‘I flew to Lapland for 4 hours to fulfill Santa, it wasn’t low-cost nevertheless it was value it’
A single mum whisked her family off to Lapland for a mere four hours – just to enjoy sledging, husky rides and meet Father Christmas.
Donna Rudd, 46, had always dreamt of visiting Lapland, Finland, and finally booked the trip before her youngest, Leo stopped believing in Santa. The mother-of-four surprised Leo with the trip the night before they jetted off from Bristol Airport at 7am, accompanied by Donna’s sister, Diane Braithwaite, 59.
They touched down at Kittilä International Airport around 11am and reached Lapland by approximately 1.30pm. Donna crammed in all the activities from sledging, snowball fights, husky and reindeer rides to meeting Santa, describing it as “magical”.
After spending just four-and-a-half hours there, they hopped back on a bus at 6pm and caught a flight home at 8pm.
The all-inclusive TUI trip set them back £600 per person, but Donna insists it was “worth it”. Donna, a waitress from Minehead, Somerset, said: “It was a lot of fun.
“It’s such a pretty place. It’s magical.
“I don’t know how we fitted it all in.”
Donna sprung the surprise on Leo, then 11, after picking up Diane, a school worker, from Bristol Airport. She said: “I bought him a puzzle and told him Father Christmas would help him with it in the North Pole.”
The trio spent the night in a hotel before flying out at 7am on December 3, 2022. Donna recalled: “It was so nice on the airplane. We sang songs.
“The atmosphere was so good. Everyone was wearing Christmas jumpers.”
The family was whisked away to Lapland by coach after landing at the airport, arriving around 1.30pm. They immediately dived into activities to maximise their short time there.
Donna shared: “We packed in a lot of stuff.
“We went sledging, had snow ball fights.
“We did husky and reindeer rides.
“I went on a snowmobile – it had always been a dream of mine.”
Donna cleverly handed over a letter of Leo’s wishes to the elves for Father Christmas before he met him. She recalled: “Father Christmas mentioned his name. He looked at me in shock. He was so happy.”
Donna even managed to squeeze in some souvenir shopping before they hopped back on the coach to the airport.
The family touched down around 11pm before heading back to Minehead, Somerset. She admitted: “It’s not cheap for a day. It was so worth it.”
“I’d even go back as an adult without kids.”
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