Meet Santa Claus

Facts checked for the 2026–2027 season against the operators' own pages (Santa Claus Village, Snowman World, SantaPark, VR, Finavia). Hours and prices change by season: the booking page has the final word.

You can meet Santa Claus in person every day of the year in Santa Claus Village, and it costs nothing. The meeting happens in Santa Claus Office, the log building with the clock tower beside the main square, where Santa has received guests from every continent for more than thirty years. A second, usually quieter Santa welcomes visitors in the red Christmas House across the square, also free. There is no reservation system for either: you queue, the elves take you in, and you have a short private moment with him. This page explains how the visit works, how long the queue is at different times, what the photographer elf charges and how the Christmas Express Pass skips the line.

How the visit to Santa Claus Office works

1. Enter through the main door; elves greet you and lead you along a winding route past Santa's library and the Christmas machinery.
2. You wait in line inside. In Christmas week the wait is commonly 45 – 90 minutes; in October or February it is often under ten.
3. Your family or group enters Santa's room alone. He greets you, asks where you are from, chats with the children; a minute or two, unhurried.
4. Own cameras are not used during the meeting: the photographer elf takes photos and a short video.
5. On the way out you can buy the pictures: a digital photo-and-video package or a printed A4 photo. Downloads stay available for 400 days.

Two things you cannot do: bring your own gift for Santa to hand over, or give the elves information in advance. What you can do is order a Surprise Gift from Santa online or from the elves before the meeting; Santa then gives it to the child during the visit.

Opening hours of Santa Claus Office 2026–2027

Period	Hours	Typical queue
24 Aug – 23 Oct 2026	10:00 – 17:00	0 – 10 minutes
24 Oct – 15 Nov	10:00 – 18:00	0 – 15 minutes
16 – 29 Nov	9:00 – 19:00	15 – 40 minutes at weekends
30 Nov 2026 – 3 Jan 2027	8:00 – 20:00	45 – 90 minutes between 11:00 and 16:00; shortest at 8:00 and after 18:00
4 Jan – 31 Mar 2027	9:00 – 18:00	10 – 30 minutes

Christmas House Santa: 9:00 – 19:00 from 19 October, 9:00 – 20:00 from 23 November to 10 January (24 – 25 December 8:00 – 22:00), 9:00 – 19:00 from 11 January to 31 March. When the office queue is long, walk across and check the House first.

Skipping the queue: Christmas Express Pass

For the busy weeks Santa Claus Office sells a Christmas Express Pass: a scheduled time, a dedicated fast-track entrance and a more relaxed meeting without the main queue. It is booked on the office's own website, not on the square, and it is aimed at families with small children or a special occasion. Prices are per group and change by date; it is the only way to «book» Santa in the village itself. Outside the village, several companies offer pre-booked private Santa meetings in the countryside (Santa Claus Cottage at Porovaara Reindeer Hill 20 km away, Apukka Resort, the Arctic Circle Snowmobile Park), usually bundled with a reindeer or snowmobile ride and a meal, from about 90 € per person.

Santa experiences and tours in the village Santa inside SantaPark (ticket)

What to say, and what children ask

Santa speaks Finnish, English, Swedish and German well and manages greetings in a dozen other languages, including French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese; he will ask where you come from and usually knows something about the place. Children most often ask whether the reindeer are outside (they are, at Santa Claus Reindeer and Santa's Pets), how the letters arrive (through the Main Post Office next door, around half a million a year) and whether he remembers them from last year. Adults ask for a photo with the whole group: the elf photographer takes several, including one without the children if you ask.

The rest of Santa's household

• Mrs Santa Claus' Christmas Cottage, inside the Santa Claus Reindeer yard: stories, baking, meeting Mrs Claus; open 10:00 – 17:00 daily from 16 November to 10 January (Monday – Saturday otherwise).
• Elf's Hat Academy: a small «school» where elves teach crafts and elf wisdom to children; short sessions, paid on site.
• Santa Claus' Main Post Office: the official post office where the letters to Santa end up; details on the where Santa lives page.
• Santa's Pets: reindeer, alpacas, sheep, goats, rabbits and a donkey in a rustic yard, 11:00 – 18:00 every day of the year.

Meeting Santa with small children: practical tips

• Come at opening (8:00 in Christmas week) or after 18:00; the middle of the day is the long queue.
• Warm the children up first: the line is indoors but the walk from the car park is not; Café of Mrs. Claus is next door.
• Decide on the photo package before you enter; the elves ask on the way out and the queue behind you is waiting.
• If a child is shy, the Christmas House Santa is in a smaller room with fewer people.
• Santa in SantaPark is a separate Santa with a separate queue (20 – 40 minutes), included in that ticket.

Questions about meeting Santa