I just woke up to this Arctic sunrise before everyone else in the Airbnb. I took the time to make some scrambled eggs for breakfast, brewed the coffee, and leisurely sat down to write this blog post as I waited for the rest of the group to come to life. What a perfect morning.
Once everyone was up by 9:30am, we had breakfast, bundled up, and drove 27 minutes south toward Rovaniemi and into Santa Claus Village. The first thing to greet us was the gingerbread houses of Piparina Day Cabins & Dining that you can book for around 150 euros for 2 hours:
Santa Claus Village has been here since 1985, when Rovaniemi was declared the official hometown of Santa Claus. The origins go back further; the first building at the Arctic Circle here was the Roosevelt Lodge, built in the 1950s for a visit by Eleanor Roosevelt after the war.
Over time it grew into what it is now: a year-round Christmas tourist destination that draws over 700,000 visitors annually.
While everyone was locked into the different array of Christmas-themed pleasures here, I was more enchanted with the surrounding area while walking through and around Santa Claus Village.
And yet, prior to any Santa Claus house or office is a big shopping mall with competing gift stores (so competitive that most of which will tell you to cap your cameras while browsing their merchandise), a café, a cocktail bar, and a dim sum restaurant.
We then ventured back out into the village’s strong suit: its beautiful surroundings.
As we approached the Marimekko and PENTIK shops, we found both were connected to Santa’s Office, where you can see him for free if you’re willing to wait over an hour. The exit is obviously through a crowded gift shop, which we went to instead.
But wait, that was only Santa’s Office. There’s also Santa’s House, where you can also see another clone of Santa for free with a much shorter wait, probably because people don’t realize you can see him simultaneously at two different locations until you reach this farther part of the village. And yes, that exit is also through another gift shop.
There are more saunas than people, there are more reindeer than people, and there are more gift shops than people here in Santa Claus Village.
Around here you can also take photos among the columns marking the Arctic Circle border as the Arctic Circle line runs right through the central square, or at least the line marking where it was in 1865. The actual Arctic Circle has since drifted about 700 meters north, putting it just south of Rovaniemi Airport. But who’s counting.
My fellow bboy Sampson and I renewed a time-honored tradition: the Arctic Circle just got served!
Then some of us wanted to ship some postcards from Santa’s Post Office, which was packed, for another and different kind of gift shop if you think about it.
I really enjoyed seeing the number of letters separated by country that get shipped here; Santa’s Post Office receives over half a million letters a year from children around the world. Seeing that display then made me feel guilty about being so judgmental of the whole pageantry of this well-made tourist attraction/trap/wonderland. I did genuinely appreciate places like these for the hope they provide for young children before any disillusionment sets in. Don’t let me ruin your holidays!
Mel and I then tried to visit Mrs. Santa Claus’ Christmas Cottage, but it was closed on Sundays. I guess she’s the one who goes to church in the family. On brand.
Right outside, folks were warming themselves by a pit fire and paying to take their kids on a real reindeer ride.
Reindeer Excursion
Mel and I had our own reindeer excursion booked, so we grabbed food quickly at probably the fastest place to eat in Santa Claus Village, sadly the dim sum spot, and hurried over for our 1pm appointment at Arctic Circle Snowmobile Park.
We waited 15 minutes before more people joined, and then the 60+ of us were corralled to a nearby parking lot where a charter bus was waiting. The bus took us to Rovaniemi city center to pick up more people, where a small scuffle among some tourists speaking different languages broke out in the back over seats. The spillover folks were directed into a conveniently provided van across the street. We then all arrived at the reindeer park about an hour after the appointment time.
They divided the 60 of us into 2 groups, and each group of 30 was split into 3 groups of 5 pairs. Two by two, we climbed into sleighs for a 5-minute reindeer ride loop around the farm.
Our guide offered to take photos for us and our reindeer:
After our ride, we let the next 2 groups of 10 get on while we were given palmfuls of moss-looking reindeer food from a bag. The untethered reindeer came right up to eat from our palms, and we got to frolic amongst them. They can get picky about which moss they want to eat.
After the 2 other subgroups did their sled rides, we warmed up by the outdoor fire pit and then headed into the large main cabin for complimentary gingersnap cookies and warm berry juice. There the farm staff gave us a presentation on basic reindeer facts, their natural predators, and let us hold antlers that had naturally shed as the reindeer aged.
Although our booking said we’d be done and back at the village by 3pm, it was now 3:15pm with no charter bus in sight. Most of the group had wandered to the other parts of the farm to take photos.
Antsy to change and make a 4:30pm wedding ceremony in time, we hailed an Uber and let our guide know not to wait for us. Thankfully an Uber arrived within minutes and we got back to the village by 3:30pm and hurried over to where everyone else in our group was waiting by our car. We then drove as quickly as we could back to our Airbnb to change.
A Wedding on Ice
Transforming ourselves in 10 minutes into our thermal-powered dresses and suits, we drove the convenient 4-minute drive back to the Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos complex.
It had only been a day since we were here, but it was good to be back… and just in time to catch a beautiful Arctic sunset.
We rushed into the Ice Chapel just minutes before the ceremony started. Congratulations Keseena and Dominic!
Fun Fact: after 2 years of trying, they had just gotten me to book Tomorrowland tickets for them later this summer!
After a 10-minute ceremony in -8°C conditions, we headed outside with our sparklers, took a video as the couple climbed into their reindeer chariot in even colder -18°C conditions, and ran into the Sky Bar to warm up.
We got to know the rest of the wedding party before being asked to head to the Ice Bar for some shots and a group photo.
After that, back to the Sky Bar to warm up again and meet more friends of friends. Then by 7pm we were asked to begin our dinner in the Ice Restaurant.
Loved the roasted elk:
And their desserts are served on a frozen snowflake. I then realized everything — the table, the dishes, the walls, the restaurant itself — but the food, glassware and utensils was made out of ice. And yes, we dined for an hour in -8°C.
To prove this, our water in our drinking glasses began forming pretty snowflake designs by the end of dinner:
After dinner we returned to the Sky Bar and waited for the hotel to set up Kota Restaurant for the wedding after-party.
They provided some fun activities including a Polaroid camera, wigs and masks, and old-school fountain pens with parchment paper to write cards with.
Congratulations to the couple!
After watching their speeches and a little bit of dancing, we headed back home at 11pm to use the hot tub. It was so cold outside that the hot tub that was supposed to be 40°C was 29°C the entire time. Even the sauna struggled.
- At time of posting in Rovaniemi, it was -16 °C - Humidity: 87% | Wind Speed: 1km/hr | Cloud Cover: cloudy and ICE COLD
