Tomteland ~ Santaland Mora, Sweden

On Thursday, Nov 16th we decided to go ahead and go on a weekend trip. This trip was to Mora, Sweden. Mora is about halfway up the country and is situated on Lake Siljan. Mora is home to the cross-country ski race, the Vasaloppet, which from meagre beginnings in 1922 has grown to become one of world's largest ski events. In the winter, there are several excellent tracks for skiers. Those who don't fill curageous enough to ski or snowboard but still want to experience the great outdoors can go by snowmobile instead. Mora is also home to the original Dalecarlian or Dala horse. Unfortuanately our trip was too short to enjoy the ski slopes. Maybe we will get another ski chance before we leave Sweden.

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Santa Claus lives here, too. At Mt Gesunda, he has his own park—Santaworld—where you can see his house, his workshop and all his animals and helpers. Mt. Gesunda is about 17 kilometers (just under 11 miles) north of the town of Mora. At Santa World you are right in the middle of the adventure. Maybe the Trolls have made a mess of things; so then you can follow Santa’s Elves in an exciting Troll hunt. Luckily there’s the Troll School where you can learn everything from the language of the Trolls to how to turn a Troll into stone.The Witch just loves to tease all the mums and dads. The gingerbread lady helps you to bake your own cookies. Father Christmas has a lot to tell and share. Come and join him in his world and participate in Santa's school and other exciting and fun activities at Santaworld.

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Santa´s House When you enter Santa’s House you’ll feel immediately at home as soon as youre in the little hallway where Santa’s skis are standing. By the big fireplace Santa's favourite chair is standing. A feeling of peace and quiet spreads through the room as you look at Santa’s things. In the Kitchen, it smells of cinnamon and vanilla. You might try Santa’s chair and table, then wander into his workroom. The Christmas tree shines as does the beautiful wrapping-paper by Santa’s bench. You can write in his large guest book, if you want. On the way out, you can sneak into Santa’s bedroom and lay down for a little rest under the rainbow canopy.

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The workshop At Santa’s Workshop there’s a Coffee Shop where you can enjoy scrumptious sandwiches, pies, pan-pizzas, newly baked cinnamon buns and hot chocolate. If you feel like something sweet, The Candy Shed is close by. Crispy, yummy Troll sweets, soft chocolate fudge, sticks of toffee, The Fairy’s cotton candy and much, much more. At Santa’s Post Office you can get your postcards stamped by Santa himself. Up stairs is also a Shop full of handicrafts, toys, Christmas gifts and all sorts of souvenirs. Before you leave, take a look at The Mechanical Elves. They show how it looks when the real Elves work through the night making Christmas presents. Maybe tonight is the night when your present is being made. The workshop is the largest building at Santaworld. It is actually the largest log cabin in Europe. In the workshop you will find Santa‘s store, museum, snacks, exhibits and more.

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Winter season Winter in Santaland means adventures in the snow, the smell of ginger bread cookies and cinamon, the sparkling candles and the open fire places.In the winter, if it's cold enough, Santaworld tuns in to a white fairytale land. Lake Aurora, is covered with ice and the fountains from the summer turns in to proude ice sculptures. Take a ride with the horse and sleigh ride in Santa's forrest. Then it’s time for more adventures. A play on the second floor in Santas house, Help santas helpers sort out the mischief of the playful trolls. If you are lucky you might catch a glimpse of the Lady of the Woods and the fairies. The winter is lovely at Santa World!

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Mariah had such a great time at Santaland. She got to spend one on one time with Santa several different times. She is no longer afraid of Santa either. She told him everything that she wanted for Christmas, including a Pony.... hmmm. That's going to be a hard one. Oh well, atleast Santa discouraged the pony idea by telling her he can't fit a pony in the sleigh or down the chimney. Mariah enjoyed speaking with Santa and of course he can speak all languages (at least English, Spanish, Swedish, German, French, and Japaneese). He is a smart Santa.

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While we were there, it didn't snow. The temperature in Mora was up to the low to mid 40's however on the mountain it was cooler. The snow from the previous week was still around. There was roughly 1.5-2 foot of snow depending on the location. The lake was begining to freeze over. There was a coat of ice all the way across, however towards the middle it was not thick enough for skating yet. Santa's helpers said it would need about 2 more weeks. The snow was not the best packing snow for snowballs. It did have a thin hard shell of frozen ice on the top but once you walked on it for a minute you could make snow angels and could play!

The snow was lots of fun. The snow was thick enough for the horse pulled sleigh ride up to see Santa's newest reindeer. Rudolf was away teaching other reindeers to fly (atleast that is what Santa told Mariah). The sleigh ride was quite an experience; especially when I had to explain to Mariah that the fur "blanket" she was sitting on and liked so much was actually reindeer hide. It was comfy though.

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We both had a great time. Also on this trip we went to Sweden's capital city, Stockholm. That was a great time too.. However, I will post later this week about it. I don't want the post to be to long and I am limited to how many pictures I can put into a post. Mariah wanted me to add, that she told Santa to bring her friends lots of presents this year too! I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. We miss you all and can't wait to see you. Its exactly one month from today. I can not beleive how fast the time has rolled by. It seems almost like yesterday when this experience was just a possible thought and not even close to being definite. We close by sending our love! God Bless You each and everyday.