We know what you are thinking! It’s not even summer, so why are we discussing the winter season? Well, we’re going to let you into a little secret - now is probably one of the best times of year to begin planning your festive family holiday before our handpicked hotels and flights are all snapped up!

If you are anything like us then you have probably been longing for the chance to escape the heat of summer and cool down! Now it might still be the summer holidays but the good news is that winter is around the corner and here at Activities Abroad we think that there are plenty of reasons to get excited about the colder months!

We love Finland here at Activities Abroad and we can’t wait to celebrate 100 years of independence with them - but what makes this amazing country one of our favourite places to go on holiday?

Here are five reasons we think you should make Finnish Lapland your next family getaway:

After my helmet was fitted, I beamed around at the others in the group before heading outside to cool down whilst I waited for the rest of the group to have their helmets fitted too.

Once we were all outside our guide Laura called to get our attention and introduced herself and the other guide before taking us over to a row of large red and black snowmobiles. We all listened attentively whilst she showed us the controls and the hand signals we would use on the safari. Once we were all confident and found our snowmobiles we set off in single file, moving through the snowy landscape.

Arriving at the reindeer farm we were met by a fellow in a startling blue cloak decorated with a bright red trim. On his head sat a giant fur hat with flaps similar to that of a deerstalker; his feet were as interesting as the rest of his outfit as, casting my eyes down, I noticed he wore furry shoes that could have been furry slippers that curled around at the toe.

He welcomed us by opening his arms and standing very straight and tall and introducing himself as Joonas; telling us that he is a reindeer herder before he led us towards his reindeer, about 30 metres away. The reindeer stood fairly still as we approached, moving their heads only to check who we were. They were then harnessed up and attached to a sleigh and behind that reindeer’s sleigh was another reindeer and then another sleigh and so on; so standing in front of us was a ridiculously cute reindeer train!

Jo and Amy our Product and Sales managers are currently in Finland checking on preparations for our family Christmas holidays.

As they touched down in Rovaniemi it was clear winter had arrived and there was even a couple of inches of snow on the ground making everything look extra special!