RYANAIR has announced its schedule for flights to a popular winter holiday spot full of “magical experiences” for the family.

From Sunday 27th October, the airline will be putting on flights to Lapland-Rovaniemi, with five return flights per week from London and two return flights a week from Liverpool.

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Return journeys from London Stansted in early November are available from as little as £51.

Lapland is the famous winter wonderland with snow-covered forests, husky and reindeer rides, and ice hotels – not to mention being the ‘home’ of the Santa himself.

Flights to the Finnish airport situated within the Arctic Circle take three hours and 30 minutes.

Ryanair’s Head of Communications, Jade Kirwan, said Lapland is every kid’s (big and small) dream “with magical experiences that you will share with your family forever, including miles of glistening snow, reindeer and husky rides, snowball fights, chasing the northern lights, adventuring Christmas-themed parks and of course, a special visit to the big man himself and his jolly team of elves”.

She added: “It’s never too early to start your Christmas planning, especially when it means getting ahead of the flock to secure the best fares available, so make sure to visit Ryanair.com today and book your once in a lifetime trip to Lapland this Winter.”

Lapland is covered in snow and ice from November to late May, making it the ultimate place to visit to get into the festive spirit.

There’s a wide range of winter outdoor activities visitors can get involved in, including reindeer and dog sledding, snowmobiling, ice fishing and snow shoeing.

It’s also one of the best places to see the northern lights, which appear December through to March.

December and January are said to be the most ideal time for seeing the lights.

Lapland is home to the only indigenous people in Europe who, for at least 5000 years, have inhabited the Arctic.

They’re known as the Sámi and there are plenty of opportunities to experience their culture and traditions.

It’s also home to unique attractions like Santa Claus Village – the official home town of Santa Claus.

Here, there’s the chance to meet Santa in Santa’s Workshop Village, you can cross the Arctic Circle, which is marked in the centre square of the village, and you can also catch a glimpse of the northern lights.

There’s no entry fee for Santa Claus Village and you can also meet Santa and his elves every day of the year for free. 

For a truly unique experience when you visit Lapland, you can stay at the Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos.

Each room at the hotel is carved with a unique design and decorated with ice art and coloured lighting. 

And guests sleep on frozen beds covered with reindeer skins and fleeced-lined sleeping bags.

If the cold isn’t for you, its glass igloos are heated with 360-degree glass roofs and views of the sky.

The hotel also has the only snow sauna in the world, with snow walls and a humid steam room. 

And there’s an optional service to wake guests during the night if the northern lights appear. 

Prices for a one night stay at Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos start from £183.

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EARLIER this year, social media was abuzz with news that teachers can now sign up for the popular Blue Light Card – a discount scheme that’s saved my family hundreds of pounds over the years.

It’s no wonder that so many teachers were trying to take advantage of their newfound eligibility that the website crashed and the company had to introduce a waiting list to join. 

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We’ve been using our Blue Light Card, launched in 2008, since its very early days as my husband’s in the emergency services.

Over the years, the savings have really added up, especially when it comes to booking holidays and days out.

It’s my go-to app when I’m looking at whether I can get a discount on tickets, hotel rooms or even breaks away. 

It’s now second nature for me to use it when I book a UK holiday park, as both Butlin’s and Haven are the among those covered.

We’ve been visiting Butlin’s at least once a year since my eldest son, aged 12, was born.

Every time we’ve used our Blue Light Card privilege, it’s saved us £20, adding up to more than £200 over the last decade.

And our Haven savings probably add up to about the same amount over the years too.

It’s certainly not bad for a discount scheme that only costs £5 to join. 

When my husband first became a member, it was free if you just joined online or £5 for five years if you wanted a card to keep in your wallet.

Now it costs £5 for two years, but there’s lots of people still waiting for their application to be processed as the company works its way through the backlog from the summer rush.

We’ve also had some great deals on days out over the years with our Blue Light Card.

Sometimes the card holder can get in for free, with other friends and family members bagging a discounted rate.

We’ve done that before at attractions like the Legoland Discovery Centre in Birmingham.

I’ve noticed that lots of circuses have been offering free Blue Light Card tickets this year.

The big theme parks like Alton Towers and Legoland even host exclusive members-only days out, with tickets that can only be bought through the Blue Light Card site.

These usually run at the start and end of the season and often include discounted prices for the on-site hotels as well.

But you’ll need to be quick if you want to bag a bargain as these member-only days often sell out on the day they go on sale.

Whether it’s taking £20 off a stay at Butlin’s or bagging a bargain theme park ticket, it’s worth taking your time to trawl through the website, or the app, to see what appeals to you.

There’s so many partner companies signed up that there’s bound to be stuff you’re already buying that you could save on.

You can even use your card in the least likely places and sometimes those small wins are the best of all.

We had an excellent takeaway meal from My Plaice in Gorleston while we were on holiday in Great Yarmouth and the owner knocked 10 per cent off the price of our fish and chips when my husband showed our Blue Light Card. 

