Skiing & Santa in Lapland

29th December 2022 | Tim Clark, Lapland

Last modified on January 3rd, 2023

It is arguably the ultimate winter holiday for kids. A trip to see the elves and Santa himself, days before Christmas, in the snowy expanse of Lapland. Then flying home just in time to get the mince pies on the fireplace before the big guy comes down the chimney.

A trip to Lapland had been on our family’s wish list for at least half a decade.

However, since we were already dressing our six and eight-year-olds to survive a blizzard, it posed the question: can a family combine a visit to Santa in his workshop and give the kids a taste of skiing at the same time?

Thankfully, after a little bit of research, I found that you can.

We had booked four days in the city of Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland with a population of just under 64,000, arriving late on December 19 and leaving on December 23.

Rovaniemi, Lapland. Image © Tim Clark

Rovaniemi was chosen as it had the most to offer those who haven’t (yet) tried on a pair of skis but want a winter adventure.

A multitude of activity companies base themselves in the city offering anything from husky rides, reindeer petting, late-night northern lights trips via snowmobile, and of course there’s Santa’s Village itself, from which you can book most of the above or visit a range of over-priced restaurants.

However, first the skiing.

Ounasvaara ski resort, Lapland. Image © Tim Clark

Situated only 5km from Rovaniemi’s city centre, Ounasvaara is a small resort with a fairly spacious teaching area.

Compared to the likes of Morzine, Meribel or even smaller resorts, Ounasvaara has little to offer.

Its highest point is just over 200m above sea level, there is no après-ski to speak of, other than a small but friendly cafe, and it only has around 6km of slopes, with 1km of marked routes.

What Ounasvaara does well is cater for beginners.

Ounasvaara nursery slopes, Lapland. Image © Tim Clark

Rendi’s Snow World, which is designed for newbies, has a safe, walled off practice area, moving carpet and tow rope on separate sections.

It also has a tubing run and tubing carousel which acts as relief from hours of ski practice.

Considering it was -14°C at base and we visited during what could be dubbed a heatwave (the previous week was -26°C) snow reliability was very high.

To this extent it presented the perfect option.

Even so, I had to admit I had nerves.

Would the family take to skiing as much as I had?

Or would it be five minutes fighting to put a single ski on before retiring to the cafe for an afternoon of hot chocolates?

As one fellow dad noted before we left, he had spent five days teaching his daughter to ski on an Alpine holiday only for her to ask, ”Why go up the hill, just to come back down?”

Ounasvaara opens at the crack of dawn, which on the day of our visit was 11am due to the long winter nights.

It does however stay open till 8pm, with the mountain lit up for the majority of the time.

We arrived just after lunch and had most of the place to ourselves for the first two hours.

Our ski instructor Grant took the kids through their paces, along with ourselves.

Kids getting lessons at Ounasvaara. Lapland. Image © Tim Clark

Taking time to give them both a chance to learn the pizza slice, or snow plough and get familiar with the moving carpet and later the tow rope.

My wife Gemma also managed to have an afternoon of practice in relative peace as the kids were given guidance down the nursery slopes.

Despite fighting off a fever, eight-year-old Dylan managed to complete several runs before retiring to a tubing carousel and as the afternoon wore on, they both grew in confidence.

Tube carousel, Ounasvaara, Lapland. Image © Tim Clark

An afternoon skiing session was over, and six-year old Hazel had to be separated from her skis, which she had named by the end of her session (Snowy and Snowdrop).

Ounasvaara. Lapland. Image © Tim Clark

As taster sessions go, it exceeded expectations.

For those who are more adventurous Ounasvaara, does offer a huge variety of cross-country skiing, with 100km of tracks, half of them lit.

Lapland itself has myriad different winter experiences.

There are also certain little things which make a trip to Lapland that bit more special than a usual holiday.

Most come as miniature surprises, such as the crew of the Easyjet flight from Bristol engaging in a Christmas sing-along of festive songs and children taking over the tannoy at 30,000 ft.

Others are simply little things such as the many sledges left outside hotels across Rovaniemi for anyone to use, free of charge.

Dylan & Hazel Clark sledding in Rovaniemi, Lapland. Image © Tim Clark

This not only meant we could literally drag our kids around the city’s cultural sites much more easily, but the kids eventually dragged each other around, and then attempted to drag the adults around as well.

The sight of dozens of mobile children sledding down what is essentially a high street, made for a more festive atmosphere.

Santa Claus Village, Rovaniemi, Lapland. Image © Tim Clark

Rovaniemi is home to three museums or cultural centres for those keen to learn about the Arctic and the Sami people.

We visited the Arktikum, which included a number of hands-on areas for children to discover why fur keeps animals so warm, why it’s so dark in Lapland in the winter, and what the Northern Lights are.

The Arktikum Museum, Lapland. Image © Tim Clark

Our guide Frank took us through the history of the Sami people, and the fact that much of Lapland in the summer is bog, with very good berry picking.

