If there was one thing that prompted us to visit Finland in winter, it was to see the Santa Claus Village with our kids. Seeing delightful photos of Santa in Lapland and reading about the experience opened our eyes that there was even such a thing as an “official” Santa. Or that Rovaniemi is the official hometown of Santa Claus.
We haven’t even considered Finland as a travel destination prior to that. But we figured our daughters were growing up fast (they were 11 and 6 at that time). And it was the perfect time to go. Besides, experiencing Christmas in winter has always been a dream for us (we live in the tropics where Christmas is crazily celebrated but the climate is warm).
Of course, the more we researched about Finland, it became very clear there is so much more to see and do. We ended up with a 2-week travel Finalnd itinerary with kids, covering Helsinki, Porvoo, Rovaniemi, and Levi.
And after digging more stuff about Santa Claus Village, we realized it wasn’t as cracked up to be. There are other even better Santa experiences as well longer, more authentic winter safari rides, and less crowded, touristy options. In fact, we even considered dropping Santa Claus Village off our itinerary.
In the end, we decided to go, since it was, after all, what made us got excited about Finland in the first place. And it is one of Finland’s major tourist attractions, which we didn’t want to miss. Our Finland travel with kids had to include Santa Claus Village.
We’re glad we did.
About Santa Claus Village
Santa Claus Village, at first, gives the impression that it is a theme park. There are rides, restaurants, characters, gift shops, photo ops, and of course an over-arching theme — all standard features of a theme park.
But it’s not.
Santa Claus Village is, well, a village. It’s more like a mixed-use township with shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, hotels, cabins, and a post office (it just happens there is an ice bar, ice hotel, and glass igloos you don’t see in your average village).
In fact, Santa Claus Village is not owned by one company, but is run by over 40 independent companies working together. Thankfully, somehow it is able to have a common look and feel. However, it also means that while there’s no fee to enter, you have to pay every time you take a ride in one of the winter safari activities like snowmobile, reindeer ride, husky ride, etc.
Quick fun fact: Santa Claus Village started with just the Arctic Circle Cabin, rushed to accommodate Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady of the United States, who visited in 1950 to see the post-war reconstruction in Lapland.
More visitors came and more foreign dignitaries visited, and so more cabins were built and more winter activities were introduced. The rest is history.
How to Go to Santa Claus Village
If you’re flying in from Helsinki, Santa Claus Village is only 10 minutes from the airport. We took the train, however, and stayed in Rovaniemi a few nights.
To go to Santa Claus Village, we just took a local bus (#8). There’s a bus stop near our hotel, Scandic Polar, which was in the city center. The bus ride was just around 25 minutes, and we got off right at Santa Claus Village.
What to See in Santa Claus Village
The architecture of most of the buildings in Santa Claus Village is consistent in look, with logs and tepees. There is a cozy, homey feel to the place. If Disney built a Christmas or Santa theme park, it would most likely look like Santa Claus Village.
There is an air of magic, especially at night, with all the lights. True to Finnish design, it’s not gaudy or loud. You know what’s gaudy and loud? The tourists! LOL.
If there is one thing that kind of ruins the atmosphere, it’s the teeming crowds. I guess it’s the same with Disney parks. So you just have to put up with it.
There are only a few places to see in Santa Claus Village with your kids:
1. Santa Claus Office
If there is a center in Santa Claus Village, a town hall of sorts, it’s Santa Claus Office. It’s the biggest building there, and the most imposing, with its tall, brightly lit tower. This is where you get to meet the “official” Santa Claus. It is also the most thematic building, bringing you to the world of Santa (in this case, his office). This is a must-see in Santa Claus Village with your kids.
2. Santa Claus Main Post Office
Another must-visit place is the Santa Claus Main Post Office, a working post office. And possibly the busiest (and most profitable) given that hundreds of thousands of letters pass through here. Santa receives half a million letters to his post office from kids all over the world (you can check some of those displayed).
3. Christmas House Santa
We did not go here, which features a Christmas Exhibition showcasing different Christmas traditions all over the world. It is also where you can meet the “other” Santa (I guess the unofficial one). Based on reviews, it’s not as immersive as Santa Claus Office but the lines to meet and have a photo taken with Santa are a lot shorter.
As we already scheduled a visit to official Santa at Santa Claus Village and booked a more exclusive and vastly superior experience in Santa Claus Secret Forest – Dream of Joulukka program, we decided to skip Christmas House Santa. (Yet another Santa visit might have been overkill.)
4. Mrs. Santa Claus Christmas Cottage
Located in Santa Claus Reindeer resort, Mrs. Santa Claus Christmas Cottage is a new attraction in Santa Claus Village. Here, you get to meet Mrs. Claus who will tell you stories and bake gingerbread cookies. We passed.
5. SantaPark
Technically not part of Santa Claus Village as it’s a separate park 2 km. away, SantaPark is a proper theme park, styled as Santa’s home cave in Rovaniemi. This was in our shortlist, since it seemed like a much more experiential and immersive experience than Santa Claus Village. There are shows, workshops, a magic train, a post office, an elf school, characters who really are in character (unlike those in Santa Claus Village who are more like dressed-up clerks).
But after considering that it might be Santa overload and choosing between this and Santa Claus Secret Forest (both run by the same company), we sadly decided to skip it.
