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Kids left in tears on £4k holiday from hell Christmas Lapland trip where Santa said ‘I don’t even live here’
Travel company TUI cancelled trips due to lack of snow - but several families had already set off
KIDS were in tears as a Christmas Lapland trip became a holiday from hell — with no snow, a tied-up “angry reindeer” and a Santa who said: “I don’t even live here.”
Families who forked out around £4,000 for a three-day “trip of a lifetime” to Kuusamo, in Finland, arrived to find what they describe as “dangerous” and “disastrous” activities, with some being left without food for over eight hours.
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Unseasonably warm weather and heavy rainfall has seen the snow washed away at resorts in Lapland, leading travel company TUI to cancel trips there on Wednesday.
But before the announcement, hundreds of hopeful families had already embarked on the 1,500-mile journey.
One dad-of-three said his six-year-old girl was dismayed after they travelled from East London to Santa’s home region last Sunday.
Ricky Edwards, 39, who was with his partner and three kids, said: “My little girl met Santa and she was really upset.
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"She turned to me and said, ‘I don’t believe that is the real Santa.’
"When we met him, he said, ‘I don’t even live here. This is my holiday home.’
“Mrs Claus had a mobile phone visible in her pocket.
“We understand there is no snow, that can’t be helped, but there wasn’t even enough to eat!”
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The TUI trip’s itinerary ended with a “traditional Christmas dinner”.
But a coach-load of families were turned away from the banquet hall because there was not enough food — and others bemoaned the quality of what was served up.
Tour of Lapland
Contacts manager Ricky added: “We got turned away and were left in minus eight degrees to get a coach back to the hotel. At least ten of the kids were in tears.
“Then I saw a picture of what they served up at the festive feast and I think we were best not to get in. It was a joke.”
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Natasha and Scott Walden, 36, from Northampton, said they were left fearing for their safety when they and their two children were taken on a sleigh ride on a lake that was “melting”.
Natasha said: “We had to stay right on the edge of the lake. I was genuinely terrified. I could see cracks all over the lake.”
She added: “There was a reindeer tied by a rope to a tree and we were told he was an angry reindeer and we couldn’t touch him.”
TUI said last night: “Our teams closely monitor the weather forecast, and despite snow being predicted over these travel dates, sadly this did not happen.”
The company added: “Our teams will be in direct contact with all customers who travelled on this departure to discuss their concerns and offer a resolution.”
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Ho, ho, it's snow
By Caroline McGuire, Sun Digital Head of Travel in Ylläs, Finnish Lapland
BOOKING a snow holiday in December is always a gamble, and nowhere more than in Lapland it seems, this year.
Because while Rovaniemi is suffering from lack of snowfall, I’m writing this from the Finnish town of Yllas, on a festive trip to see Santa with TUI.
While the holiday giant has been cancelling trips elsewhere in the country, here the white stuff is at least a foot deep… with more coming each day.
The ski slopes that run past our hotel have seen plenty of use today and at the Snow Village yesterday, a group of kids made an igloo before they went to see Santa on a Snowmobile-driven sleigh.
It’s still less than last year, when four feet of snow blanketed the ground, but I’m an avid skier and have never felt cold like this - yesterday evening temperatures hit -20C.
In fact, the air is so cold that the snow has frozen as it lay, making it impossible create snowballs as it has the consistency of sand.
Small mercy, as the cheeky elves are intent on enticing both adults and children into snowball battles at every opportunity.
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