A day in Lapland: Santa, huskies and lots of snow

We'd travelled from Gatwick in the early hours of the morning and by the time we had collected our luggage from Kittila Airport in Finland, it was almost completely dark outside. And this was odd, because it was only two in the afternoon.

We had come with a plane-load of British holidaymakers, who were visiting Lapland because it is traditionally thought to be the home of Santa Claus. The Christmas theme was very much in evidence. There were loads of excited children, lots of carol singing and the stewardesses all wore Santa hats.

When the plane doors were swung open, I had expected to be hit by a wave of bracing cold. In fact, the weather was relatively mild - only five degrees below zero. This is regarded as warm by local standards.

Once off the plane we trooped into a giant shed, where we put on snow suits, thick rubber boots, woolly hats and warm mittens. Then we were ready to face the elements.

Our destination was the ‘Snow Village', which is set up annually. I was sitting on the coach behind three generations of one family - the children, parents and grandparents - who had come from the Midlands as a special treat. I had brought my son, Nathan, who is 11 and a little sceptical about Father Christmas, but who was overjoyed at the prospect of playing in the snow and getting a present. ‘It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,' said Nathan, who has a great gift for cliché.

Actually it was a lot of fun. After a snowball fight with another boy, Nathan and I went for a ride on a reindeer sleigh. The reindeer are small, stocky, very strong and, with their large antlers and mottled fur, rather beautiful. One of them pulled a group of four of us through the snow.

Then we had a husky ride. Nine huskies took us, at what seemed like breakneck speed but was probably about 10 miles an hour, through the rugged tundra. It was truly beautiful.

The highlight was a snowmobile ride, which took us through the snow into a thickly wooded area. We followed a line of lanterns, and there in the middle was a log cabin. With our children, we went into the cabin one at a time. There, sitting in front of  a fire, was Father Christmas, with glasses and a white, fluffy beard. He greeted me and told me that it was a long time since we'd seen each other. Then Nathan sat on a chair next to him and was asked about what he wanted for Christmas. I was pleased to say that Nathan only wanted one thing - a game for his Nintendo Wii. Some of the children had brought long lists, in many cases printed out, so that Father Christmas would have no excuse for missing anything!

We then went for a stroll around an ice hotel, which contains a chapel - hosting about four weddings a week - and after a light meal, we got back in the coach.

Most of the visitors were day trippers, flying back on the 8.15pm flight. It's a three and half hour flight so we'd decided to spend the night, and stayed at the Hotel Snow Princess. After a pleasant meal, which mainly consisted of local staples such as meatballs, chips and pickled herring, we went to bed for a much-needed sleep.

The following day was more relaxed. In the Arctic Circle, the sun never shines in midwinter. However between about 9am and 1pm there is an eerie ‘grey light', which illuminates the pine forests. The area was strangely haunting. The trees appeared almost violet in colour, under the snow.

I had the opportunity to drive a dog sled, which was something I had always wanted to do. I had five huskies who were, mercifully, all very well trained. Even if I didn't know what I was doing, they did! I stood on the back of the sled, on which Nathan and a couple of other people were seated. I took my foot off the snow brake, and the five snapping dogs started to drag us along. We positively whooshed across the snow. Every now and then I would push to help the dogs with any steeper gradients. It was wonderful.

All that remained was for us to gather up our things and take the bus back to the airport. It's certainly not something I'll forget in a hurry. And - as people always say about anything connected with Christmas - the kids really loved it.

Find out more

Jack and Nathan travelled to Lapland with First Choice. First Choice Search for Santa day trips to Lapland start from £369 per person; their three night trips to Lapland start from £600 per adult. For more info visit www.firstchoice.co.uk

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