A Truly Magical Experience at Lapland UK
I may never be able to top the day that we have just had at Lapland UK as it was the most incredible Christmas day out that I have ever experienced. From the moment that we arrived up until the moment that we left it was absolutely magical. The children were mesmerised and in awe of what they saw and were a part of.
The magic actually begins as soon as you buy your tickets to Lapland UK as you fill in your children's details and are then sent personalised invitations for them to join Father Christmas in Lapland to help make some toys. You are encouraged to present your children with them in a special way, so we placed them by the fireplace for the kids to discover when they woke up one morning. They were so excited from the moment that they got the letters and were counting down all week until the day of our visit to Lapland.
Arriving at Lapland UK
We arrived at Lapland UK and walked through the trees to the entrance where we checked in. Immediately you are transported into a different world, there's a smaller door for children to walk through and the room is filled with fairy lights and branches. At the check in desk the elves are ready with their quills and books (which cleverly hide computer screens inside) to go over your details and to put you into either the reindeer or husky group to go on your tour with and to confirm the time of your tour and the time slot that you will get to meet Father Christmas.
Once checked in there are tables to sit and wait for your tour to begin. There is also a Woodland Cafe here in which you can buy drinks and snacks before your tour begins. The children were each given an elf passport when we checked in, so we sat and looked through them and talked about the fun that we would be having at each of the stops on our tour. The elf passport is really sweet, it has space for stamps at each station that you go to and includes a little rhyme and song for the children to learn.
When it was time for our journey to begin we were called forward to the reindeer gate (as that's the group that we were in) and an elf introduced us to the wonders of Lapland. We then went through to a sort of theatre, again it was completely beautiful and filled with twinkling lights and a woodland setting. Here we met two more elves who told us all about the origin of elves and the jobs that we would be helping with that day.
Once they had finished and the doors magically opened we were again in awe of the snowy world outside. They have just done such an incredible job to give a real wow factor when those doors open up to reveal the snowy path to the toy factory and they have thought of every little detail.
Making Toys
Once inside the toy factory we met yet another group of elves who explained that they needed our help to make some toys. The children were mesmerised by the toys whizzing round on the ceiling and the other sights and sounds of the toy factory.
They each sat at a bench, with parents sitting on chairs behind them and were presented with a basket full of the pieces needed to make a soft toy reindeer. They needed to put the pieces all in the right places and then bring their finished reindeer toy up to the wrapping window. They then repeated this process with a wooden teddy bear toy as well. I loved how seriously the children took this task and how they really worked hard to get the toys made well. An elf then came around to stamp their elf passport and to give them a special sticker for helping them.
Decorating Gingerbread Men
The next stop on our tour was Mother Christmas' kitchen. This room was set up a bit differently, and the children first had to sit along the benches to meet Mother Christmas and the elves that work in the kitchen. They explained that they made all of the gingerbread houses and that the children would each get to decorate their own gingerbread cookie to take home.
The children then went to their own little spot along a table and put on their aprons and hats. They each had their own gingerbread cookie, a pot of icing, a paintbrush to spread it on and a pot of sweets to decorate with. They worked so happily creating their lovely little gingerbread (with only a little bit of snacking on the sweets) then placed their gingerbread men into the little bags to eat later on. They received their second stamp in their elf passports here. Then they returned to the benches to sit and listen to a story read to them by Mother Christmas.
The Elf Village
Once this was complete we were free to explore the Elf Village for an hour and a half before our time slot to visit Father Christmas. There are so many things to see and do in the Elf Village, we could definitely have stayed a lot longer. We walked around first to see everything, and even met a few huskies. We sat and had hot chocolates in the cafe and the children ate the gingerbread men that they had decorated.
Then we were straight onto the ice rink, the kids couldn't wait to get out there. Neither of them had ice skated before, but were so excited to give it a try. We all put on our skates (the children wear adjustable blades that go on over their shoes) and went out to the rink. They have plenty of helpful penguins for the children to hold onto for support whilst they skate, which was really nice. There are also a few skater elves around who were always so quick to offer a hand to any little skaters who fell down, which was really lovely. The kids could have stayed skating for ages, they loved it so much. And the sun was setting at this point it looked absolutely beautiful with the tree lit up in the middle of the rink and all of the fairy light on the surrounding trees.
We eventually convinced the children that it was time to get off the ice and explore a bit more, so we had a little peek in the adorable shops in the Elf Village. They are full of the most wonderful Christmas decorations and sweet old fashioned toys and they are decorated beautifully. Again I could have spent a lot more time inside, but the children wanted to see more!
We popped into the post office where the children wrote their letters to Father Christmas and received a special seal for their letters. They then posted them off and got another stamp for their elf passports.
Meeting Father Christmas at Lapland UK
Then it was already time for us to head up to meet Father Christmas. We stood in a short queue then went on a little walk through the woods to find his house. I was pleasantly surprised that there were yet more things to see, as the reindeer live up in the woods and there's another little shop that you pass as well. The kids were too excited to stop for long and we headed even further into the woods.
The walk is absolutely beautiful and there are plenty of snowy spots to stop and take some special photos...if you can get the kids to slow down long enough for them! Or you end up with lots of beautiful blurry photos like I have, ha ha.
Then you arrive at yet another cute little cottage where you check in with the elves and wait a few minutes to be called in to see Father Christmas. Then when it's your turn another elf comes to lead you through the woods yet again, up to Father Christmas' house. Once you are welcomed inside you find yet another magical room and the children sit beside Father Christmas to have a nice long chat. Of course he magically knows (because of all of those special details about your children's interests and achievements that you entered online) that your children are on the nice list and shows them their names in the book. He also mentions how well they're doing, and because Ethan is doing so well with his reading Father Christmas gave him a special book about Lapland to read at home. They were each also given a really lovely husky soft toy to remember their special day at Lapland.
We said goodbye to Father Christmas and headed down a different path through the woods to find the elves who would let us see the photos that we had taken with Father Christmas. One photo print is included in your ticket and you are given the option to purchase more photos in a scrapbook if you would like. Then through to one final shop for any last minute purchases and back into the Enchanted Forest and the car park.
The children could not stop talking about all of the fun they had and how incredible Lapland was. They are so excited for Christmas now and they really feel like a part of the magic. It was such a wonderful day out and we would highly recommend spending the day at Lapland UK if you can.
Take a peek at some of our other Christmas crafts, games and activities!
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* This is a review post, we were given tickets to visit Lapland UK for the day, all opinions are our own.
