Finland advice

[MyMamaToldMe]

We are going to Finland mid December and are starting to think about what we need to do and take - more specifically in the clothing dept. Has anyone been before, and if so what do you suggest wearing? It will be my DH and me plus our 3 yo DD. I'm not really keen on spending huge amounts of money for clothing we are not going to wear much, but realise quality is a must - so any ideas are greatly appreciated! :)

Where in Finland ? Will you be spending a lot of time outside ?

We will be flying in to Oulu and then staying at a place called Iso Syote. We will be spending a fair amount of time outside I would imagine.

I know Oulu - I have a customer there. You'll need serious cold weather clothes then - down coats, winter boots and thermal over trousers (certainly for dd, adults might be ok with a thermal base layer under trousers), plus hats and mittens. Inside, it'll be warm, so nothing special, except you normally change into sandals rather than outside boots.

My cold weather clothing is a down parka from Lands End like this and Merrell Prevoz boots. With thermal gloves, I'm cosy at -15c.

For your dd, Little Trekkers have a great range - ds has the spotty otter combo coat, and its really cosy

That's great - thanks! Will have a look at the links now.

We are thinking of going as well (my mum's from northern Finland but I've only been there in the summer). My friend in Oulu has told me to wear lots of layers and a decent coat/boots. My daughter currently has a snow suit for UK winters which I've been told is ok, if she's got a couple of layers underneath as well as decent boots with warm socks.

I've been told that whilst it gets to around -40 degrees C it doesn't feel that cold because it's 'dry'. My friend says she feels colder in England in the winter because it's 'wet'. Not sure I agree, but...

Any other suggestions for clothes/boots? Not so sure I want to spend £80 on a pair of boots I'll only wear for a week, and some ideas for DD boots would be great too! Thanks! :)