Christmas in Lapland


Quelle surprise, Christmas holidays are also winter activity holidays. You’ll laugh your head off hurtling around the snow trails with huskies. Spend your evenings searching for Northern Lights that can be as elusive as the Lappish lynx. Your smiles will be frozen to your faces as you snowshoe through silent forests, before being defrosted with oven-warm cookies and hot chocolate around the campfire.
While Christmas is indeed one of the most wonderful times of the year in Lapland, it’s also one of the busiest. You’ll need to travel with a tour operator who’ll take you away from the madding crowds and into the frosty wilderness. Outside Disney-esque cities like Finland’s Rovaniemi, Lapland is a delightful obstacle course of snowy forests, tundra, amethyst mines and the last of the Sámi reindeer herding communities. Read on to find out how you could spend Christmas in Lapland.
Our Alternative Christmas Holidays
Finland winter activity holiday & Northern Lights
Discover this Finnish winter activity wilderness week
Southern India small group holiday
Discover the two southern most states of India
Christmas or New Year 2020 in Lapland
Magical snow holiday in northern Lapland at reasonable cost
Morocco cultural tour
Come and see Morocco's kaleidoscope of colours
Serengeti Trail, Kenya & Tanzania safari
Overland truck safari
Costa Rica wildlife holiday
An amazing variety of Costa Rican wildlife
Jordan holiday, a week in Jordan
A week to explore the spectacular sites and scenery of Jordan
Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica cruise
The Ultimate Antarctica Experience!
Cuba Christmas & New Year tour
Rumba in Cuba = the ideal way to party in the festive season
North Cyprus walking holiday
Varied walks amid rugged scenery and superb archaeology
Classic Antarctica cruise & South Shetland Islands
Experience all that this remarkable area has to offer!
New year Northern Lights & wildlife holiday, Sweden
Winter glamping, wildlife, dogsledding and Northern Lights!
Antarctic Peninsula Cruises
An inspiring wilderness & wildlife journey of a lifetime
Namibia and Botswana safari holiday
Namibia & Botswana lodge safari Caprivi Etosha Okavango
Botswana camping safaris
Botswana's premier game parks, Okavango Moremi Savuti Chobe
Amalfi Coast walking holiday, Italy
Walk in lemon groves and hillside villages
Petra and Wadi Rum by bike, Jordan
Cycling trip through stunning desert scenery
Cuba cultural holiday
Immerse yourself in Cuban culture on this 8 day adventure
Zambia safari holiday, Xmas & New Year
Safari & Victoria Falls at Christmastime
Namibia small group guided holiday and safari
A fabulous small group guided trip in Nambia
Southern Peru small group tour
Journey through south Peru, the heartland of the Inca Empire
Rajasthan holiday, Christmas time
A relaxing trip to Rajasthan with mixed activities
Galapagos Islands holiday
Home to many interesting species of endemic wildlife
Cuba salsa dance holiday
Learn to salsa with the pros in Santiago de Cuba, tuition, day trips and nights out
Gorilla safari & the Masai Mara
Superb safari and trip to see gorillas
Cuba cultural tours
Experience authentic Cuba using local guides and guesthouses
Snowshoeing holiday in the Dolomites
Michelin recommended cuisine & inspiring walks
Cycling holiday in Morocco
Take in the sites of Morocco by bike
Christmas in Antarctica cruise
Journey to Antarctica for the ultimate white Christmas
Vic Falls to Johannesburg tour, Southern Africa
Soak up the sights and sounds on this African adventure
Christmas in Lapland for families
Here comes Santa Claus
Let’s face it: a huge number of Christmas holidays in Lapland are for families. It’s easy to be dismissive about the commercialised aspect of Lapland, but keep an open mind and it might surprise you. Trust in the Finns; they know what they’re doing. They know how important the legendary chimney-shuffler is to children – and how to charm them, and you.If you want to see Santa, you’ve got to head for Finland. The best holidays back well away from the mass market mayhem of Santa Village in Rovaniemi. Instead, you and the kids will be taken to his real home – the snow-soft forests and fells of northern Finland.
Unlike Santa Village, it’ll be an unhurried peek into how Laplanders do Christmas. You might even find an invitation for lunch at Santa’s secret lakeside house on Christmas Day. After a sleigh ride or snowshoe through snow-stacked woods, Mr and Mrs Claus will welcome you into their home. And – to the envy of family and friends back home – you can make and send off Christmas cards signed by the man himself.


Santa paws
There’s only one thing that might beat seeing Santa at Christmas: meeting huskies. A musher (or you, if you fancy it), will lead a safari that gets you dashing through the snow behind a pack of grinning working dogs doing what they do best. And you get to play with the dogs after. With the help of a holiday company that knows the lay of Lapland, the rest of the holiday is your oyster. Sleigh ride or kick sledding? Snow sculpting or ice fishing? Cross country skiing or snowshoeing? Small group holidays will give you set activities, while tailor made trips will let you mix and match.Treehouses and Sámi camps
Another perk of travelling with a Lapland Christmas holiday specialist: they’ll dig out some of the most characterful hotels in Lapland. Family favourites come with waterslides for the kids and hot tubs for the grown-ups. Wilderness guesthouses – often run by the Sámi and their descendants – welcome you like family. Or you could stay in a family-sized igloo in Rovaniemi.Small group or tailor made?
There are two types of Christmas holidays to Lapland: small group and tailor made. Small group holidays balance free time with a set itinerary of activities, hotels and set dates. You’ll share the excitement of Christmas with other families – and chances are, the children will make instant BFFs with people from all over the world. Group sizes often max out at 16.Tailor made Christmas holidays mostly go however you want them to go. You’ll still have the guidance of experts, who might suggest you spend extra time in Helsinki to rummage around the Christmas markets. You’ll also be able to tweak your hotels and holiday duration – although 5-7 days is usually recommended.
Our top Alternative Christmas Holiday
Finland winter activity holiday & Northern Lights
Discover this Finnish winter activity wilderness week
2021: 5 Dec, 12 Dec, 26 Dec
2022: 2 Jan, 9 Jan, 16 Jan, 23 Jan, 30 Jan, 6 Feb, 13 Feb, 20 Feb, 27 Feb, 6 Mar, 13 Mar, 20 Mar, 27 Mar, 3 Apr, 10 Apr, 17 Apr, 9 Dec, 16 Dec
2023: 8 Jan
Calling all Grinches


Other Christmas breaks are family-friendly down to their bones, offering Christmas concerts in Helsinki and more husky hugs than you can shake a snow-covered stick at. And since Laplanders tend to celebrate on 24 December, you’ll be able to spend Christmas Day snowshoeing, kicking back by the fire or taking a wilderness tour that’ll teach you how to map read in whiteouts like a pro.