One of my favourite things about Christmas is creating a bit of magic for the small boy. Having had a childhood filled with real magic, it’s only fair I pass some of that sparkle onto the next generation. Over the weekend the most magical Christmassy thing happened to us and the pure wonder on my son’s face is something I will hold in my heart forever. We visited LaplandUK and had the full Lapland experience! 

A few weeks before our visit I filled out an online form to give Father Christmas some extra information about Ben, then a personalised letter arrived for him which I put away for us to read the day before our visit.

On Saturday morning, our elf on a shelf Elfie brought a letter from Father Christmas. Apparently too many children had made it on the good list this year and the elves needed an extra pair of hands. Ben needed to go to Lapland to help out. We live in Manchester and LaplandUK is in Whitmoor Forest in Ascot, so we drove down the day before and stayed nearby in Bracknell.

We arrived at LaplandUK and we made our way to through a beautiful pine forest to the warmth of the welcome cabin. We checked in, the boy was given his Elf Passport and we were whisked off on a tour of the Enchanted Forest. We met a whole host of helpful elves, starting with the Elf Travelmaster who greeted us. On into the forest to meet Sage and Eeko, and through the magical doors to the toy workshop to help the elves make some toys.

The workshop was really beautifully decorated, if you look up and there’s a conveyor belt of toys doing circuits on the ceiling and three lively and cheeky elves busily keeping the production line going. Ben helped make two toys – a reindeer cuddly toy and a wooden teddy bear. He loved building the bear, and we slightly regret not asking Father Christmas for one this year. 

After half an hour or so of helping the elves out, we wandered some more through the snowy forest to Mother Christmas’s House to see what she had in her oven. She’d been baking gingerbread and gave everyone a gingerbread man to decorate with runny icing and sweets. It was sticky fun, but that’s the best kind of fun.

Once Mother Christmas’s kitchen was clean and tidy, she read us a lovely Christmas story and we headed back out into the snowy woods to explore the Elf Village.

You get around two hours to spend in the Elf Village, exploring and having fun. By the time we got there it was dark and the village was beautifully lit up with lights. At the heart of the village is an ice rink with a huge and beautiful Christmas tree in the centre. The village also has a small cafe, the Elf Post Office, the Elf Emporium, a large cafeteria style restaurant and a handful of little stalls selling mulled wine and bratwurst sausages.

There’s plenty to keep you occupied in the Elf Village. I’m not allowed to ice skate and my husband had hurt his leg, so none of us were able to get on the rink, but we enjoyed watching everyone whizz by. Little ones could skate with a sturdy penguin figure to keep them upright, and there were a few elf helpers skating about to help anyone who struggled. 

The Elf Emporium was a huge and glorious gift shop. I spent quite a lot of time in there browsing and picking up a few things for home. I really liked the the restaurant, it had a lovely festive woodland feel and the food was very good. We didn’t have much to eat, just a quick snack really, but they had an interesting selection of hearty winter dishes to choose from at what I thought were reasonable prices.

The little cafe on the other side of the ice rink was the place to go for a quick snack or coffee and cake. We paid a visit to the Elf Post Office and we wrote a postcard to send home and I had a hot mulled cider to keep the chill off. Whilst we were in the village, elves and huskies wandered about talking to visitors, making sure everyone was happy and entertained. 

At the appointed hour, we queued up and we were shown through the forest, past the reindeer and the sleigh, up to a cosy cabin in the woods where an elf told us all about the journey Father Christmas makes each Christmas Eve. After a few minutes our name was called and an elf walked us through the Enchanted Forest to see Father Christmas.

His cabin was cosy. He sat in his chair and invited Ben to sit next to him. They chatted a while about Ben’s recent birthday party in the woods, about how he’s getting on in Beavers and about what he’d like for Christmas. Father Christmas thanked him for his hard work making toys and gave him a cuddly husky and a book to take home. We had our photographs taken, said our goodbyes and left the cabin in the woods with the promise to leave carrots, gingerbread and a drop of something warming by the fire on Christmas Eve.

It was beyond a shadow of doubt the best Father Christmas experience we’ve ever had. He was incredibly realistic and so believable I got festive goosebumps and a little tear in my eye. If it’s good enough for Elton John, the Beckhams and Strictly Come Dancing, it’s good enough for us!

It was magic. It was the real Father Christmas. It was a fantastic memory our family will treasure forever. Ben has done nothing but talk about his visit to LaplandUK since we got home. It’s filled him full of Christmas spirit and excitement. It was pure undiluted Christmas magic and wonder. We loved it. 

For more information about LaplandUK and to book tickets, visit their website.

We were invited guests of LaplandUK. All images and opinions are our own.