like there’s plenty

Oh and was much cheaper and perfectly easy to book own flights and accommodation (we did self catering just booked off a website) and then sort other stuff there. No problems with ski hire, sleighs or anything. There were sledges in the accommodation and we had an absolute blast. Just paid to use the pool in one of the hotels when it was showing an absolute blizzard.

Lapland isn’t a religious event and has nothing to do with Christianity. Santa Claus has nothing to do with Christianity. Neither do Christmas trees or Christmas presents
in saying that Jesus is one of your prophets and the prophet you believe along with Christians that he going to come back amd save the world so no harm in celebrating him I guess

Absolutely NBU. We did a week in Levi and the Santa part of that week was around 90 minutes. There is so much other stuff to do, huskies, reindeers, skiing, ice hotel visit, snowmobiles.

fine, I wouldn’t go in the run up to Christmas though. Go in January or February instead. And skiing sounds great.

It looks fabulous but I would pick a different time of year rather than December - firstly because of all the Christmas stuff (and associated crowds and prices) and secondly because it’s the coldest darkest time to go. I have it on my bucket list as a Feb half term trip.

But Santa is part of the commercialisation of Christmas which is a christian celebration. We respect it and I’ve no problem doing you a card but we don’t celebrate it as it’s not a part of our religion. There’s a whole theological argument there we won’t get into here but Lapland does look like a winter wonderland and lovely, we’ve only ever done hot holidays so what a nice change!

That’s what I was thinking, Is it still gloriously snowy?

We are going in January for the second time and don't plan on seeing santa or doing anything christmas related.

Avoid Rovenemi as that's the hugely commercial 'Christmas' resort. We did Levi which is a fab small ski resort with everything close (or easy to get to). We are visiting this ice hotel, have a husky ride booked and a horse drawn carriage ride to search for the northern lights. Last year we did a reindeer sleigh ride, snowmobiles, lots of sledging, skiing - you can also go ice fishing, hire bikes, horse riding, there's a lovely walk at the top of the slopes, plenty of places to toast marshmallows, kids snowmobiles, snowtubing and ice karting. It's amazing and beautiful

Oh yes, huge amounts of snow. Still very cold, nowhere near thawing. We did some skiing and the ski area also has snow tubing which you can just use for free plus there is a huge long toboggan run with a pile of sleds at the bottom so you can grab one and walk up or you can get to the top via the chair lift. So loads to do. The chalet/restaurant had the lower floor just for anyone to sit, eat packed lunch use the loo etc which we found brilliant so didn't have to buy meals all the time.

Other days we used the hotel pool, walked miles through the woods, went sledging, did reindeer sleigh ride, went out to the ice bar, saw the northern lights (though we saw a better display at home just this weekend!) and just relaxed as our accommodation had a sauna, as do pretty much all the lodges. There is a nice little museum of lappish/sami culture too.

This was Saariselka.

Yes, there’s lots of winter activities, I’ve been to ‘find Santa’ but I’d definitely go back and do a ‘winter holiday’.

Oh lovely!

im definitely adding it to my list for when my kids are older.

those who’s been and not focused on x mas how old have your kids been?

we’re not skiers as a family but I’d probably get the kids som dry slope lessons before

Mine will be 6 and 10 when we go in January.

They had kids and family ski lessons in Levi but I've been before so we just hired skis and letvthe kids have a try on the small slope although I might getvthem some lessons this time as we are going for a week

How old were they when they went before @Bboy1234 ?

It was only last year so 5 an 8 (went just before eldest birthday and this year going just after. We did visit santa etc last year but my eldest especially said it was the least fun part, they just want to go back and sledge for a week and eat their weight in toasted marshmallows 😂

Mine were 7, 10 and 12 ish.

Just go when it isn’t Christmas season. I may be wrong but seriously can’t imagine Santa’s grotto exists there all year round? So if you go in January it would just be a usual wintery holiday I’d guess.

That still doesn’t make Santa part of Christmas. Christmas has absolutely nothing to do with Santa Claus. your comment doesn’t make sense.
in non-western countries, they don’t have Santa or Father Christmas. That is a purely UK US and some other western countries
cyprus the Middle East and many other countries don’t do Christmas presents or trees. It’s just Church and dinner -just go ahead none of your concerns have anything to do with the religious event

Yeah there’s loads to do there. Still go to the Christmas village because they have loads of activities there and the line of the arctic circle you can cross over. Hope you have a nice time.

We are going next Thursday. Will scope it out for you ;) but honestly, we have planned some animal based activities, a trip to the swimming pool/sauna. A evening trip to see the Northern Lights. We are going to check out Aritikum too. There is only two activities we have planned that are full on Chirstmassy!

no yours doesn’t make sense, it’s ludicrous to claim Santa or Father Christmas or whatever has nothing to do with how a huge amount of people celebrate Christmas- he hardly comes out for eid does he?

are the routes of Santa rooted in theology or celebrated by all Christianity over the world? No, but it doesn’t make Santa any less associated with Christmas. Hence why we don’t partake in Santa related activities

I'd probably avoid Rovaniemi altogether, that would be the Santa focus. Otherwise, you'll have an amazing time! It's such a wonderful part of the world. I spent six months in Norwegian Lapland and have also travels fair bit of Finnish and Swedish Lapland - plenty to do everywhere that does not involve Santa at all.

We went in December on a Christmas trip. I want to go back for a non Christmas trip in a few years because it’s so lovely. I have heard any time after new year it’s quieter, cheaper and not so festive but still beautiful.