Santa with children from Kilpisjärvi: what a family needs to know
Illustration photo: a Christmas lantern in the snow, not in Kilpisjärvi.
The short answer
With a baby or a toddler, stay in the village and ask the reindeer farm for its private Santa visit: it says babies and children are welcome and it is a walk from the hotels. Dress everyone as for a long time outdoors, because the farm asks you to bring warm layers and has only a basic outdoor toilet. Keep the long drives to Levi or Rovaniemi for older children who can cope with a day in the car.
With small children, the details of the day matter more than the programme.
Who the farm welcomes
The reindeer farm in the village, the only place in Kilpisjärvi this site found offering Santa, says babies and children are welcome and asks you to give their ages when you enquire.1 It is in the middle of the village, so there is no transfer to organise and no car seat to fit.
Facilities
The farm has a basic outdoor toilet and says it is not accessible. For a family with a baby that means planning changes and feeds around the visit, and anyone with mobility needs should write before booking, as the farm itself asks.
When the answer means driving
Muonio is two hours and 25 minutes away and its Santa meeting comes only with a Christmas package. Levi, three and a quarter hours away, is the nearest place selling afternoons with Santa by the person. The fuller family day there is described on Santa Claus in Levi.
Questions people ask
Do children pay less at the farm?
The farm does not print a child price. Its advice is to include the children's ages in your enquiry so it can explain its current child pricing, which means the family total is only known once it replies. Ask for it for the Santa visit and for any reindeer visit you are thinking of adding, so you can decide on both at once.
How cold is it likely to be, and what should the children wear?
The farm does not give temperatures, only the advice to dress for outdoor Arctic conditions with at least two warm layers, insulated winter boots, gloves and a warm hat. Unlike the village safari company, which lends thermal suits on its tours, the farm does not say it lends anything, so bring the children's full winter kit rather than planning to borrow.
Is Levi manageable as a day trip with small children?
It is three and a quarter hours each way by road, before any time with Santa. The elf court there lasts three hours, which makes a day of over nine hours for a young child; the private meeting with a sleigh ride is shorter at two and a half hours but the drive is the same. For a toddler that is a lot of car seat for one meeting.