I think the deals to be had with the Blue Light Card beat those on offer with other discount cards like Kids Pass, which I’ve also been using this year.

If you’ve heard about Blue Light and thought it wasn’t for you, maybe it’s time to take another look and see if your job qualifies for membership, now the categories covered have been extended beyond the emergency services, military and healthcare professionals.

I’ve shared other money-saving hacks on days out in the UK, including a kid’s pass.

Earlier this year, we revealed some of the best free kids’ attractions in London for families to visit.

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TICKETS for Hamleys Santa’s Grotto went on sale yesterday, but families will have to act fast to avoid disappointment.

As one of the oldest and most famous toy stores in the world, tickets to Hamleys Santa’s Grotto in its flagship store on Regent Street are expected to sell out quickly, especially for weekend dates.

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The Santa’s Grotto at Hamleys is widely regarded as one of the best Christmas experiences in the country, with specialist family websites like Parent News and Secret London including it in their round-up of the country’s best.

Travel blogger Museum Mum also included it in her article on London’s best Christmas grotto experiences.

Tickets to the attraction went on sale yesterday (October 10, 2024), with potential visitors encouraged to head to the website promptly.

The “enchanting Christmas experience” will run from November 23, 2024 until December 24, 2024.

At the event, visitors can meet Father Christmas as well as his merry elves inside their enchanting elf workshop.

The experience starts at the Hamleys Regent Store entrance where one of Santa’s elves will greet visitors before being guided into the Christmas grotto.

While the festive experience has been designed for children aged between two and eight years old, the whole family can join the festive fun.

There are three ticket pricing structures for 2024:

• Entry for three people who visit between November 20 until December 15 costs £55, with additional guests costing £15 per person.
• Entry for three people who visit on November 25 and 26 and December 2, 3, 9 and 10 will cost £70, with additional guests costing £17.50 per person.
• Entry for three people who visit between December 21 until December 24 will cost £100, with additional guests stumping up £20 a pop.

Children will be given a treat to take away on the day

Families will be able to take their own photos, with the option to purchase an additional photo package also available.

One adult is required per booking, with each session able to accommodate up to six people.

Tickets are already on sale, here.

Previous visitors have raved about Santa’s Grotto at Hamleys with one person writing on TripAdvisor: “Santa was amazing as were the elves.

“The goodie bag from Santa was very generous, there was ample time with Santa, the elves did loads of entertaining, and the biscuit decorating was a nice activity.”

Located on Regent Street, Oxford Circus is the nearest tube station to Hamleys.

The Victoria Line directly links Oxford Circus to stations like London Kings Cross and London Victoria.

Earlier this month, Sun reporter Laura McGuire tested all the Christmas toys at Hamley – here’s what she thought.

In the meantime, here is Butlin’s ‘ultimate Christmas holiday weekend’ launching this year.

And here are some affordable December city breaks you can still book.

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BRITISH Airways has axed flights around the world cancelling hundreds of trips after it was hit by engine issues.

The flag-carrier grounded aircraft after finding maintenance issues with some of its Rolls-Royce jet engines.

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New routes to Malaysia have been canned, while the frequency of flights to Qatar has been halved.

Some services have also been suspended between Gatwick and JFK in New York.

Thousands of flyers will have been affected by the changes and hundreds of craft halted.

The airline has already scrapped 11 routes because of the issue, the Telegraph reports.

BA said the issue is with the Trent 1000 engines used on its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets.

There is excessive wear and tear on them and Rolls-Royce has been unable to supply enough replacement engines and parts.

BA has grounded five planes or 15 per cent of the fleet.

Boeing 777s have been used to pick up the slack, but those too also need to be repaired every so often.

The launch of a Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur route will now be delayed from November to April 2025.

One of the two daily trips to Doha has been canned, while flights between Gatwick and JFK will be suspended for winter from December.

A BA spokesperson said: “We’ve taken this action because we do not believe the issue will be solved quickly, and we want to offer our customers the certainty they deserve

“We’ve apologised to those affected and are able to offer the vast majority a flight the same day with British Airways or one of our partner airlines.

“We continue to work closely with Rolls-Royce to ensure the company is aware of the impact its issues are having on our schedule and customers, and seek reassurance of a prompt and reliable solution.”

BA has contacted customers whose flights have been cancelled and offered alternative travel arrangements.

They said: “Unfortunately, Rolls-Royce, our engine supplier for our fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft, is experiencing challenges,” it said.

“We’re not the only airline experiencing this issue and are doing all we can to work with Rolls-Royce to resolve the situation.”

A Rolls-Royce spokesman said: “We continue to work with British Airways and all of our customers to minimise the impact of the limited availability of spares due to the current supply chain constraints.

“Unfortunately, this is an issue affecting the whole aerospace industry.”

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