The big issue for many looking to visit Lapland is the cost.

It’s certainly not a cheap option.

A night in Santa’s Village during Christmas week can set you back a whopping £447 for a family of four.

Santa’s Village, Lapland. Image © Tim Clark

We also paid around £330 per night for an apartment in the city centre.

It has to be said that there were cheaper options available – especially to those who book around a year in advance and on dates further out than Christmas.

Eating was also a lot more varied than expected.

For those looking to save money there are ample eateries with all-you-can-eat buffets for £11.50 (€13) per person.

Alternatively, there are pricey restaurants serving speciality Finnish or international cuisine for over £88 (€100) a cover.

We mostly stuck to the simple fare but couldn’t resist trying out dinner inside an igloo.

Two transparent igloos form part of the Gustav restaurant, which is located on the main shopping avenue in town.

Dinner in an Igloo, Gustav restaurant, Lapland. Image © Tim Clark

The restaurant itself caters to those looking for gourmet Finnish food, however for the kids Gustav served up children’s meatballs and fries for a mere €3.80.

Tucking into Baltic herring boquerone while snow drifted down onto the perspex igloo was a unique experience.

As the other half noted “It’s not the kind of thing you could get away with doing in Swindon”.

While accommodation was the biggest cost for the trip, the second most expensive costs were excursions.

Here money is literally no object.

If you want to snowmobile to find arctic animals, then £202 per person for six hours should do it.

If you want to sit in a hot tub and have a “snow sauna experience” it will set you back £158 each.

Or, if you have £366 to spare you can go on an 11-hour round trip for an icebreaker cruise in Sweden.

We booked one major excursion during our trip, a 45-minute self-driven husky ride over one of Finland’s many frozen lakes which cost £139 (€157) per adult and £83 (€94) per child.

Ready for the husky ride, Lapland. Image © Tim Clark

Run by Bearhill Husky Tours, the experience lasted just under three hours in total.

The guide took us through the wellbeing of the dogs, the different breeds of Alaskan and Siberian husky, and went through the basics of mushing, including braking and encouraging the huskies with enthusiastic calls of “Good doggy!”

The one rule was to not let go of the sled. If you do, then the huskies are off, and I would be given a bit of a talking to.

The noise from the dogs prior to setting off reached a crescendo as the different sleds were loaded up.

We had a total of nine sleds on our late afternoon ride, which headed out into the snowy wilderness.

Luckily the pack knows the route, and once you get used to not overusing the brake you can begin to relax and enjoy the scene as the forest gives way to a frozen expanse.

The aurora borealis, if it was there, was hidden above the cloud cover but the glittery speckling of snow hitting my face as the huskies led the way across the open lake was an exhilarating if slightly stressful experience.

It got a full two thumbs up from the kids.

With the winter sports almost behind us, one last thing was left – the long-awaited visit to see Santa.

Located around 7km from Rovaniemi, Santa’s Village is considered the location for old St Nicholas.

With the feel of a Las Vegas of Christmas, the Village has dozens of attractions including Santa’s Office, Mrs Claus’s house, a snow-themed centre with ice-rink, tube park snow sculptures and an ice bar, Santa’s Post Office, mini-snowmobiling, as well as elf workshops, more igloos to eat in and gift shops galore.

Visiting Santa is free, however almost everything else (including many toilets) comes at a price. Even here however you can find a half-decent pizza for €10.

The Village is a mix of theme park and cultural institution.

Alongside the plethora of activities available, letters from children all over the world really are delivered to a small series of buildings outside Rovaniemi, with over 20 million of them read by the elves so far.

As the epicentre of Christmas it is quite something to see.

As you queue up to see Santa you pass by pictures of the great and the good of the political or media world also taking their turn to visit the big man, with Britain represented by… err…. the Spice Girls.

Meeting Santa was slightly surreal but the kids got fully caught up in the magic of the experience and “kind and friendly” Father Christmas made everyone feel at ease.

It was certainly worth the wait and the kids left his office even more excited for his visit two days’ later.

We didn’t see the aurora borealis before we left, but once the Easyjet flight took off the northern lights made their appearance, snaking across the sky as a faint green glow and accompanying the flight for hours as we headed back to the UK along the Norwegian coast.

The big question: was the trip worth it?

The four days had cost a couple of thousand pounds in total, which is more than an average two-week holiday.

However, considering the Lapland trip was a one-off, bucket list experience full of Christmas magic and joy-inducing activities, it provided more than a run-of-the mill ski or summer holiday.

Very few places on Earth can combine ample activities for children with winter sports and natural wonders such as the aurora.

The ability to tag on an afternoon of skiing without fully committing to a ski holiday was a huge bonus.

The kids have written their letters to Santa for next year already.

I’m just hoping they include a wish for a ski trip.