# Are you going to see santa in Lapland



## dodo (8 Nov 2007)

Information that might help.  My wife is going to see Santa with the 3 children at the start od December.She is flying into Tampere airport in Finland with ryanair on 1 cent flights.She will then take a train right up to Rovaniemi which is 8KM from where Santa lives,over night train takes around 7 hours which have sleeping cabin for around 30 euro, daytrain around 10 hours. Her train ticket will be 120E return  and due to having 2 children under 6 it will be free, and our child who is over 6 travels for free as she is travelling with a paying adult. To see Santa costs wife 25E and children 20E each. 
Also Tampere is worth a visit if you have the time. 
The whole package will cost less 300E,


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## ClubMan (8 Nov 2007)

dodo said:


> where Santan lives


[broken link removed]? 

[broken link removed]


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## ubiquitous (8 Nov 2007)

As a parent of young kids, I have to laugh at this Lapland lark. What's wrong with going to see Santa in the local community centre or shopping centre? Anyone who unnecessarily drags their kids onto Ryanair flights and 10-hour train journeys in the depths of winter should be looked into by Social Services.


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## DrMoriarty (8 Nov 2007)

Ah, I dunno, travelling by public transport from somewhere like Lucan or Naas in and out to Stephen's Green shopping centre probably isn't much quicker or cheaper.

I just tell mine he's not coming this year.


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## ClubMan (8 Nov 2007)

dodo said:


> To see Santa costs wife 25E


Bless her innocence...


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## Yoltan (8 Nov 2007)

ubiquitous said:


> As a parent of young kids, I have to laugh at this Lapland lark. What's wrong with going to see Santa in the local community centre or shopping centre? Anyone who unnecessarily drags their kids onto Ryanair flights and 10-hour train journeys in the depths of winter should be looked into by Social Services.


 
Ask your kids which they'd prefer. Going to see Santa in The Square/Liffey Valley? Or go see him in Lapland?


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## ubiquitous (8 Nov 2007)

Yoltan said:


> Ask your kids which they'd prefer. Going to see Santa in The Square/Liffey Valley? Or go see him in Lapland?



Or put it another way

Travelling 2 hours to airport, 2 hours at checkin/security/boarding, 2+ hours on plane, 7-10 hours on train = total of 13-16 hours travelling to see Santa in Lapland

or 

Travelling 10/20 minutes to see Santa in the local hotel/shopping centre respectively?


ps  If parents and kids are hell-bent on travelling such a long distance, imho seeing Santa in NYC would be a much better option for everyone.


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## z105 (8 Nov 2007)

Boring ! Where's your sense of adventure !!?


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## Yoltan (8 Nov 2007)

ubiquitous said:


> ps If parents and kids are hell-bent on travelling such a long distance, imho seeing Santa in NYC would be a much better option for everyone.


 

Have to disagree 100%. Spent Christmas in NY a few years back. Had a great time but Christmas day over there is like any other day. I don't have kids but would definitely go to Lapland if I had. Might go either way!


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## Deirdra (8 Nov 2007)

10/10 Clubman


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## ubiquitous (8 Nov 2007)

Yoltan said:


> Have to disagree 100%. Spent Christmas in NY a few years back. Had a great time but Christmas day over there is like any other day. I don't have kids but would definitely go to Lapland if I had. Might go either way!



Christmas itself is a bit late for going to see Santa anywhere, imho - least of all Christmas Day. I'm sure it would be easy for kids to see Santa in NYC at any stage between now and the week before Christmas.


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## Caveat (8 Nov 2007)

DrMoriarty said:


> I just tell mine he's not coming this year.


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## dodo (8 Nov 2007)

Since the children are half Finnish anyway the cold will not be an issue,warm blooded and all that,Our children are used to travelling long distance as we do it every year from one part of Finland to the next.The train will be a sleeping train that does not mean the train is asleep, For the person who mentioned better going to square than lapland to see Santa, that is just another way of not spending money ,It is only money and I believe it is better spent on children than down the pub, the green eyed monster comes to mind to tell the truth,
When I posted here it was to try and give people a cheaper way of going to see Santa in lapland who will go and see Santa no matter what, as I have got great help from AAM on many things I feel it is only right to give an alternative which is much cheaper than rip of Ireland.
Already I have helped 2 people from work save over 1800E each by advice given here. If someone does not want to take the advice so be it, but keep your jealous rants to yourself.I did say we would be travelling by train to Lapland and not walking, and believe it or not we do have warm clothes.


ubiquitous said:


> As a parent of young kids, I have to laugh at this Lapland lark. What's wrong with going to see Santa in the local community centre or shopping centre? Anyone who unnecessarily drags their kids onto Ryanair flights and 10-hour train journeys in the depths of winter should be looked into by Social Services.


