Page 38 of A Winter in Wonderland
Leah started singing a soft little version of ‘Away in a Manger’, so Briony joined in louder, and just as they were about to get in a scrap – they so reminded me of Shay and me – Aubrey and Greg reappeared.
‘Time to go!’ I said, and led them the short walk towards the reindeer farm.
I waved to Kirste, who was checking the harnesses as we neared.
‘Well, do we have some people very excited to meet Santa Claus today?’ she asked, to the shrieks of the children.
Each sleigh could hold two guests, plus I would be in the front one, guiding along with Kirste today. When everyone was snuggled into their seats, and I’d shown Aubrey and Greg how to handle the reins, we took off on the most relaxing thing, in my opinion, that Lapland has to offer.
We bumbled through the snow for some time, watching the reindeer’s bottoms as they walked and sometimes trotted, their brass cowbells making low tinkles with each step. We paused for hot chocolates and warm fresh blueberry juice that I’d made back at the activities’ lodge and brought along with me in flasks. We fed the reindeer snacks of lichen, which apparently they love, though I had to stop Leah from giving it a try herself. And eventually, I signalled for the reindeer to pause at the edge of a section of forest.
To Briony and Leah I said, ‘Do you think Santa might be in the forest?’ and they both stared at me in wonder.
Briony, with her dad in the sleigh, whispered, ‘I think he might be.’
‘Shall we find out?’
We walked the reindeer slowly through the forest, soft snuffles and grunts emitting from them, until we reached a clearing. I drew my sleigh to a slow stop, the others following suit, and even the girls paused for a moment of silence while we were awed at the sight of Santa’s log cabin. Nestled among the trees, its sloped roof was under a weightedblanket of snow, and candles in ice lanterns dotted the ground around the entranceway, giving a twilight effect to the dim daytime air. The forest seemed still, save for the mellow shuffling of our reindeer.
‘Is that where Santa lives?’ Briony whispered to me, her face full of awe.
‘Is he in there now?’ Leah added.
At that moment, the door to the cabin opened, and we all held our breath, even me, but I exhaled into a smile when I saw who was at the door.
There was Josh, his big grin and rosy cheeks, that cosy felt costume and big pointed hat. He caught my eye for a second, before pointing at the girls and hurling himself face-down into a snowdrift, much to their squeals of delight. Leaping up and shaking himself off, he then scampered away behind the house, only to then throw a snowball in their direction (but deliberately not getting anywhere near them).
I caught myself laughing for a moment, more because the kids were in hysterics. While Aubrey and Greg climbed from the sleigh and helped down the children, who went zooming after Josh to have a snowball fight with him, Kirste and I stayed behind to keep our reindeer company.
Josh was doing a great job of being fully in cheeky Christmas Elf mode; he was a natural. At one point he looked over and gave me a wave – large and exaggerated and in character, before singing ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ at the top of his voice and encouraging the family to do the same, while they marched around the circumference of the cabin.
‘He’s funny,’ Kirste laughed, before making her way towards the other sleighs while I stayed up front. ‘I’m going to check on the other reindeer.’
‘All right,’ I said to her, watching her go before turning to my nearest fuzzy friend. ‘What do you make of all this, Rudolph?’ I asked my reindeer, quietly, patting his furry side with my thick mittens. He snorted into the cold air, his shiny black eyes on me. ‘Do you ever get tired of all the Christmas spirit?’
He probably loved it. The reindeer here were so well treated, and guests were instructed to only pet them gently and if they came to them. In fact, I think I read that it was against the law in Lapland to scare or disturb reindeer, in any way. Besides, we weren’t even in December yet – that’s when the real crowds would get here. He couldn’t be sick of it all yet.
Icouldn’t be sick of it all yet. I wasn’t allowed to be.
‘Who wants to meet Santa Claus?’ Josh’s voice sang out and I looked back over.
Briony got a bit overwhelmed with emotion all of a sudden here and had an impromptu cry, but before I could go over and help, Josh was sat in the snow building her a small snowman and making her giggle through her tears. Leah was fascinated as he whipped up a second, even shorter, snowman and then declared them called Briony and Leah.
I took a moment to release my cheeks from my perma-grin, and let my brain come down from the sugar-rush of enthusing about all things Christmas, which did not come naturally to me, as you can imagine.
With dry eyes and excited smiles back in place, it was time for the family’s private meeting with Santa, their reward for completing the Seeking Santa Claus day, and likely, the highlight of their trip. Josh led the family into the cabin, and I watched him leave.
