Independent on Sunday

23 December 2007

Let's visit Santa. Shall we go to Lapland or Kent

We were visiting Lapland UK, a new seasonal attraction in Bedgebury Forest, Kent. The idea came from ex-City trader Mike Battle and his wife Alison; their aim is to re-create a flavour of the authentic Lapland Christmas experience. Visits take about three hours, with an average of 300 visitors passing through the three-acre venue at any one time, and activities are timetabled so that everyone gets a chance of some Christmassy fun.

We took our "flight" in the transporter – an inflatable dome with uniformed cabin crew – 10 minutes later arriving in a landscape of firs and fairy-lit log cabins, the snow gently falling. I thought it quite magical.

We got the important stuff out of the way first, making a beeline for Father Christmas's Post Office, where Calum sent a letter to Santa.

We hurried on to our appointment in the Toy Factory, where Calum earned a certificate for helping the elves to assemble wooden puzzles, before joining his sister for a half-hour with Mrs Claus decorating gingerbread men and listening to a story.

Next, we peeped into the Saami kotas (tepees), where some elves were inviting kids to join in with Christmas classics such as "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer". Then we went to see the husky dogs – another twosome. I looked around for the sleighs. But there are no fake rides here; this was never meant to be a theme park.

Our audience with Santa – the climax of our visit – was upon us. So far, the timings had been just right. The kids' excitement mounted, but there was some kind of delay – Santa was lavishing too much attention on each family.

At last, Calum was able to persuade the main man that his good behaviour all year had earned a Nintendo DS Lite. We posed for a photo and said our goodbyes, my son clutching his gifts of a wooden puzzle and book. "Mum, that was definitely the real Santa because he was wearing furry boots." There's nothing like true happiness on your child's face to warm freezing toes.

Then, of course, there's the fact that Lapland UK offers a green alternative to a three-hour plane journey to the Arctic Circle. A family of four travelling to Lapland on one of the popular day trips will leave a carbon footprint of two tons. Keep on like that and there won't be any snow left up there.

Written by Simone Kane