Family Christmas holiday in Finland

Enjoy Christmas or New Year in Lapland on a holiday designed to guarantee an intimate Father Christmas experience.

The hotel enjoys an enviable location on the shores of frozen Lake Lammasjarvi and with just 41 en-suite bedrooms, overcrowding is never a problem. With a cosy and convivial atmosphere, friendly staff and an excellent restaurant serving both traditional and international cuisine, we are sure you will be more than comfortable during your stay. While the adults relax in one of the three saunas or the new Wellness Centre, the younger ones can occupy themselves with the Playstation games in the children’s room.

Your stay includes free use of the hotel’s kick sleds and toboggans. The Kalevala Cross-Country Skiing Centre is next door to the hotel and has several floodlit trails. In total there are approximately 100km of cross-country skiing trails and 440km of snowmobile tracks locally so variety is not a problem. You can rent skis as well as ice skates, snowshoes and winter fishing equipment.

Most exciting of all for families with young children is the Kalevala Christmas Village. In winter, we walk through the forest to the village where a truly magical Christmas experience awaits including the elves’ workshop, gifts, gingerbread, decorations and best of all, an audience with Father Christmas in his office. Just watch the sparkle in your child’s eyes as they enter the office and see the great man waiting to greet them!

Choose between traditional Finnish Christmas and New Year experiences. This is how Christmas should be every year. Deep, deep snow, carol singing, fabulous food, elves, Christmas trees and Santa Claus. A traditional Finnish Christmas based at a lovely family run hotel in a beautiful location with a great range of activities. Included in the price: return scheduled flights from Heathrow, return airport transfers, 6 nights en-suite accommodation including daily sauna, full board, Christmas programme as detailed, activity equipment, guides and instructors.

Itinerary

Day 1:	Flights, Arrivals and Dinner After arriving at Kuhmo Airport you will be transferred to your accommodation where a warm welcome and a four-course meal awaits.
Day 2:	Father Christmas Trail. At breakfast this morning you will meet your Christmas host who will brief you about the programme and introduce the rest of the team. The remainder of the morning is free to acquaint yourself with your new surroundings or why not borrow a toboggan or kick sled from the hotel and have some fun in the snow? The afternoon is simply magical. Sometimes it is difficultto decide who enjoys our fairytale winter walk more, the children or the adults! Starting from the hotel, your walk takes you through the snowy forest which is lit by ice candles and open fires and has a few surprises along the way. On arrival at the elves’ workshop, they will be busily making and wrapping gifts and you will be invited to help them. Next, it’s onto Santa’s forest lodge where the elves will relate Christmas stories while teaching you how to make gingerbread and decorations. Finally, the big moment arrives as you are invited into Santa’s private office for an audience with the great man. Each child will have the opportunity to whisper their Christmas wishes into Santa’s ear while the parents gleefully snap away with their cameras. The children will receive a small present and go away with some fabulous memories of their meeting with Santa. This evening there will be a Christmas concert at the Arts Centre before dinner.
Day 3:	Christmas Day in Finland. Today is Christmas here in Finland and you can take part in traditional activities such as baking pastries with the elves, helping to bring in the tree from the forest and decorating it. After lunch, there will be a visit to the church for a Christmas service and a visit to the soldier’s grave in Kuhmo. A special Christmas dinner buffet is served in the restaurant this evening accompanied by carol singing and a visit from Father Christmas.
Day 4:	Free Day. Today is free to partake in optional activities which are not included in the overall package price but can be booked at the hotel: snowmobiling, snowshoeing, husky safaris, reindeer safaris, horse-pulled sleigh rides, cross-country skiing and more. Alternatively, you can join the 10am transfer to church for the morning service. The buffet dinner tonight is followed by dancing.
Day 5:	Boxing Day Activities. Today’s traditional Boxing Day activities take place on the lake next to the hotel. Try a horse-pulled sleigh ride, a short husky safari and snowmobiling. More optional activities are available this afternoon and later this evening everybody gathers outside by an open fire. Fortified by warm drinks, you can listen to the local Shaman telling the tale of the Sampo, a magical artefact from Finnish mythology.
Day 6:	Free Day and Folklore. Today offers another chance to try your favourite activities again. They can be booked and paid for at the hotel. Dinner is followed by a folklore dance programme and provides the perfect finalé to your very traditional Christmas.
Day 7:	Departures, Transfers & Flights. You are going to hate this bit. After breakfast, it’s time to bid farewell and transfer back to the airport for your flights home.