Book now

Private Santa visit in Ylläs: who comes to whom

A Christmas gift bag with a Santa picture and candy canes on a snowy fence rail

Illustration photo: a Christmas gift bag, not from a Ylläs visit.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

If a visit indoors with songs and stories is enough, have Santa knock at your cottage door; it is the simplest and the shortest. If the children should meet a reindeer, have him come with it to your yard, which saves travelling anywhere. Go to his hidden cabin only if the trip out, a sleigh ride and his own cabin are part of what you want the evening to be.

How the operators compare

Prices are the operators' own published starting prices as of the date this guide was updated, and they change through the season.

At your cottageWith his reindeerHis hidden cabin
Where Your cottage Your yard and cottage Santa's cabin
Time with Santa About 20 min About 30 min About 40 min
Reindeer No Feeding and a short ride Feeding and a short ride
Letters read Not stated Not stated Yes

Nothing is marked: the three are one Santa in three settings, and which is better depends on what your children want from the evening.

Where these figures come from
  • At your cottage: Santa knocks at the door, sings, tells stories and leaves a chocolate present.
  • With his reindeer: Santa arrives in your yard by reindeer sleigh, then comes in to sing and tell stories.
  • His hidden cabin: Your family goes to Santa's cabin about 4 km from Äkäslompolo for a ride and a warm drink.

In Ylläs a Santa visit is always your family’s alone, and the choice is where it happens.

At your cottage

Moment with Santa’s Santa knocks at the door, sings, tells stories of the Arctic and leaves the children a chocolate present.1

With the reindeer

In the second version he arrives in the yard by reindeer sleigh, the children feed the reindeer lichen from their hands and ride a short way, and then Santa comes indoors.2

At his cabin

The third takes your family to his cabin outside Äkäslompolo, where the reindeer ride comes first and a warm drink after.3

What each costs, and what extra children and Christmas Eve add, is on Santa Claus prices in Ylläs.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

Can Santa visit us in a hotel?

Not in a hotel room: the operator says both home visits are unsuitable for one. A family in a hotel can still go to the hidden cabin near Äkäslompolo, which needs no room of your own, only a taxi or a walk of about four kilometres each way from the village.

Can we book Santa outside the Christmas weeks?

Yes. From 1 December to 7 January the visits are made only in the Ylläs area; before and after that the operator says it can also come further afield, to Levi for example. The operator asks families to check availability by email before booking any of the three.

Should we give Santa the children's letters?

At the hidden cabin letters are read during the visit, so bring them. The two home visits do not mention letters in their description; if the children have written one, ask when you book whether Santa will read it, and have it ready by the door.

Written by

Lapland Handbook Staff

Lapland Handbook is written by its editorial staff in Rovaniemi. Every price, age limit and group size in a comparison is read from the operator's own page and marked "Not stated" when the operator does not publish it. Each guide names who should not book, and names the operator that suits each kind of group, whichever it is.

More about Lapland Handbook →