Where does Santa Claus live? Finland!
Have you ever written a letter to Santa and wondered if he actually read it? Don’t worry, it’s never too late to send one in. He may be busy making toys and presents for boys and girls everywhere, but he never forgets to put anyone on his list.
And, if you had the chance to visit the place where all the magic happens, would you take it?
Well, hold on to your reindeer harnesses, boys and girls. It turns out you can visit jolly old Saint Nick at his “crib” at the North Pole… more specifically, at his home is in Finland. That’s right. The Santa’s home is just 8km to the north of Rovaniemi, (which the Finns refer to as “Santa’s village,”) in Lapland, a region located along the Arctic Circle.
This sparkling, snow-bound wonderland is an oasis of Christmas pleasure. The landscape is breathtaking in its desolate silence and majestically untouched, with tall conifers and softly rounded white hills that look like mounds of whipped cream. Now, imagine spending the Christmas holidays in this winter wonderland. Sounds fabulous doesn’t, it? Whether you’re five or ninety-five, Finland, but especially Santa’s village and SantaPark, are incredible destinations during the holidays.
For most of us, Rovaniemi is so far away, it’s a once in a lifetime trip, but traveling there is fairly straight forward–you fly to Helsinki and then take a shuttle flight directly to Rovaniemi. The village is about 8km north of SantaPark and lodging to suite everyone’s preferences, from four star hotels, to B&Bs, to camping, and snow hotels. In addition to the activities at SantaPark, Rovaniemi offers all kinds of diversions and activities for children and adults.
For a special treat however, you might want to consider staying in one of the 38 cabins Santa, or Joulupukki, as the Finns call him, built for his new Holiday Village. Each cabin is just steps away from Santa’s Work Shop and the rest of SantaPark. He and the elves built these cabins to accommodate their friends who visit from all over Finland and the globe, and they welcome either adults alone, or adults with children.
Santa Taking a Break
Each charming wooden cabin offers cozy, inviting quarters with room enough for indoor fun and entertaining. They come fully equipped with everything you need for a typical Finnish breakfast. If you want to do as the locals, there are also kitchenettes, an authentic Finnish sauna, and of course TVs for those who can’t be separated from their regular programs. If you don’t want to go into the center of Rovaniemi for lunch and dinner, Holiday Village also has the Christmas House Restaurant and Coffee Bar where guests can grab a quick lunch or enjoy dinner with the whole family.
For a child, nothing can compare with the joy of seeing Santa, and for that, you have to head over to the adorably decorated Post Office, where every week thousands of letters arrive from children from around the world. Another surprise that awaits you is SantaPark itself, which is a fantasyland devoted just to Christmas buried deep beneath the ground. The entire place is set in a series of caverns where year round you can see hundreds of elves hard at work making toys and other treats. Amid the bang and clatter of the Elf Workshop, ambitious kiddies can join the elves and make their own Christmas ornament for the tree.
Budding chefs will recognize the tempting aromas of cinnamon and spice as they float in the air from the Gingerbread Kitchen where kids can make their own cookies under the watchful eye of brightly dressed elves. For ambitious children, there is also Elf School, Santa’s training center where children can all of the things they need to know to become one of Santa’s special helpers. If you have a child that loves to shop, there is plenty for them to buy at Santa’s Shopping Arcade, which sells handmade items created by the local Sami people of Lapland, as well as all sorts of tempting Christmas decorations, toys, souvenirs, and gift items.
Finland is a Nature Lover's Paradise
If you are exhausted and in need of a reviving beverage after your visit to SantaPark, there are plenty of welcoming spots where you can laze by a fire and sip glögi. This Finnish mulled wine is always served during Christmas and is just the thing to warm up your bones when you come in from the cold. For travelers who adore music, art, and history, Finland is a hidden treasure trove of world-class museums, music festivals, and enriching experiences. Her capital city, Helsinki, nicknamed “the white city of the North,” is a hub of cosmopolitan sophistication that has become an international center for design, communications, and technology.
