Planning a family snow holiday to Lapland -

Every year as Christmas comes around, when I look at all of the toys we have accumulated over the years, I tell myself that this year we will cut down on physical gifts and instead enjoy an experience, or a holiday, to enjoy as a family. Of course these things take a lot of planning, everything does as a family of six, but I am hopeful that at some point over the next couple of years we will manage to achieve my own childhood dream, and undoubtedly the children’s, with a visit to the one and only Lapland!

For me, Lapland is the ultimate dream when it comes to Christmas and I often find myself getting hugely emotional just thinking about the look on the children’s faces should we ever make it over there. For that reason I’ve been researching, planning, and of course saving as much as possible, so that one day too we can finally make their dreams come true.

When it comes to visiting Santa’s Lapland home there are so many things I would want to incorporate to make our stay extra special. I’ve been creating a list of everything we would want to include to make sure our Lapland stay is one to remember for always.

Stay in a log cabin

For me a Christmas break to Lapland is all about staying in a log cabin with a roaring fire and snuggling under thick wooly blankets. As a child I would watch Santa Clause The Movie and dream of a day when I could stay in a log cabin just the same, and I still feel that way as a grown up! When I think of our break to Lapland I imagine us bursting in from the cold, taking off our boots and our snowy hats and gloves, and cuddling up together in our Christmas pyjamas as we drink hot chocolate brimming with marshmallows!

Husky Sledding

Ever since we met the huskies at a Christmas experience a few years ago, the children have been obsessed! Between them they talk a lot about husky sleigh rides, pouring over videos on YouTube or illustrations in their books, and asking if they will ever get the chance to ride on a sleigh pulled by “real life husky dogs”.

In Lapland there are countless husky dog trail experiences to enjoy and I’m sure in the snow, with the magic of Christmas all around, it’s a real once in a lifetime moment to treasure. I know that when we finally make it to Lapland, it will be right up there at the top of our list.

Fun in the snow

One of the biggest draws for us in visiting Lapland is the snow, something we don’t tend to get a lot of up here and even when we do it’s the grey, sludgy kind instead of that crisp, white, fluffy snow on a cold Winter’s day. In Lapland the snow falls from late November, covering everything for as far as you can see, and remains froze until late March!

When it comes to building snowmen, going sledging, skiing, having snowball fights or making snow angels, Lapland promises all of that in abundance!!

Meeting Father Christmas

And finally, it goes without saying, that meeting the main man himself – Father Christmas – would be an absolute dream come true! Over the years we have been lucky enough to meet some very real looking Santa’s, some a little more than others, but as the children grow and those little niggles of doubt set in, I think it will become more and more important that the Father Christmas we visit is the real deal. It only takes one polyester beard or ill fitting suit to shatter those childhood dreams of magic and I’m told, by all who have been to Lapland before us, that the Father Christmas you meet there is the closest thing to Santa you will ever get.

So for now I need to continue saving like mad, researching all of the activities we would like to enjoy during our stay, pricing up the best deals, and hopefully this time next year I will be sat here telling you that I’ve booked it.