Santa on a budget.. just pray for snow
She expected a twinkly, jingly explosion of fun: a seat on Santa’s knee, snow, music, elves and sweets. I predicted we were in for a hokey festive fleecing. I was wrong.
What we weren’t in for though, was snow. And there still hasn’t been any, which is a massive shame. Was the trip worth it without? Well, yes.
The moment you step into Santa Claus Village, and thus the Arctic Circle, you realise Laplanders can’t do tacky – there’s too much beautiful pine furniture everywhere and too many centuries of sensible reindeer husbandry in their genes for that.
First of all, seeing the Big Man is free – they make their money on photos and merch.
Children meet Mr Claus, have a sing-song and he chuckles and sends them away. Although whether he delivered – in Mari’s case a toy rabbit – is as yet of course unverified.
Elsewhere at the village, we had a sweet reindeer sleigh ride and sent cute cards from his post office.
This is Christmas on an industrial scale. But life is pretty hard in the frozen north. Nothing grows, factories are few. So to begrudge them a lucrative Crimbo hustle seems harsh.
Elves
But what else to do between easyjet flights? Santa’s Secret Forest features more of the same but different, with gingerbread decorating and a tour by some hilarious elves.
Arktikum, a museum of Arctic life, is superb, with imaginative ways of explaining the science behind the darkness that descends day-long in midwinter. Bearhill Husky Tours gave us a thrilling ride through the woods and a trip to a puppy kennel.
There’s a wealth of high-class restaurants – Arctic Eye in Santa Claus Village, the Nova Skyland Hotel – food is simple and intense.
Our hotel, Santa’s Hotel Santa Claus, in the centre, was tasteful and our room had a sauna. Others offer so-called igloos, with glass roofs for seeing the northern lights – on show intermittently from August to April.
The Arctic Treehouse Hotel is a level up, although had I brought my full complement of children (three), I’d fear for their soft furnishings.
An unpromising excursion was the best: Atelier Kangasniemi, a workshop in the woods that teaches transfixed children how to make craft from reindeer antlers.
If you always fancied Lapland but the cost and fear of being fleeced stopped you, now may well be your time. You certainly don’t need to be a fatcat on Concorde to afford it. FACTBOX: Easyjet flies from Gatwick to Rovaniemi on Sundays and Wednesdays from £32pp, easyjet.com. Rooms at Hotel Santa Claus from £140pn, hotelsantaclaus.fi. Santa Claus Village is free, photos are £35. Reindeer rides from £16 adults/£12 children, santaclausvillage.info. Secret Forest, £160/£120, santaparkarcticworld.com. Arktikum, £11/£5, arktikum.fi. Bearhill Husky tours from £115/£70, bearhillhusky.com. Horn Workshop from £35, hornwork.fi.