Saariselkä Christmas holidays
Finnish Lapland is widely acknowledged to be the home of Father Christmas, Santa Claus or St Nicholas; depending on how you like to call the belt-wearing, beard-growing, jolly man that makes Christmas so exciting – with this in mind, there’s usually heaps going on in Saariselkä to make every Christmas one to remember.
There’s nothing like meeting Santa, at Christmas, in the winter wonderland he calls his home. This is an incredible experience to share as a family, with the chance of reindeer and husky sleigh rides being the icing on the (Christmas) cake. With some Saariselkä holidays, these events can be included as part of the package, making your Santa’s Lapland holiday hassle free as well as unforgettable.
If time on the slopes is a big part of your festive agenda, the Kaunispää and Iisakkipää fells are hardly ever heaving. The fells are best for beginners and intermediates – Iisakkipää has some really easy greens and progressing intermediates will love the Pulmunen which gets slightly more challenging as it goes down.
Tobogganing is a super way to spend an afternoon with a 1200m run over at the main slopes. Visiting families like to have a go at a bit of ice hockey too but it’s the Mini Skidoo rides for children and the snowmobiling for adults that really gets the excitement going.
In the restaurants you can take Christmas feasting to the extreme and try out a Reindeer dish (not a good idea to mention Rudolph to children at the time)! In recent years they have held some kind of Christmas concert at the Sai Paul’s Chapel which is great for a sing-a-long too.
Christmas is deepest winter in Lapland, usually with very low temperatures and only a few hours of daylight. Pack lots of thermals and hire snowsuits (we can usually sort this out for you) to keep everyone snug and happy. Rather than casting the area in complete darkness for most of the day, the sunlight from just below the horizon and light from the moon is reflected by the snow covered surroundings which creates a magical twilight atmosphere. Seven ski slopes are floodlit to let keen skiers get their full day in.
Christmas snow and skiing conditions in Saariselkä
Christmas Snow History
Top alt:438m
Average snow depth
Christmas40cm
Bottom alt:260m
Average snow depth
Christmas24cm
Resort alt:265m
Christmas ski rating