Lapland what age?

[Mumofoneldn]

We’re in the very privileged position of considering Lapland one Christmas with our daughter.

We are wondering whether to take for Christmas 2025 or 2026. She’ll be 4, nearly 5 next year, and 5, nearly 6 the following year.

Which age / year would be better?

Also, with the new school absence rules, should we be worried about her missing the last (usually) half day of term?

Thanks

We haven't been yet, but we're planning on taking our son when he's 5 years and 3 months. We considered taking him the year earlier but thought that any younger than 5 and he'd be too young to tolerate the cold, and not quite old enough to truly join in with the games and activities the groups do.

I went last December with my children who were 5(+ 4 months) and almost 8, and we're going again this December as we had such an amazing time! My then 5 year old was fine with all the activities we did and loved all the sledging and playing in the snow. It may depend how long you're going for and what you want to do, and what their general stamina is like. We went for 4 days and had left one day free we considered booking a ski lesson for, but we were all quite tired by then and decided to just have a relaxed sledging day. So if you want to pack as much as possible in and be on the go all the time, maybe wait until the following year. We're going for a full week this year so we can do all the things we didn't get chance to last year but without having to rush around. Get decent brand clothing and boots and you won't need to worry too much about the cold (I got top quality Scandinavian brands second hand on Vinted cheaper than new Mountain Warehouse stuff and it was miles better).

Thanks for your replies. I think I’m just so keen to go that I would love to go sooner rather than later. I also don’t want her to be too old and not “believe” anymore. But I guess 5, nearly 6 isn’t that old and I’ll just have to be patient!

When we went mine were 4yrs + 3 months and 6yrs + 9 months, they both had fun, but the older one got more out of it. Was able to drive the kids snowmobile, had more stamina for sitting on the bus. They both ask, even now, to go again and that was 6 years ago, and the older one is now at high school. If you go on one of those organised trips, e.g. with Canterbury travel, they provide the big snow suits and boots, and you just need to bring the base layers underneath. As for school I believe they can't fine you if you miss less than a week, I am not one for taking kids out of school for holidays, but that last time day of term they don't do anything apart from watch movies, surely not an issue to miss that.

We went for a week when ours were 10 and 8, and it was amazing. They were well able for the extreme cold, which hit -31 one day, and were able to handle the half an hour it took to get ready to go out, because of all the layers of clothes. They were able to do more extreme activities as well, like floating on our backs in a hole cut in a frozen lake in the middle of the night.

Not what you asked, but I highly recommend January as a time to go; all the activities still happen but accommodation and flights are cheap as chips, and it's very quiet.

We went when ours were 6 (7 in May) and 4.5. I think the youngest would have had better stamina at 5.5 but we were worried about the eldest one being then closer to 8. So if only one to consider I’d say wait a year and go at 5, nearly 6. It’s an exhausting “holiday” and colder than you can imagine so much better to have the stamina to cope with that and late nights.
(take lots of disposable hand warmers to put inside mittens and down jumpers etc!)

We went when mine were 4, 6 and 8. All great ages but I'd say it was perfect for the middle one!