Santa Claus from Utsjoki with children: planning the day
Illustration photo: Christmas gingerbread, not from the Saariselkä programme.
The short answer
With a toddler, or on a short midwinter day, book the private visit in Inari: the drive is the shortest and the visit lasts under an hour. With children between four and fourteen and a night to spare, the Saariselkä afternoon is planned for them and lends the snow gear. Where any drive is too much, a reindeer sleigh ride in Utsjoki gives children the same picture without the road.
From Utsjoki, a child’s meeting with Santa means driving south, and the length of that drive is the first thing to choose.
The shortest trip: Inari
The hotel in Inari, 93 minutes south, sells a private visit for a family: a short walk to Santa’s secret place, twenty to forty minutes with him and presents for everyone.1 There and back it fills a morning or an afternoon, which suits a toddler better than any other Santa from Utsjoki.
An afternoon for four to fourteen
The afternoon in Saariselkä prices three age bands: adults, children from four to fourteen, and under-fours free.2 It is aimed at the middle band: an elf leads, the children bake gingerbread and do crafts, and there are two short sleigh rides, one behind reindeer and one behind a snowmobile. The organiser lends overalls, boots and mittens, so nobody needs to pack snow gear for the day.
How long the day becomes
The road to Saariselkä takes 149 minutes each way, and the programme two and a half to three hours, so a day trip means about eight hours out of the cabin. With young children, a night in Saariselkä halves the driving on the day. The free office in Rovaniemi, 320 minutes each way, only makes sense on the day you travel through Rovaniemi anyway.
When to stay in Utsjoki instead
If the drive is too much for the children, a reindeer sleigh ride at home gives them much of the same picture. The herding family’s day ride spends about forty minutes behind the reindeer, lends winter clothes and halves the price for children under eleven.3 The other reindeer outings and their rules for children are compared on reindeer in Utsjoki with children.
Tours you can book
Priced per person
Searching for Santa: an afternoon ending at his cabin
Run by Northern Lights Village Saariselkä
From €159per person
Length2.5–3 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)
Priced for the whole party
A private meeting with Santa, a short walk from the hotel in Inari
Run by Wilderness Hotel Inari
From €275per group of up to 4
Length0.3–0.7 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)
Price not stated
A forty-minute reindeer sleigh ride and the herder's farm by day
Run by Aurora Reindeer
From €141pricing basis not stated
Length2 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)
Questions people ask
What should we tell the organiser before the day?
The organiser emails a questionnaire before the programme so that Santa can talk to each child personally, and at arrival the children are handed an invitation letter from the elves. Return the questionnaire before you set off, because a long drive leaves little time to do it on the day, and without it Santa has nothing to go on but the children's faces.
Can we bring a present for Santa to give our child?
No. The organiser asks families not to bring personal presents for Santa to hand out, because it would be unfair on the other children in the group, and every child receives the same small symbolic gift instead. If a present from Santa matters in your family, keep it for Christmas morning rather than for the cabin in Saariselkä.
Is there a break on the road for children?
The drive south runs through Inari, about an hour and a half from Utsjoki, and on through Ivalo before Saariselkä, which gives natural stops on a journey of about two and a half hours. The hotel in Inari and two farms in Ivalo sell private Santa visits of their own, so a family that stops there may not need to drive on, and one that does should allow for the breaks when choosing a programme time.