16 January 2025

We wandered into the ‘village’ with a visit to Santa’s Post Office, visiting some shops that were honestly like walking into Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post from frozen (Yoo Hoo, big summer blow out!) and pulling kids around various little hills to sled down. After a pit stop at the local pub for a pint and some hot chocolates, with its log fire and authentic Finnish feel, we crashed and had to have an afternoon powernap before tea and a marathon session on the toboggan hill that’s about a 3 minute walk from the hotel. It’s a great spot, the kids LOVED it and it’s free. Watch out for the bumps towards the bottom of the hill as there was a few bruised coccyxes the next day. Great fun! Towards the end of our adventure day, we started to get new snow and because of the temperature, it was lying straightaway. I’m not sure how many times I bored everyone by telling them how much I loved the crunch sound of fresh snow but it was least 15 times. The night finished in the pub again. Day three was the main event and the reason we were all here. A day at Santa’s Lapland! I could write another hundred paragraphs about how magical and brilliant it was but I’d still not do it justice. It’s located about 25 minutes away on the coach (your departure time is on the hotel noticeboard so make sure you check the night before) and is in the middle of nowhere. From the moment you walk in, the staff are amazing and make sure they’re on hand to be able to help you navigate your map, as you make your way around at your own pace, with the kids filling in activity passports along the way whenever they’d completed an activity. I don’t want to go into too much detail and spoil it for you, but you do all kinds; igloos, elf interactions, snow hockey, magical sleigh rides, reindeer sleigh rides, husky rides, tobogganing and more. There are warming stations where you can escape the cold and sit round a fire whilst enjoying a hot berry juice or tea (for free) and there is also free hot berry juice and pancakes in a couple of kotas (teepee things). The restaurant serves complimentary spaghetti bolognaise and bread that helps tide you over until the festive feast on the night of your search for Santa day. The only thing that you’re given a specific time for is your Husky ride and because of availability, you need to be on time or you’re likely to miss out. Time goes so quickly but you don’t feel rushed. Numbers are very well managed and the queues are a couple of minutes long, if that. However, the Magical Sleigh Ride can have a bit more of a wait and they’ve positioned a few things near to the queue so one adult can hold the place in line and the others can keep themselves busy. When you’ve been on this experience and consider what Santa’s Lapland provide, the attention to detail and how much it costs to run everything it makes the price of the holiday, which is by no means cheap, justified and very good value. Almost a bargain. The outlay to run all of this and then having such a short window to profit on Santa related demand makes the initial ‘HOW MUCH!?’ thoughts disappear very quickly. I’d pay it again tomorrow to experience it all again. I mentioned the festive feast earlier and it’s a nice way to bring things to a close. Stick your fanciest Christmas clothes on and go to the upstairs function room for a more fancy, Christmas-related buffet, and some entertainment for the littler ones. You can leave whenever you like and it looked like the ankle-biters in other families had an absolute blast. We left after dessert for some late night tobogganing on the slopes but all of the fresh snow, now almost waist deep in places, made it a bit slower than the previous night, but so much more beautiful. So we ended up back in Giitu until closing again. You can take the family out of Boldon…. The next day we had the morning to ourselves, so after breakfast the kids grabbed their sledges and we had ourselves some last minute snowball fights and snowman building, before the coach picked us up to go back to the airport at around dinnertime. There’s not too much to keep yourself entertained once there. Ivalo is small, with a handful of gates, and it was the Saturday before Christmas so check in, security and passport control took a while. That’s just part of travel and not something you have any say over, but it might be a good idea to have things that’ll keep youngsters entertained. We all ate and got some snacks for the plane. On the flight home there are no games and singsongs as people are tired and not exactly jolly that their once in a lifetime holiday is over. It’s only 3 hours from Newcastle so a relatively short flight. A couple of final tips that we found useful are to put your mobile phone in a sock before putting it in your pocket, or put it in a pocket along with a hand warmer. On our really cold days we found the lag and phone/camera performance wasn’t great as they were like blocks of ice. After learning the sock trick things picked up! I’d also suggest gloves that have the finger section that works with your phone as your fingers can get really cold when you take your gloves off even for a minute or two. And on that note, be prepared for your photos and videos to not do the trip justice. It’s mind-blowingly beautiful and hard to capture. We bought far too much gear thinking we’d be freezing but there’s not much standing around and the cold it’s much more manageable and enjoyable than you think. Layer up and you’ll be fine. I think I was sweating and hot more than I was cold! Whenever you go inside though, try and remove as many layers as you can. The kids (and some adults) will dive around in the snow and get it in their hats, down their gloves, in their shoes you name it and once you’re wet, you stay wet. Or the wet freezes. Take a few spares with you and remember once you get back to the room lay everything out to dry, use the drying cupboard or hairdryer to get things ready for your next adventure. Embrace everything, and just got for it. You’ll have the time of your life.

