Rovaniemi is the city of Santa.
Fins love to pay by card, so make sure that you can access your card in Finland.
Many attractions outside of the city are accessible best with a rental car since the busses only come a couple of times per day.
Take a power bank with you. In the cold, your phone battery gets low much quicker.
Since you will be inside of buildings a lot while visiting the attractions or shopping, you should dress in layers that are easy to take off. The difference between the temperatures outside and inside are very drastic.
Do not pack a lot of fancy clothes. Since the wheather is extremely cold, you will only wear tech gear anyway. That's how the locals dress in their daily life too. Concentrate on packing fleece. It is very warm, although thin and well layerable.
Don't forget your sun glasses. The bright snow and the open landscape can blend you.
The same goes for make-up. Your makeup won't be visible under your scarf and beanie a lot anyway. Bring maximum eye and lip products. Be aware that below a certain temparature, water based products will freeze, so consider using oil based products.
Pack waterproof shoes with grip so you have a firm hold in snowy and icy paths. You can spray your shoes and jacket with a waterproof spray at home to enhance the effect.
Pack a double pair of gloves that you can layer on top of each other. First put thin golves on and on top of that fluffy mittens. That's how your fingers stay warm, even if you take your hand out of the mitten to take a picture with your phone.
In Finland, wearing a reflector as soon as it gets dark is a duty. You don't need to bring them. They have a lot of cute ones on site that you can take home as a souvenir.
Look up the times of sunrise and sunset.
The city of Rovaniemi is small and walkable.
You cannot be outside longer than 1.5 hours because of the cold.
Throw very hot boiling water from a thermos in the early morning when it’s really cold. Make sure you stand in the correct wind direction and no-one is behind you.
Check out Lordi Square.
Find the hand prints of the Lordi band, who won the ESC in 2006 for Finland for the first time and who gives the Square its name.
Check out the Rovaniemi Tourist Information Centre. (Mo-Fr 09:00-17:00h)
Go to the Santa's Mc Donalds, where they serve reindeer burgers. It is open 24/7.
Visit Santa Claus Village for free in the evening for beautiful lights.
go to Tourist Information (daily 09:00-18:00h)
go to the post office and send a postcard for 3€. (10:00-18:00h)
cross the Arctic Circle.
risse a sledge for free.
visit Santa Claus for free (daily 9:00-18:00h).
go to Snowman World for 35 € (daily 11:00-19:00h). Visit the Ice Bar.
go to the Husky Park (daily 10:00-16:00h) for 30 €.
go to Santa’s Petting Zoo for 15€ and feed the animals for 5€ (daily 11:00-18:00h).
wave to the live stream of the Santa Village on Youtube.
Bring some marshmallows and sausages to roast over the fire.
Go to the Arktikum Museum for 22 € in the late afternoon (10:00-18:00h) when it’s dark and cold to flee from the cold. First, visit the Northern Lights exhibition and only then the Arctic Garden. The Arctic Garden is the best spot to spot the Northern Lights from the city centre.
Do a trip to Kotatieva Winter Park for 59 € (10:00-17:00h).
you can go on the ice skating path. Rental skates are included.
you can go sledding with provided sledding mats.
you can explore the snowy forest with snowshoes.
Hunt for the Northern Lights between 21-01h. Take a flash light and a tripod with you. To hunt down the Northern Lights, all you need is clear skies. Use windy.com with the filters for: wind, webcams, ICON EU and look for the yellow places that indicate clear skies, in comparison to the white places. You can also check aurorawebcams.com.
Reflectors.
Winter Clothes in an Outlet.