Travel bucket list idea:
Santa Park, just outside Rovaniemi, is the ‘official’ home of Santa Claus and the place to meet Father Christmas in person. This miniature theme park, with rather elaborate Christmas grotto, is also home to several Santa-themed attractions.
There’s Santa’s office, where Santa sits in a plush red-and-white lair, chock full of decorative Christmas kitsch, as elves parade around and giddy young visitors cue up to meet the great man.
There’s an ’elf school’, offering 20-minute lessons in elf secrets and skills, an elf show performed 3-4 times per day, an elf workshop where kids can make a wooden Santa decoration, an ice sculpture gallery and a small train that takes kids through Santa’s house.
At the end, kids can leave their name in the adjacent post office to receive a Christmas letter from Santa. All the magic of Christmas is here…
It’s a ten-minute drive from downtown Rovaniemi, and there is plenty of parking. A shuttle buses runs every hour, stopping at the Santa Claus Village and SantaPark. SantaPark is about 2km from Santa Claus Village (which includes the Santa Claus Holiday village), and is a pleasant walk if weather conditions permit.
You only need a couple of hours at Santa Park, but there are lots of other activities on offer at Santa Claus village to make a whole day or it, if not two.
It’s open every day from the end of November until the end of the first week in January.
Destination guides including or relevant to this experience
Finnish Lapland, Finland
An unspoilt wilderness and outdoor adventure paradise. Summer and winter bucket list experiences galore – husky dog sledding, igloos and the Northern Lights – plus the real home of Santa.
