to think this is an awful lot of money to spend taking the kids to see Santa

[famishedass]

Lapland UK 2009

I don't understand how people can afford it.

Flippin 'eck! I would have thought that was a plane ticket to the real Lapland!

I'm still trying to find the £15 per head to do our chosen santa excursion this year!

And I keep scouring the local paper trying to spot a free santa somewhere

I don't think they exist anymore! Sad really - isn't it?!

It is very expensive I think and would agree save up and go to the 'real' lapland. It will be VERY chilly (I went with DH before we had children at Xmas) but it has real snow and the northern lights. Kids will enjoy it more imo!

I was looking at this, until I saw the prices ...

Some of the parents at DD's school took their children there and they said it was good, but I couldn't justify spending that amount of money.

Me neither - this year I have a set budget for ALL of December and it has to cover everything from food to presents. Not much room for flexibility.

Actually, I thought this was pretty cheap to get to Lapland...then I noticed it was "LApland UK"..so doesn't that make it England????

I think I'd rather fly off to the real Lapland and have real snow.

Definately far too expensive, our local shopping centre has a lovely grotto, you get to see santa and the kids get a chocolate lolly for free (damn age discrimination i want one lol) you can have a pic taken but it costs an etxra £3.50 i think

waaaaaaaaay too expensive! for anyone that wants a lovely trip to see santa try the isle of whight steam train with a visit to santa and prezzie included it has cost just abot £50 for us (2 adults, 1 3.7yo and a baby) for return catamaran fairs from portsmouth to iow and train ride on steam train all over island, free mince pies and beverage, visit to santa for eldest ds and a gift for him too!!! bargain!!!

DS gets to see Father Christmas at his December school bazaar. Still quite expensive (£3.50 as well I think) as they flog you a photo of this great moment (children all tend to have either frozen masks of terror or very faces) but IMO why drag them to Lapland, 'Lapland' or Selfridges for them to have frozen masks of terror or faces?

I do like the sound of the Isle of Wight trip though - that's practically a whole holiday.

We went to see a free santa at a garden centre last week. It was fab. You walked through the grotto and they had set up loads of scenes like polar bears on icebergs, a santa rock band, elves making presents, etc and the dc's got a lolly from Santa (who was lovely btw).

You could buy a photo if you wanted.

It was only free for the opening weekend.

Think the Santa at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park is free but think you have to pay entry to the park.

To answer the OP - YANBU. A flaming fortune to take the average family.

I personally do not see the point of any of this stuff. I don't mind Father Chritmas in department stores etc but I think that all this theme park stuff is a waste of money, not to mention people who really fly to Lapland.

To spend all that money giving your child an experience that is based on a lie and a children's story seems wrong to me. Fine, take them for the lights and the sledging but you could do all that in the Alps for a lot cheaper.

Bah humbug!

YANBU, it's outrageous, and surely your average child over the age of about 5 is clued up enough to realise that the real Lapland isn't in the UK anyway.

I also don't like the fact that they send out 'invitations' to children once their parents have booked, making it look like they've been specially chosen by Santa himself. What happens when they go into school and other children start to think they've done something wrong because Santa hasn't invited them?

What about last year where oneof these places was really cheap and tacky, and parents rioted- throwing punches at elves.

Don't know where you are but I'm sure I read there'd be a free Santa at the Metro Centre in Gateshead.

Outrageous prices so YANBU.

I have scrimped all the money out of my pennies Jar to take DC's on the Santa Express at DownTown in Grantham, and I thought that was expensive.

Do you have a local rotary club? They do free Santa's in Supermarkets etc and round our way they also go round the streets in the evening on a sleigh. They only give out Lollipops but it was all we could afford last year and DS still thought he has seen 'Santa'

OMG £350 for the four of us it would cost what the hell! to be shunted along like a conveyer no doubt

Is shocking isn't it - but they have offers on at the moment for free tickets if it helps anyone - I have just had an email - bizarre timing!

LaplandUK FREE ticket offers
To celebrate our 2009 opening we are notifying friends of LaplandUK of our magical offers this Christmas:

Offer 1
Buy 2 tickets get 2 FREE
Offer dates - NOV 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 30

Offer 2
Buy 2 tickets get 1 FREE
Offer dates - NOV 28, 29. DEC 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

This is a limited offer and subject to availability and our normal terms and conditions CALL NOW 0871 221 9627

But why do you feel you have to go to these sort of things- overpriced, herded along as colonel says like a conveyor - is visiting Santa in his grotto not enough any more?
Yes bah humbug.

at iow experience 'a whole holiday'

especially as santa doesn't exist!!