16 January 2025

We have just had a Christmas like no other, as my family and I spent a magical festive build up in Lapland! There are a few variations of the Santa’s Lapland trip and we experienced the 3 night Santa’s Magic package, flying from Newcastle. They offer both shorter and longer versions, running from various airports across the UK on different dates across the festive period, and also a fancier version of the trip called Santa’s Aurora. The excitement starts the second you book, and communication before you travel is very good. You receive various packs through the post that explain how things work and offer plenty of ideas around how to tell the kids that you’re off to see Santa as well as a special list for the little ones to complete. It is explained that this is called your Magic Ticket and it is very important that you remember to take it with you! Santa’s Lapland charter planes from both Titan Airways and Jet2, and we were lucky enough to be on the branded Titan Airways plane that helps build the excitement when you board. There are games for all the passengers to play, songs for the kids, jokes and a really good crew all decked out in their Christmas gear to help to get the party started! We flew to Ivalo in Northern Finland which is only a 25-minute coach transfer to Saarislelka, where we were based. Stepping off the plane is a bit of a shock to the system (it was -30 on the day we arrived), but it’s a small airport and you’re soon in the arrivals haul and at the mercy of some very mischievous elves that get the kids worked up into a Christmas Frenzy. Utter carnage. On the coach, you get a lot of info about your itinerary and how the next few days will work, sing a few more Christmas tunes, drive past a Reindeer Farm and take in the amazing views with snow everywhere. (Weather can’t be guaranteed, but Santa’s Lapland have a solid No Snow policy – if there’s not enough of the white stuff to do your activities they’ll tell you before you go and you can move dates or potentially cancel for a refund). There’s a small element of ‘faff’ when you arrive, as with most holidays to be fair, as you need to get checked in, but here you have the added activity of collecting your thermal gear (we were given boots, socks, gloves and suits), but you’re well signposted and the hotels do a great job of getting rooms ready as soon as possible. The staff in the Lapland Safari’s shop which was attached to the Hotel Riekonlinna, where we were staying, do quite a good job of guesstimating your suit size just by looking at you, to help the lines move quickly - although I had to swap mine for a more slim fit option as the one I was given looked like one of those blow up Sumo suits… Something that made the wife and kids nearly wet themselves laughing! I’d recommend putting a few snacks in your bag to keep you going as given the flight times and the restaurant serving from 5pm, there’s a chance you might have some hungry tummies before you get your first meal. Whilst on the subject of food, the buffet in the restaurant is spot on. There’s enough variety for a 3 night stay and it’s good quality with options for the fusspots in your group. Saariselka has a few accommodation options and they’re all within walking distance of each other, from what we could tell. You feel remote and it’s not busy but at the same time you aren’t isolated or lonely. There’s just the right amount to create a good atmosphere whilst remaining subtly magical and authentic. The Riekonlinna is a brilliant base for your trip, in a good location, is clean and perfect for a short visit. It’s not 5-star luxury but the bed and pillow were very comfortable and I wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again. For what will be an unusual trip for most people with the weather etc and with so much going on, the company do a great job of having staff at every corner that would point you in the right direction but without feeling like you’re being pushed along or watched. They’re there as much or as little as you need them and they’re all wearing the branded uniforms making them really easy to find. You can tell they’ve been doing this for years as it runs so smoothly. Once you’re fed, suited and booted, the rest of the day is yours to do as you like. We opted to head off in no particular direction and just see what we found. There are signposts and walking trails you can follow and plenty of hills if you fancy a toboggan. The resort has sledges lying around everywhere so you can head out and pick one up and use it until you’re sledged out then leave it for somebody else. I enjoyed these few hours so much. Laughing and carrying on with kids, diving about in snow up to my thighs and just experiencing something so different in a permanent disbelief of where I was. Our first day was very cold but a few layers and the thermal suits do a great job. The feeling of the inside of your nose freezing with every inhale was very strange at first! It was a relatively clear night and during one of our snow fights, we looked up and caught the Northern Lights. I say we looked up, I was dangling one of the kids upside down and he asked, “Wait, wow, is that the Northern Lights?” I thought he was trying to make up an excuse to avoid a dunking in the snow, but it turns out he was telling the truth. Breathtaking. There’s a bar next to the hotel called Giitu which had board games and Uno that the kids loved playing whilst we had a few beers and a bit more food. These trips are on a half board basis and you burn a lot of energy so you’ll need to pay to refuel on top of what’s given. If you like a pint or two then be prepared to pay 9 or 10 euros per pint but it’s Christmas so you’re allowed to fill your boots. Day two was our adventure day. This is a day where you can do as you please. Breakfast was between 7am and 10am, and after that we put our snow suits on again and headed out to see what else we could find. It’s very hard to judge what time it is when you visit at this time of year because there’s barely any sunlight. It feels like it’s just different shades of dark! Santa’s Lapland do try and sell extra excursions and activities for you to do on the adventure day, and there is all kinds available, things like Husky Rides, Reindeer sleigh rides, snowmobiling. The price tag is quite hefty & I’m as tight as cramp so we decided to just explore and entertain ourselves. Our mates went snowmobiling & had a brilliant time.

