When you have young children, those early years are so important and so special. You want to do as much as you can (budget dependent) before some of that magic dust wears off, and what could be more magical than a trip to snow-covered Lapland to meet the big man himself during the Christmas period?
We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to spend four nights and five days on resort and are already wondering how we could manage to re-visit. It really was the perfect family Christmas break.
There is a lot to organise but it's worth it to take part in your own adventure of a lifetime.
Booking Lapland
Despite travelling in December 2024, it will come as no surprise that a trip of this magnitude needs quite some planning.
Having decided that we wanted to make the trip, we placed ourselves on a waiting list with Hays Travel, knowing that the chartered trips sell out within days.
Luckily for us, we were made aware of the availability in Summer 2023 and a deposit was paid as soon as possible.
Belfast doesn’t always have the greatest selection of holidays leaving from the Belfast International Airport, but on this occasion, we struck it lucky. The trip would consist of four nights at the Daavi Arctic Lodge hotel in a remote village called Karesuando which is in northern Finland, close to the border with Sweden.
The trip is expensive, there is no denying this at upwards of £6000, but with manageable instalments, it was a sacrifice worth making to see the looks on our six and four-year-olds faces some 18 months later.
What to bring to Lapland
Having kept the secret between my wife and I for so long, having the Elves on the shelf to break the news of the trip just three days before departure was worth the wait. But once the excitement was over it was time to pack.
We had accumulated the usual winter coats, hats and scarves, as well as some base layers for tops and bottoms and were touching base with some Facebook groups for the resort which was a big help.
Having completed the trip, I can confirm that we took too many items.
The resort is very casual, with a pair of jeans and a Christmas jumper about as smartly dressed as we got the entire stay.
My wife brought a couple of dresses and me some shirts, but honestly you can leave these at home. You also don’t need to worry about proper ski jackets as snowsuits are provided along with snow boots on arrival at the hotel.
An average day would consist of a base layer, a sweatshirt and a fleece under your snowsuit on top, with base layer leggings under a pair of trousers on the bottom. One fleece is likely enough for the week.
Bring thermal socks and good waterproof thermal gloves. Also bring hand warmers and foot warmers. These were a god send when out on activities. A balaclava is also much recommended.
Karesuando is located within the Arctic Circle and can get very cold, unlike some of the more commercial sites further south. During our stay it averaged -13C but fell to -27C at times, so dress accordingly.
What is the journey to Lapland like?
The trip was booked through Hays but undertaken by Transun, with chartered flights served by Enterair, a Polish airline.
The journey time took three hours from Belfast, landing at a small regional airport about 50 minutes from the resort. A complimentary hot meal was served on board. The service was friendly and efficient, however, we would have liked to see some more festive fun on-board.
What is accommodation like in Lapland?
We stayed at the Daavi Arctic Lodge, which is a small hotel situated on a hillside, with only a petrol station and gift shop close by (200m away).
The hotel is clean and basic and we stayed in one of the lodges that are located around the main hotel building.
The lodges were clean and cosy, with a bathroom and sauna. Sofa beds were used for the kids’ two beds while our bed was a super king size. There wasn’t an awful lot of storage in the room so keep this in mind when packing.
Full board was included on our visit and times are allocated to each group. The food was basic but hearty, perfectly suited to even the pickiest of eaters.
Wi-fi is available across the site and rooms. There are no tvs in the rooms.
What activities can we do at Lapland?
You will not be short of activities on this trip. In fact, we found it to be the perfect blend between activities and down time. Here are the highlights.
Husky Sleigh ride (included)
This was a 30-minute drive away in the countryside. The owners had almost 120 dogs on the site and facilities were limited. It was bitingly cold at this isolated, open location but the activity was wonderful.
Taking turns each family got to sit on a sleigh and were pulled around a 15-miunte course, including over a frozen lake by some wonderful dogs.
Afterwards the kids loved petting the dogs who were all so friendly and looked like they genuinely enjoyed their outings.
We also paid to visit the same site later in the week for a puppy experience. The dogs were not quite puppies but rather about five-months old, but our kids love dogs, and they had great fun playing with them and getting lots of licks.
Finding Santa
The main part of your trip will be meeting Santa and this is a day filled with joy and magic. I won’t give too much away, but the day involves going to a forest location where you get to drive a snowmobile, ride behind some of Santa’s reindeer, play ice hockey and toast marshmallows, all before going in search of the man himself.
This day was better than we could ever have had imagined and the kids were about to explode with glee when we met old St Nick and his elves.
The facilities here are also good with a main building with a café and warm waiting rooms to defrost those limbs.
Tobogganing
This activity is key to most of the week. On arrival you can hire some sleds for free for the entire stay and from then on it is hard to prise the kids off them.
There is even a toboggan hill on-site where kids can slide up and down all day, and the parents can even get in on the fun too.
Northern Lights
One of the benefits of staying in a more remote location is the ability to see the northern lights. A path leads to the rear of the hotel up a hill amongst fields. From this viewpoint we managed to see some spectacular northern lights, all within five minutes of the hotel.
Walk to Sweden
Sweden is only a 20-minute walk from the hotel over a bridge. There is a small village on the other side, with a beautiful church – the most northern in Sweden – and a café. Remember Sweden is not in the Eurozone but you can pay by card or phone.
Final verdict
I could not recommend this trip enough to those interested in making memories of a lifetime. Our little boy has just turned four so his memories may be fleeting in years to come but he had the time of his life and plenty of videos and photos to look back on. Our six-year-old is a perfect age and his smile lit up every room we went in to.
However, there were plenty of older children and even an older couple who left the grandchildren at home and went to live out their own childhood dreams in person, so it is never too late.