The Arctic Circle. Lapland. Finland 2015

It's taken me a long time to upload this blip, because, to be honest, I knew I wouldn't know where to begin to try and capture the day in it's true magnificance. I still don't. I couldn't choose one single photo as each photo holds a precious memory, hence my cheat blip, which I find I have to do from time to time.
The day began with us filling up on a huge breakfast before being collected for our adventure. First stop was the snow mobile park where we got kitted out with helmets, goggles and so on, oh and a snow mobile! The children were pulled behind the expedition leader in a huge sleigh complete with reindeer blankets to keep them warm. Hubby and I had our own snowmobile though. It took a little bit of practice and kangaroo hopping to get going but we soon got the knack of it and were whizzing along in the stunning Finnish forests. The scenery really was beautiful and as the kids said, it was like a 'magical winter wonderland.'

We drove for approximately 10km before we came to the Reindeer Farm where we had some free time to go sledging before being ushered into a wooden teepee style hut, where we were given hot berry juice and cinnamon buns and we warmed ourselves next to the blazing open fire in the centre of the hut. A reindeer herder then gave us a really informative talk all about the reindeers and how they are looked after and we were able to ask questions to discover more. Then it was time for our reindeer sleigh ride which we controlled ourselves. It was two per sleigh (Olivia and myself went together) and after some alarmingly brief instructions on how to control the reindeer we were off! There was a lot of giggling, especially when Olivia took control of the reigns and the reindeer had a big poo (we were about level with it's bum!).

From here it was back onto the snowmobiles and off to explore the forest again before arriving at the Husky park. We were given some free time to explore, and luckily for us there were some new husky puppies which were uber cute. It took some coaxing to get Olivia away from the puppies though! We were again taken into a cozy hut with a lovely fire and were given more hot berry juice and some gingerbread biscuits, whilst we listened to information about husky dogs, which again was very interesting such as how they decide the order that the dogs line up in order to pull the sleigh and the colour of their eyes. Back outside we found a huge ice slide which involved sitting down on your bum and sliding at speed. I gave that one a miss but my three kids didn't! Then it was our turn to try a husky ride, which I think was one of my favourite activities. It was a lot faster than I expected but so much fun.

Back on the snow mobiles and we headed back to the base. Probably the most memorable four to five hours we've ever had all together.

We explored Santa's village before heading back to our cabin for a quick freshen up before the big event for the kids. Santa Claus. I have to admit that as we approached Santa's Office I was very nervous as I really didn't know what to expect and I wanted it to be so special for Olivia and Dexter. Olivia has been asking some pretty difficult questions recently concerning Santa so we thought that this may be our last opportunity to meet him while they are at such a magical age. While we waited for our turn Olivia still wasn't 100% sure that it was going to be the real Santa. She said she was 90% sure, whereas Dex was utterly convinced it was going to the real deal. As we walked round the corner and stripped off our coats and hats, we had our first peek of him. The kids were dumbstruck. He welcomed us to come and sit with him and asked us where we were from, but more importantly he wanted to know where we would be on Christmas Eve. He was quite insistant and the kids were reassured as he clearly knew where Brussels was! He really was very authentic and so kind and warm with us and it was lovely when he said to the kids as we were leaving: "I'll see you in five days!"

As we left, Olivia turned to Dexter and said, "You were right, it was the real Santa. I'm 100% sure now." 

The rest of the evening is a little bit of a blur to me now, although I do remember enjoying a lovely meal in the restaurant chatting to the kids about our special day. Dexter asked me if I would tell his teachers and his friends in his class, as they may not believe him. Olivia asked me if I would make a photo book for them so that they could take it in to school to share their experience with their classes.

With my absolute pleasure.