28 November 2024

How do you cram 6 months of leaving full-time employment & a steady wage, starting your own business, having to find clients from scratch, learn new systems, follow an intense training & induction program, successes & failures all into one blog post without it being so long that none of you can be bothered to read it? We’re about to find out! Without wanting to sound like a winner at every awards ceremony ever held, I’d like to start by thanking you all. My business succeeds or fails based on all of you. No pressure! Liking a post on Facebook, sharing, telling a mate, referrals, clicking on an image, whatever it is, it all mounts up. Social media companies respond to posts that get interaction so it may seem insignificant to you, but that one ‘like’ could show it to another 10 accounts & it can snowball from there. Personal referrals are absolutely massive in the human buying psyche as well. If anybody ever so much as hints at looking for a holiday then please keep name dropping me. Half of all the experiences I’ve booked since starting out have been from referrals so you’re doing a great job already. To set the scene – Travel Counsellors (TCs) are self-employed & it’s a franchise model. For people new to travel, there’s a not so insignificant buy-in, but you get the support of a business that is celebrating it’s 30th year & over £1bn in annual sales across 2000+ TCs in 6 different countries. So, for those of you that are still wary that I’m a dodgy old chancer that’s going to take your money & do a runner then rest assured, it couldn’t be further from the truth. That does present the first main challenge. I don’t receive any commission until you’ve been on your holiday. Funds are held in trust that myself & Travel Counsellors HQ can’t access until we’ve supplied what we promised. In reality, that means I left a wage, had to buy-in to the franchise, book holidays & then wait weeks/months/years to see a return. As the years progress, this becomes less & less of a thing as you have the historic booking kicking in but for now, it means I’m even tighter than usual! And although it’s a challenge, I do count my blessings that I’m in a position to follow my dream with all the support of my family. It was quite humbling this week when I read that less than 20% of the world’s population can even afford a holiday. What I’ve found the most difficult so far is getting people to understand what I do & how it works. In the first few weeks I should have been a lot more clear & concise. Travel Counsellors can do just about anything. I have access to more suppliers than I’ll ever be able to remember but in my excitement I think I gave a confused & mixed message. “Do you only do fancy holidays?” Although I’d argue all holidays are fancy & what you do & enjoy should not be judged against others, it’s a question I had A LOT. But the reality is that I will suggest whatever it is that works best for you. If that’s a week all-inclusive, a 3-night riverboat cruise, a multi-continental month long bucket list trip, it doesn’t matter. Horses for courses. The kicker is that if you’re after the cheapest of the cheap then I won’t be able to compete. I may not even try, but please don’t take that to heart. Some places offer no service but low cost & I’ve booked with them before & for some that’s the best option. It’s just not what I can or want to compete with. I have to factor in my time, service, advice, knowledge, being on the end of the phone whenever you need me, sorting everything for you when (as happens in travel) things go wrong. You can’t provide all of that & be as cheap as something that’s ‘just a website’. In a world where technology & AI is taking over, not quite like in Terminator yet, I offer something that’s a bit more old-school & personable. This leads on to something I think you could call a bit of a business identity crisis that I’ve been battling with. HQ really encourage you to be your own person, be your own business, do things your way & run your own race. Which I think is great, but has caused a bit head scratching about how to be on social media. I’m sure you all know that our data is harvested on an industrial scale & you just have to think about going to the toilet before an advert for loo roll pops up on your feed. So, you can all imagine what mine looks like with travel profiles & posts &, for the most part, they all look the same. That’s fine for them & that works for them & those businesses. It’s the ‘Great Deal’ posts, the ones that follow the same format, have the plane, hotel, palm tree & sun emojis. I posted loads of those to start with but they never felt like they were ‘me’. I mean, I’ll still do the odd one when I think it’s something particularly worth promoting, but I’ve decided to go down a different path & try to be more laid back, more conversational, more human & more educational. It’s really hard to tell if it’s working as well because social media algorithms are a massive PITA! You’ll put something together one week & it’ll take off, you’ll do something similar a few weeks later & it’ll tank. That battle is probably a full blog post on its own. Overall, things are going brilliantly & far better than I’d planned. The business has just about hit its year 1 projections in just 6 months & all the other KPIs are heading in the right direction. Most importantly, I love putting things together for people if it’s a bespoke offering, or finding the right package etc. It’s a buzz that’s equal parts pride, excitement & fulfilment. If I can, in some small way, contribute towards all of you having the best experiences, get you places where you’ll create memories that will last a lifetime & form core memories for your kids, then that’s good enough for me. It feels almost altruistic & I’m so confident in the process & how I work that it isn’t by chance that feedback has been universally brilliant. It takes time, it takes a phone call or messages back & forth to understand you & your travel partners & what makes you all tick. It also breeds insane jealousy & FOMO as I wish I could go on all of the things I book for you! The next few months see the arrival of the peak booking period, so if you’ve made it this far, thank you, & I have one final request. Whenever a potential trip idea pops up, for you or a friend or family member - please consider getting in touch. Worst case, it costs you nowt. Cheers Phil