I sat in bed last night and watched the snow fall, knowing that should it settle I would have two very excited girls in the morning.  At 6.30 this morning I was woken to an excited voice shouting 'SNOW' as loud as they could.  My prediction of excitement could have been slightly underestimated.  The girls gazed out of the window in absolute awe of the snow.  

Today was one of those days when the girls just got dressed without messing around.  They were keen to get out in the snow, even if we had only a small amount.  Still some snow to them is better than no snow.

I cannot quite believe it is Christmas eve, it seems to have flown by!

We have a bit of a Christmas eve tradition of an afternoon walk.  It helps to break up the day and use up some of the excess energy the girls seem to build up because it is Christmas.  I also think the fresh air does them some good.

We had a lovely muddy walk, splashing in muddy puddles and of course running around.

Our lovely muddy walked resulted in two girls having a warm splish splash when they got home.  They were very excited and asked when they could put out the milk and biscuits for Father Christmas.  Our spotty dog was all excited for her first Christmas and fell asleep straight after dinner.

After dinner the girls went outside to see if they could spot Father Christmas flying past.  It was really magical watching his sleigh [International Space Station] fly past.  Whilst I tried to capture a photo myself I struggled with carrying a 2 year old and excited 4 year old, my rather lovely friend Trudi has kindly said I could use her photo

[It is the very bright dot in the middle of the sky]

The girls were amazed that Father Christmas flew over their house.  It was truly magical.  My eldest then wanted to sprinkle the reindeer food, leave the key by the front door and of course cake, carrot and milk for Father Christmas and Rudolph.

The taster session soon drew to a close and the Elves took us to our next destination, the Arctic Circle.  

Rovaniemi is around 5km South of the Arctic Circle and I felt very lucky to have not only gone, but to have been part of a crossing ceremony.  We entered a dark traditional house with a wood burning fire in the middle.  The ceremony was performed and the story was told about why Rudolph has a red nose.  Our noses were then coated in black soot from the fire, which will glow on Christmas to help Santa find his way.

Activity 1 - Husky Rides

There can be only one word to describe this and that is Wow.  The main ride took place at night, and was a little too dark for my camera to capture, but it was simply magical.  The dogs work together pulling the sleigh through the snow.  There is a real sense of speed as the cold wind rushes past your face, and a real thrill as the speed mounts.  The smell from the Husky is one that will stay with you forever, the thrill and enjoyment from the ride will leave you forever with a smile.  A truly magical experience.

As might be expected there are some wonderful Christmas decorations and a great market.  I picked up some lovely decorations and some Christmas presents from here.  There are a great selection of shops, activity/excursion shops and restaurants.

Santa took off his coat and hung it with the Boys and Girls coats

Before taking it in turns to speak to each of the Boys and Girls.  As the only couple present without children we decided that we wanted the children to see Santa and we were not going to go up.  However Santa had other ideas and his Elf came to get us.  He spoke to us and asked what we wanted for Christmas and I told him.  It was the same as what I had wished for on the reindeer rides.