Christmas week is one of the best-known and busiest times to visit Lapland, and prices for stays and flights are usually high. Snow, blue midday light and the possibility of northern lights create the magic; crowds, high prices and very short days are the trade-off. A little planning helps you get more of the first and less of the second.
Book early
Many families book Christmas and New Year a year ahead. The most popular cabins and glass igloos are often booked out by summer, and flights from Central Europe and the UK fill up too. If you’re late, look at:
- the days just before Christmas or right after New Year, which are often easier to find and cheaper
- smaller resorts and villages rather than the best-known names
- cabins a little outside the resort centres, which may still have space when the hotels are full.
The light and the weather
Around Christmas the sun is at its lowest. In Rovaniemi it rises for a little over two hours around the winter solstice. In Levi and Saariselkä it doesn’t rise at all: this is the polar night, kaamos. It’s not pitch dark, though. Around midday there are several hours of twilight, when the snow glows blue and the southern sky turns pink and orange. Our polar night guide explains the light in more detail.
Expect snow and frost. Temperatures between −5 °C and −20 °C are typical, and colder spells happen. Dress in layers and plan your outdoor activities around the brightest hours in the middle of the day.
A Finnish Christmas in brief
In Finland the main day is Christmas Eve, 24 December. At noon the Declaration of Christmas Peace is read out in Turku and broadcast across the country. Many families go to the sauna in the afternoon and light candles on the graves of relatives. Christmas dinner of ham, casseroles and fish is eaten in the evening, and Joulupukki, the Finnish Father Christmas, visits children after dark. Christmas Day is quiet, and Boxing Day (St Stephen’s Day, 26 December) is when life starts to pick up again.
What’s open
This is worth planning for, especially if you’re staying in a self-catering cabin. Opening hours vary from year to year, so check them before you travel:
- Many shops close early on Christmas Eve, often around noon, and most are closed on Christmas Day. Buy food for two days in advance.
- In the resorts, many restaurants serve Christmas menus on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but tables sell out. Book ahead.
- In small villages almost everything may be closed on the 24th and 25th.
- Tours and activities run over Christmas in the big destinations, but the popular ones, such as reindeer and husky rides, should be booked well in advance.
Santa Claus Village, and the alternatives
Santa Claus Village lies on the Arctic Circle, about 8 km north of Rovaniemi city centre and close to the airport. It is open every day of the year and entry is free: you can meet Santa and cross the Arctic Circle line. Around Christmas it is at its busiest, so go early in the day, or outside the peak week if you can.
If you’d rather have a quiet Christmas, do what many Finns do: rent a cabin in a fell village, heat the wood-burning sauna, light candles and go skiing on lit trails. Many resorts light their cross-country tracks, so you can ski even in the darkest weeks.
With children
- Book activities and Santa visits before you travel rather than counting on turning up.
- Plan short spells outdoors with warm-ups inside. Children get cold faster than adults, and the cold creeps in quickly when they sit still in a sledge.
- Pack a head torch and reflectors for walks: it’s dark by mid-afternoon.
New Year
On New Year’s Eve there are fireworks in the resorts and towns. New Year week is also in high demand, so book your accommodation early.