The Finns may be a bit shy and reserved at first, but they are warm and friendly once you get to know them. They are also more conservative about personal space and value your privacy, so you won’t have prying people staring or getting over familiar. If you are an English speaker who’s terrible at languages, you will love Finland. Most everyone, particularly the young people, speaks English well, and the Finns enjoy the chance to flex their linguistic muscles with a native speaker.
Once you’ve done the Santa and elves thing, there are also diversions that seem custom made for culture vultures. You can also meet the wonderful Sami people, or Laplanders as outsiders call them. They are a fascinating part of Finnish culture and have extraordinary traditions and a distinct lifestyle. These hardy people survive in the frigid Arctic by fishing, hunting, and herding reindeer, and they are the last remaining indigenous people in Europe. Anthropologists believe the Sami have lived in this region for an estimated eight to ten thousand years, and that they created the Finns’ beloved custom of sauna.
As much as Finland is known for her incredible design aesthetic and vibrant, modern society, her natural charms are her most endearing feature. It is a gorgeous, unspoiled country covered in pristine old forests and thousands of glittering, ice covered lakes, streams, and rivers. In fact, Finland is a land where water, after forests, is a central theme in the people’s lives. The Finns love fishing and boating, and even their capital city overlooks the breathtaking Gulf of Finland and the Åland Archipelago.
The country’s incredible scenery makes it a nature lover’s paradise that offers visitors the chance to commune with native flora and fauna in unspoiled wildernesses found in one of the many preserves, wildlife sanctuaries, or national parks.
Husky "Dog Safaris" in Kuusamo
If you count the days until the mercury drops and prefer a more active vacation, Finland will entrance you with all its huge selection of winter sports and entertainment like ice fishing, skiing, skating, boating, snow mobile racing, and hiking. Continuing with the outdoors theme, there are other exciting activities that are only found in this part of the globe, like Reindeer Safaris.
Who can resist being warmly bundled under layers of fur and woolen blankets in a beautiful wooden sleigh drawn by reindeer and expertly driven by Sami people? Each Sami driver dresses in traditional, colorfully braided red, white, and black coats and hats and acts as your charming guide as your sleigh swiftly glides over the snow. Snuggled safe in the sleigh, the only sound you hear as the rolling countryside unfolds before your eyes is the whisk of the sleigh across the snow and the tinkling of the reindeers’ harness bells.
For those who feel the need for speed, there are Husky Dog Safaris for hire in Kuusamo pulled by teams of Siberian huskies. This fast-paced tour is a whir of sparkles and sunlight as the sun hits the frozen snow and ice that dangles from tree branches and the ice-borne lakes and streams. There is nothing quite like this sort of ride. It offers a close-up view of Santa’s pristine, arctic haven that won’t soon be forgotten.
The Northern Lights
Just when you think you have had enough of the cold and snow, you won’t want to miss a visit to the enchanted snow castle known as Kemi. A work of genius, each year this sparkling white fortress is re-designed and constructed over five very long, stress-filled months. The design is different from year to year and includes elaborately carved towers, block walls, turrets, steeples, and intricately carved sculptures and bas-reliefs made entirely from snow and ice. When the castle is lit, inside and out, it glows in a rainbow of colors that match the enigmatic, swirling, pastels of the Northern Lights.
All of this may sound spectacular, but if you can’t make the trip, you can still see the hustle and bustle and scenic countryside, no matter how far away you are. Thanks to Santa’s clever elves, a live video feed shows views of the village and captures all of the activities year round.
If you or one of your friends would like to send Santa a letter, the address is:
Santa Claus
Santa Claus Village
FIN-96930 Arctic Circle
Finland
Remember, no matter what time of year it is, it’s always time for Christmas in Santa’s Workshop. As they say in Finland, “Hyvää Joulua!” Merry Christmas.
Photos courtesy of the Finland Tourism Board: Visit Finland.
