Was that really Santa, Mummy? I don’t think so...
There comes a time in every parent’s life when they must explain where Santa Claus lives. I had brought my six-year-old daughter Claudia to see him in his natural habitat: Rovaniemi in Finland, the official ‘Home of Santa Claus’.
Our base was the boutique Arctic Light Hotel. In winter, the sun sets early here. But there are things to do in the long evenings in Rovaniemi. The superb Pilke Science Centre closes at 6pm, and you can always hunt for the Northern Lights.
Other than that, hunker down – there are fires and a hotel restaurant, even if ‘reindeer served three ways’ prompted difficult questions from Claudia. After fielding mind-bending queries, you’ll need a Lappish G&T, infused with rosemary and cloudberries.
Building up to the big guy, we went snowmobiling next morning – heading down the frozen Kemijoki river and out to a silent forest of dark pines against a dazzling, desolate landscape.
This is Christmas like you’ve never known. Locals mention with trepidation that winters are getting warmer, but ‘warm’ here still means minus temperatures that make your cheeks ache as you zip along under a sky of pale blues, pinks and oranges.
You can snowmobile across the Arctic Circle (or catch the No 8 bus instead) to swap horsepower for a sled at a reindeer farm. Reindeer have been integral to indigenous Sami culture for centuries, but there’s an art to driving one. Stay on for a Sami shamanic ceremony in a tipi and learn about living in one of the world’s most hostile climates.
When we finally reached the Santa Claus Village, Claudia was pink with anticipation. This is a commercial take on Santa, with elf hats to buy and postcards to send from the post office. For a more intimate experience, there’s the Santa Claus Secret Forest at Joulukka, which offers an elf school and private meetings with himself. ‘I don’t think that was him,’ whispered Claudia conspiratorially. But wherever Santa was, it didn’t really matter. Christmas had come early, and the magic was real.