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## TreeTiger (8 Nov 2007)

Well, I was skiing in France last year on 26 December and look who I saw:


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## brodiebabe (8 Nov 2007)

dodo said:


> It is only money and I believe it is better spent on children than down the pub.


 
It might be better put in to savings for the children's college fund.......

Or it might be better given to charity........


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## ClubMan (8 Nov 2007)

dodo said:


> If someone does not want to take the advice so be it, but keep your jealous rants to yourself.


I don't see any jealous rants here myself.


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## nearly40 (8 Nov 2007)

Dodo, 
I think you've posted a really good piece of money saving advice, i would never pay 2 grand plus but 300 sounds like an adventure worth taking. 
thank you!


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## damson (8 Nov 2007)

TreeTiger said:


> Well, I was skiing in France last year on 26 December and look who I saw:


 He's lost quite a bit of weight with all that exercise on the slopes, hasn't he?


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## nearly40 (8 Nov 2007)

1c flights still available, so 80€ inc taxes for 3 adults , 1 child. How do you book the train? Can you put up the link for train station?


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## Silvergirl (8 Nov 2007)

Sounds like a brilliant alternative - give me a sleeper train over a cramped airplane seat anytime - my sisters and their kids did the 1800 a head package - wonderful experience but the 4am flights were a nightmare, especially coming home where they were seated by the loos, with a plane load of tired cranky kids (& parents) sick from 'free' sweeties


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## z105 (8 Nov 2007)

> I don't see any jealous rants here myself.


 
I think dodo was refering to ubiquitous comments   :-



> As a parent of young kids, I have to laugh at this Lapland lark. What's wrong with going to see Santa in the local community centre or shopping centre? Anyone who unnecessarily drags their kids onto Ryanair flights and 10-hour train journeys in the depths of winter should be looked into by Social Services.


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## angela59 (8 Nov 2007)

Hi Dodo,

It's nice that you have a connection with Finland and to bring the kids there - it obviously means a lot to you.  There are other ways that the kids can remember Christmas also - I still have very good memories from when I was a kid e.g. when my brothers put "sleigh marks" on the grass with their bikes and put bits of hay on the shed out the back where the "reindeers" were eating as they were taking off into the sky.  I do things like that for my kids and to see the excitement on the faces and they're talking about it for years - the presents they get are easily forgotten about.  I think the "make believe and magic" is a very special time in their lives - I personally don't agree with people spending thousands of euro on the trip to lapland.


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## dodo (9 Nov 2007)

Link to Finnish Railways below  - You would want to be going from Tampere to Rovaniemi, not sure if you can book seats/beds on the net but there is service number you can ring.

http://www.vr.fi/heo/eng/index.html

p.s. with child over 6 make sure you go for familyticket


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## dodo (9 Nov 2007)

Also Nearly, the Airport is 20mins in a taxi to the train station,also there are buses from the airport to the train staion, 
Regarding the college fund that has started and we do sponsor a child in Africa and have done for some time and if everybody else in the position to do the same then poverty would be a thing of history ,  So I think the saying all work and no play makes Jack a  dull boy . We would never had paid thousands to see Santa but 300Euro sounds like a good and fair price to me.


nearly40 said:


> 1c flights still available, so 80€ inc taxes for 3 adults , 1 child. How do you book the train? Can you put up the link for train station?


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## ubiquitous (9 Nov 2007)

dodo said:


> but keep your jealous rants to yourself.







> Please be civil


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## dodo (9 Nov 2007)

Agreed so please read it,


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## ubiquitous (9 Nov 2007)

The guideline is clear



> Controversy and argument are welcome. But please keep your comments civil. Attack an opinion by all means, but please don't attack the person expressing the opinion. Use of profanities (even those that are self censored - like t**s for example) will result in the post being edited or deleted.


I certainly haven't broken it. I'll leave it to others to decide if you have.


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## Yoltan (9 Nov 2007)

I certainly don't think Dodo has. How about one of your earlier statements?  

_Anyone who unnecessarily drags their kids onto Ryanair flights and 10-hour train journeys in the depths of winter should be looked into by Social Services._ 



I think Dodo's idea is great. Dodo do you fancy bringing a 36 year old overgrown child along???


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## ubiquitous (9 Nov 2007)

Obviously my attempt at irony indicated by the smiley   went over  few people's heads...


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## ClubMan (9 Nov 2007)

I am closing this thread as it is taking up too much moderation time.


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