A Honeymoon in Rovaniemi in December: Cabins, Glass, Polar Night Light and the Romantic Details We Can Style
December is the month most couples picture for a Lapland honeymoon: snow, candles, a sky that sometimes moves. We live in Rovaniemi and style honeymoon evenings here, so this guide covers what the month is really like, where to stay, what to do as a couple, how to book early enough, and the details we can set up so the first days of marriage feel like a story.
December is a wonderful month for a honeymoon in Rovaniemi: deep snow, polar night twilight, Christmas lights and good aurora chances, with temperatures usually from −5 to −15 °C. It is also the busiest month, so book your glass igloo, cabin and any Northern Lights tour well ahead. Through Rovaniemi Weddings, our own company, we style the romance around it: A Thousand Petals (from €700) is a rose-petal room surprise with 70 roses and 15 heart balloons that suits a honeymoon, and our Honeymoon in Lapland page covers romantic dinners, cabin florals and wedding-to-honeymoon coordination. Browse our Weddings page for the full planning.
Planned by Rovaniemi Weddings
Honeymoon in Lapland
Northern lights September–March · cabins, glass igloos and private saunas · styled dinners and cabin florals
Why December Is the Honeymoon Month
Ask a couple for an image of a Lapland honeymoon and the answer is nearly always December: a log cabin with a fire, a glass igloo with snow on the roof, huskies at dusk, a sky that changes colour. The month delivers more of that than any other. Snow is reliable from November, the polar night gives a long, soft twilight, Christmas lights fill Rovaniemi and December is prime aurora season.
It is also an honest month. Days are very short, temperatures are cold, and everything popular fills quickly. We are Joona and Alla. Rovaniemi Weddings is our own company in Rovaniemi, and we plan weddings, proposals and honeymoon settings here, so we know both the magic and the practicalities. What follows is the version we would give a couple who asked us at the airport.
A honeymoon is also different from a holiday in one respect that matters for planning: you are tired. Weddings are exhausting, the travel is long, and the first days of marriage are better spent slowly than efficiently. We therefore suggest fewer activities than a typical itinerary, more time in the place you chose to sleep, and at least one evening where the plan is simply that someone has already arranged something lovely.
What December Is Like for a Couple
| What | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Temperatures | Typically −5 to −15 °C in December; colder spells happen |
| Snow | Typically reliable from November |
| Light | Polar night: very short days with a long blue twilight |
| Northern lights | December is prime aurora season; clouds are the limit and nothing is guaranteed |
| Crowds | Busiest in the run-up to Christmas and over New Year; calmer in early December |
| Flights | Rovaniemi Airport has direct flights from Helsinki and seasonal flights from other European cities |
If you have the choice, the first half of December is calmer and often more affordable than the week of Christmas. If your honeymoon dates are fixed by your wedding date, book as early as you can. Our honeymoon in Lapland guide and the note on what sells out first set out the order we would book in.
Where to Stay: Glass, Cabin, Forest or Villa
You book your stay directly with the property. Here is how we describe the main types around Rovaniemi.
- Glass igloos. Heated domes with a view of the sky; at the Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos they are open from 1 September to 31 March. Book early for December.
- Forest suites with a sauna and hot tub. At Invisible Forest Lodge, mirror-clad suites have a glass wall onto the forest, a bed facing the sky and a private sauna and hot tub. From 1 November to 15 March the lodge welcomes guests aged 14 and over only, which many honeymooners like.
- Hilltop cabins. Aurora Hill Resort, about ten minutes from the centre, has cabins with beds turned to the northern sky, and Sky Suites with glass roofs.
- A lakeside villa. Arcticmint Villa on Lake Norvajärvi, a family-owned villa that can be yours alone, about 20 minutes from the centre and 15 minutes from the airport.
All of them are booked with the resort, and we style within them. A honeymoon in a villa for a few friends is a different trip from a glass igloo for two; choose by how you want to spend the evenings. If you like the idea of cooking together, a villa or cabin with a kitchen is the better choice; if you want to be looked after, a resort with a restaurant, a spa and a hot tub on the terrace is hard to beat. Neither is wrong, and both can be styled.
What to Do as a Couple in December
The programme can be as full or as empty as you like. These are the things couples enjoy most in December:
- A private northern lights chase. Cloud decides, so allow several nights. If you want to do it with a ring-and-flowers moment as part of your honeymoon, Yes Under the Aurora (from €1,500) is a private tour for two with a guide-photographer.
- Husky safari and reindeer sleigh rides. Peak season is December to March.
- Sauna and a cold plunge. A lakeside sauna, then snow or a hole in the ice for the brave.
- Santa Claus Village and the Arctic Circle. Do it in the morning, before the crowds.
