Inside a snowbound yurt, deep inside a forest 250km north of the Arctic Circle, my six-year-old is giggling as an Elf (yes, an Elf) called Poco holds her upside down and plays her like a guitar. This is not surprising. Thus far on our three hour Searching for Santa adventure at the Northern Lights Village in Lapland’s Saariselkä, he’s also attempted to drive a skidoo backwards and, as we paused by the fire on the brink of finding Santa, done a magic trick that has my seven-year-old pooping red reindeer noses.
I don’t know what Poco – “Loco!”, he adds helpfully, in case it’s unclear that sanity is not his strong suit – is being paid, but whatever it is, it’s not enough for the delight he’s creating.
He also has an ace card; he knows Santa’s location. Following some gingerbread cookie baking (Santa’s favourite), we’ve travelled by reindeer sleigh to this mid forest locale, awaiting further instructions. It‘s all a bit James Bond meets Frozen, and everyone’s in on the adventure – from Esa the reindeer musher, who’s an expert in flying sleigh engineering, to the receptionist who revealed at check in: “Oh, I have something for you,” handing a ribboned scroll to the children with a twinkle in his eye.
Felicity and her family go Santa hunting in Lapland
(Felicity Byrnes)
The note is from The Department of Elves enlisting their help the very next day to seek Santa. But will he be home? There are no promises.
The suspense has been building since the plane door blasted open like the door to Narnia, revealing icy Ivalo airport and framing a plane screaming SANTA’S LAPLAND in red, 20-metre-high letters (belonging to a tour operator). In case that geographic marker is too subtle, 10 minutes later we were halted by a Lapland traffic jam – a herd of reindeer in the middle of the road.
“Things are a little different up here,” grinned the taxi driver and, as we flitted past white tree silhouettes, lights intermittently twinkling through branches, it felt like we were a frozen breath puff away from serious magic.
The suspense has been building since the plane door blasted open like the door to Narnia, revealing icy Ivalo airport and framing a plane screaming SANTA’S LAPLAND
And the magic continued in The Northern Lights Village itself. It’s not all Santa-centric – others travel here to witness the aurora…
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