Lapland Santa Holidays, Before the Christmas Crowds
Spend the weeks before Christmas in Lapland with private Santa encounters and snowy family adventures, then continue to a Nordic capital for festive city celebrations and traditional Christmas dining.
Both our Christmas small group tours and independent Christmas packages are very popular, and we recommend getting in touch early to secure your preferred dates, particularly for travel in December.
Travel before Christmas, before the crowds
Because demand is high, most tours fill quickly for Christmas week departures. To give families more flexibility, we offer pre-Christmas packages around mid-December, before the busiest festive period. These departures include a Santa experience that stays with children long after: Santa has time to chat, listen to wishes and talk about his preparations for the Christmas Eve journey, for a relaxed and personal encounter.
Travelling before Christmas also makes flights, activities and accommodation easier to arrange. After the lead-up to Christmas in Lapland, we can organise Christmas stays in Nordic capital cities, with traditional Christmas buffets, spa or pamper packages, and local festive experiences.
Meet Santa in Finnish Lapland
Spending December in Finnish Lapland gives families the chance to meet Santa at his forest hideaway, cross the Arctic Circle, and send postcards from Santa's official post office. Our Lapland itineraries include a wide range of snow-based activities for different ages and energy levels. Children can try mini snowmobiles on safe circuits, older children can ride larger snowmobiles, and families can enjoy forest scooters, kick sledges, toboggan runs, snowshoeing, ice activities and winter games together.
At 50 Degrees North, we specialise in Santa holidays away from the crowds, focusing on intimate, well-paced family experiences. Santa meetings take place in quiet forest settings, or can be arranged privately at your cabin or hotel for a personal moment.
To learn more, read our overview of what we can arrange for your family. These pre-Christmas tours include the region's highlights and meaningful Santa encounters without the peak-season crowds. The one element not usually included is a traditional Christmas Eve buffet, which we can arrange during a post-tour city stay.
Continue to a Nordic capital for Christmas
After your Lapland journey, most flights return via Helsinki, Oslo or Stockholm. These cities, along with nearby Tallinn, are ideal places to spend Christmas, with festive lighting, Christmas markets and a strong tradition of celebratory dining.
Across the Nordic region, Christmas is celebrated from the late afternoon and evening of 24 December through to midday on 25 December. Christmas morning is often relaxed and spent outdoors. Locals may go tobogganing in the hills around Oslo, skating in city parks, or enjoy a leisurely breakfast before heading out into nature.
Hotels and apartments are decorated with Christmas trees, music and seasonal touches, and traditional Christmas buffets on the evening of 24 December can be booked either at your hotel or at well-known local restaurants such as Restaurant Savotta. Many travellers also choose to attend Christmas Mass at one of the city cathedrals.
Pamper packages are available at several hotels, with spa treatments suitable for families. In Helsinki, you can also join locals for a Christmas Day sauna at Löyly, on the seafront.
Make the spirit of Jingle Bells come alive as your family dashes through the snow by reindeer or horse-drawn sleigh, or takes to cross-country skiing, snowshoe walking, snowmobiling, skating, ice fishing, kick sledging, cold-water dipping and husky safaris.
Photos: Ranua Zoo, Ranua Resort