On the 16th of December, I was lucky enough to experience a Lapland day trip with Newmarket holidays from Exeter. We had an early start the flight was just over 3 hours. The Newmarket girls were brilliant giving the children activity packs, sweets and all the information about the day, a map of the village and the most important thing – a golden ticket for each family to go and see Father Christmas and Christmas songs were sung by the staff and children joining in - so cute!
We arrived in Pajala and with no luggage, we were soon off the plane and after a really short transfer, we arrived at Santas village. On arrival, we got on our thermal suits and boots which were needed as the temperature was minus 20, plenty of layers and a face covering are a must! We headed out to experience the winter activities, first, it was snowmobiling, something I never thought I would do and it was fabulous!!! Then it was a husky dog sled ride which was fast, through the snowy forest, those dogs loved it and so did I. Then it was time for a warm-up so lunch and coffee were next! We had a walk around the village, lots of children enjoying the snow and activities.
Next, I did a Reindeer sleigh ride, it was amazing to see the reindeer so close up and again a fabulous wintery ride through the forest, it was just starting to get dark about 2.30pm. Time for another hot drink, there was a small tipi with a roaring log fire in and serving delicious hot berry juice and gingerbread cookies. After that, I decided that even though I am an adult I wanted to see Santa, so I headed that way, after a short queue by an open fire and more hot berry juice, a really kind family let me join them in their Santa experience which I was really grateful for, it was totally wonderful to see this and they loved it.
The activities were very well organised and the families had plenty of time to enjoy all that was on offer. The lunch was good, and hot soup, cinnamon buns and hot drinks were on offer all afternoon, plus a small shop to buy souvenirs or extra snacks.
We were picked up for the short transfer back to the airport and made the transfer even more enjoyable when our guide and driver treated us to some Christmas songs sung in Swedish. We were given a packed tea for the plane journey home all the children were tired and the Newmarket girls gave everyone an Artic Circle crossing certificate and a lovely little Christmas decoration!
It was a fantastic day and an amazing opportunity to do those bucket list wintery Christmas activities. If you have any questions about booking a Lapland trip, please contact me as I'll be more than happy to give you more details.
