Santa’s secret hideaway
A Finland visit for one family proves you’re never too old to believe in Father Christmas, writes
Jayde Kincaid is no stranger to Scandinavian winters; her husband Tietse is Norwegian himself. The two Nordic travel specialists send countless families abroad through their Melbourne-based company, 50 Degrees North, each year.
But their two children had never travelled to Finland in the winter before, so none of them – mum, dad or the kids – knew what to expect when they holidayed there last December. Would their offspring cope with the sub-zero temperatures? How would they manage round-the- clock darkness? And what about the snow? The kids had only ever seen it once before, in slushy conditions at Victoria’s Mt Buller – would they even like it?
Then there was the issue of Father Christmas. At seven and nine, their two boys were at that awkward age where they were questioning the magic of Christmas. Would a winter holiday timed around Christmas be a waste of time and had they left it too late?
The family flew north from Helsinki and then on to Kittilä just days before Christmas. From there, they transferred to the village of