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LaplandUK pair still believe in the magic of Father Christmas
Evening Standard
|November 30, 2023
CHRISTMAS lasts all year for Mike and Alison Battle. The married couple start planning their festivities every January and meet Father Christmas "hundreds of times" throughout December. Christmas shopping never ends: they buy festive props at antique fairs and antiquarian book sales year-round for their annual immersive experience, LaplandUK.
It's not to be mistaken for the so-bad they're-funny winter wonderlands, with expensive tickets to view plastic polar bears in a muddy field triggering complaints. The Battles' £60-plus-per-head event has been running for 15 years, with attendees including Elton John, Paul McCartney, Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, the Beckhams, Andy Murray, and "most of the British royalty".
Lapland UK hit a £17.2 million turnover this year, selling all 160,000 tickets for its six-week run in one day in March.
Mike says: "When our four boys [now aged between 25 and 30] were little, they'd write to Father Christmas, and Alison would write back, telling them of his magical world." At the time, Alison was a primary school teacher, Mike a hedge fund manager.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 30, 2023-Ausgabe von Evening Standard.
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