Ok I know it’s horrifically expensive, commercially exploitative, complete waste of money etc but for various reasons babybgoode deserves the trip.

Any advice on best company to use – will be 2018 now if that makes a difference.

Nordic experience and go to the wilderness lodge in nelim.

Absolutely fantastic.

Don’t do it cheap as a day trip.

Just don’t.

#santasnotreal

Save your money, go in the summer.

You can see see Santa for free (or at least you could when I went about 10 years ago out of curiousity when my girlfriend was on a placement in Rovaniemi). They charge through the roof for the pictures though.

Do one of the trips where you (and the kids obviously…) go to Santa in his lodge, rather than him coming to your hotel. We flew in and out of Ivalo, and stayed in Saariselka (can’t remember the operator) and the whole experience kept the kids transfixed for days.

Book very early as they can be fully booked over a year in advance as the grandparents found out. They tried to book back in Feb but it was already fully booked!

We did a (very long) day trip because to take 5 of us for longer would have been bonkers expensive.
Anyhoo, it was fab.
Can’t remember who we went with but one of the big players.
Trip over to the little island to see santa in his log cabin was just epic…. Even I thought it was the real guy!
Just make sure your kid is old enough to appreciate it….. Don’t go too soon.

My in-laws have just booked 8 of them for next winter.

£11.5k for a few days 😯

Following this thread

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/lapland-for-christmas-2016-santa-sled-dogs-northern-lights-who-with

we went with Nordic Experience and loved it. Dog sledding (note, not sled dogging), saunas, snow mobiling, reading and learning from morecash’s single day experience, lovely food. It was all good! In fact it was great.

Can’t remember which one we did, but it was three days and ace.

Miss Makrie was 7 when we went and that seemed perfect.

Edit to say Iso-Syöte! That’s where we went. And loved it. Even though we discovered after the event (in fact, on the sleigh ride back to our hut after the big meeting!) that Jr didn’t believe in Santa!

And the reindeer shaman was cool too!

He can’t be in Lapland because he’s in my local garden centre.

Christmas time is bit crowded and weather might be just about anything. February and March are better if you can avoid weeks 8-10 which are local holidays.

Of course with kids the timing is everything. Santa is available year round though 🙂

Grow a beard over the next year. Then go to the Cairngorms, dye the beard, dress as Santa and hideout with the reindeer herd. Get Mrs begoode to bring Jr to the herd. Bingo!

Alternatively buy me bad food for a year (already have the beard) so I can get fat and I’ll dye my beard and do the Santa bit.

No, no need to thank me you’re welcome