Is LaplandUK worth the money?

It’s the question that comes up time and time again – and with good reason.

I’m talking about the day out dubbed one of the UK’s best Christmas experiences, the day out with an eye-watering price tag.

Tickets start from £65 each but can cost up to £120 each depending on when you go – which is a lot for just one child, never mind two, or even three.

The thing is though, having been to LaplandUK two years in a row now, I do think it’s worth it. Last year I wrote about 12 reasons to visit LaplandUK and having just been for the second time here’s why I think LaplandUK is worth every penny.

Why LaplandUK is worth every single penny

1. It’s good value for money. Let’s get the money issue out of the way first: at up to £120 a ticket there’s no getting away from the fact that LaplandUK is one pricey day out, and one that some families are simply priced out of. But, when you take into account what you get for that £120 – a four hour immersive winter wonderland experience, a visit to Father Christmas’s toy factory, the chance to decorate gingerbread in Mother Christmas’s kitchen, ice skating, a visit to Father Christmas, a present from Father Christmas and a souvenir photo – I think compared with days out during the year, when you can easily shell out hundreds of pounds without even blinking, LaplandUK is actually great value for money.

2. There’s something for everyone. If you’ve got kids of different ages and you’re ‘waiting until they’re old enough’, don’t. Ours are six, three and nine months and there’s plenty for all of them: magical snow covered pathways, making toys in Father Christmas’s toy factory and ice skating for the older two and lights, sounds and colours for the baby.

3. The setting is so realistic you can’t tell what’s real and what’s not. A team from Disney helped put 2017’s experience together and it showed. There’s snow covered hobbit-style wooden elf houses, custom made doors for ‘small folk’ (kids) and a wooden spoon mixing of its own accord in Mother Christmas’s kitchen, Harry Potter-style.

Everything we hoped it would be & more #itstrue #laplanduk #laplanduk2017 #believe #magic #family #fun #childhood #childhoodunplugged #capturingchildhood #capturingtheday #rememberingthesedays #oureverydaymoments #documentyourdays @laplanduk

A post shared by Natalie Brown (@confessionsofacrummymummy) on Dec 9, 2017 at 9:18am PST

4. It’s an assault on the senses. LaplandUK doesn’t just look like Lapland, it smells like it too. The aroma of pine trees is overwhelming throughout the whole experience, and coupled with chilly air, the smell of ice from the ice rink and gingerbread wafting from Mother Christmas’s kitchen, expect to be transported to another world.

5. You get biscuits. When the kids are decorating gingerbread in Mother Christmas’s kitchen the ‘big folk’ (grown ups) get biscuits. And you can’t beat a biscuit.

6. The visit to Father Christmas is personalised to your child. As well as being the most realistic Father Christmas you’ll come across, after booking you get the chance to give specific information about your child and what’s been happening in their life. You should have seen the look on BB’s face when Father Christmas told her he knew she likes writing in her secret diary before going to bed each night.

7. You’re transported into another world. Forget work, forget everything there is to deal with at home and all the jobs you haven’t done, forget everything: for four hours the whole family are children again and it doesn’t matter what happened before you went in, you’ll all walk out smiling.

8. It’s the best family day out you’ll have all year. For the second year running LaplandUK was without doubt our best family day out. You won’t find kids having tantrums and you won’t hear parents at the end of their rope threatening this and that – everyone is under a magic spell!

9. It’s way more than just a day out. From the moment the invitation arrives (which you can pop in the freezer for 10 minutes so it’s freezing cold for added authenticity) to Conker The Silly Elf elf training kits so the kids can help teach Conker how to earn his golden bell (we’ve got two sets to give away – you can enter here) the LaplandUK experience is a whole lot more than just four hours.

There was no knock at the front door & the box was so cold it was glazed with frost which means only one thing: our @laplanduk invitations MUST have been delivered by reindeer! LaplandUK here we come! #itstrue #christmas #magic #family #fun #childhood #childhoodunplugged #capturingchildhood #capturingtheday #oureverydaymoments #documentyourdays

A post shared by Natalie Brown (@confessionsofacrummymummy) on Nov 13, 2017 at 8:56am PST

10. You can dine out on it all year. After our first visit to LaplandUK in 2016 the kids quite literally talked about it all year – and we used the ‘remember Father Christmas is watching’ line all year too. It worked a treat.

*SPOILER ALERT!* If you’d like to SEE what I’m talking about instead of just taking my word for it here’s what to expect at LaplandUK (in less than 60 seconds!)

Have you been to LaplandUK before or do you plan on going? If you’ve already been I’d love to know what you thought!

We were given tickets to visit LaplandUK in exchange for this review. As always all opinions are my own and I would never recommend a product or experience I don’t truly believe in. I know this review is glowing but it’s true – LaplandUK really is worth every single penny! Remaining tickets for LaplandUK 2018 go on sale at midday on Monday September 17 – for more information click here.

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