- Long dinners. The glass dome dinner at Invisible Forest Lodge, or a candle-lit meal in your own cabin.
- Nothing at all. A morning in the sauna, an afternoon with a book and the fire, a short walk in the blue light. In a Lapland winter, doing less is part of the point.
For more ideas, read romantic things to do in Rovaniemi for couples and our December proposal guide, which also covers the light.
Rovaniemi Weddings · our own team
Honeymoon in Lapland
Rovaniemi Weddings. Everything you share stays between us — we never contact your partner.
What We Can Style: Honeymoon Evenings, Cabins and Dinners
Our honeymoon styling covers romantic dinners, cabin florals and the coordination between wedding and honeymoon. In practice that means three things.
The room surprise. A Thousand Petals starts from €700 and is also suited to an anniversary, a honeymoon or simply a special evening. You open the door and the room is ready: a path of rose petals, 70 roses on the bed, 15 heart balloons and a bottle on ice, with no audience and no rush. It is set up within 30 km of Rovaniemi city centre, and a photographer is an add-on.
The styled dinner. A private dinner at your cabin or in a dome, with the table styled around the two of you. For a dome dinner, Dinner in the Glass Dome (from €1,450) is a signature option.
Wedding to honeymoon. If you are marrying in Lapland as well, we coordinate the transition so you do not move from a planned day into a blank trip. See Weddings and our Christmas wedding guide.
Booking Order for December
If you remember one thing, make it the order in which things fill.
- Flights and your main stay. Glass igloos and cabins in December go first.
- The northern lights tour and any safari. Book well ahead for December to February.
- Styled evenings and dinners. Write to us with your dates as soon as you have them; we hold your date with the quote and reply within one business day.
- Day-by-day activities. Leave a free evening or two. The best honeymoon plans are not full.
If your wedding is also in Lapland, think about the sequence. A wedding in the Ice Chapel on one day and a glass igloo on the same night is a lovely thing to do, and the honeymoon then begins the moment the photographs are finished. If the wedding is elsewhere, give yourselves a day at home before you fly north, because arriving exhausted into the polar night is not the way to meet it.
Citizens of the US, Canada, the UK and Australia can visit Finland visa-free for up to 90 days as part of the Schengen area; check your own situation before you travel.
What to Wear and Pack
Think layers: thermal underwear, wool socks, a warm mid-layer and a proper winter jacket, a hat, a scarf, mittens with a thin pair of gloves underneath and insulated boots. Many resorts and safari operators lend winter overalls and boots for activities, so you do not need to buy extreme gear, only to ask in advance. Bring something you love for the evenings, because the photographs will be of you, not the overalls. A small pair of hand warmers goes a long way. Pack a swimsuit as well; the hot tubs, saunas and spa lagoons in this region are a large part of the pleasure of the trip, and you will want to walk between them in the snow in a robe and boots.
How to Plan It With Us
Tell us the dates, where you are staying and what would make the evening feel like yours. We suggest the setting, send a clear quote within a business day and prepare quietly. We write only to you. Look at the Proposals in Lapland page for all the signature settings, read about Honeymoon in Lapland and send your plans through Contact Rovaniemi Weddings.
FAQ
Is December a good month for a honeymoon in Rovaniemi?
Yes, if you like snow, candlelight and the polar night. It is cold and busy, so book early. The first half of December is calmer than Christmas week.
What is the weather in December?
Typically −5 to −15 °C with reliable snow. Winter in Lapland has no rain; snow falls instead.
Will we see the northern lights in December?
December is prime aurora season, but cloud decides and nobody can guarantee them. Stay for several nights and allow a spare evening.
What can you set up for a honeymoon?
A Thousand Petals from €700 turns your room into a rose-petal surprise; we also style private dinners and cabin florals. A photographer is an add-on.
How far ahead should we book?
As early as you can, particularly for glass igloos and Northern Lights tours in December. Write to us with your dates and we reply within one business day.
Do you work outside Rovaniemi?
Yes. We are based in Rovaniemi and every option can be arranged anywhere in Lapland, including Levi, Ylläs and Saariselkä, and across Finland, Sweden and Norway.
Our Honest Final Word
A December honeymoon in Rovaniemi is as romantic as the photographs suggest, provided you accept the cold, the short days and the fact that the sky is not on a schedule. Choose a place to stay that you love coming back to, leave space in the programme and let the evenings be slow.
Rovaniemi Weddings is our own company, so we are glad to style it for you, but whatever you book, keep one evening free for nothing. Start with A Thousand Petals for the room surprise, Honeymoon in Lapland for the ideas, or see all ten proposals if you still have a question to ask.
Romantic settings we style for December
Every option is planned, set up and quietly packed down by our own team, and nearly every proposal includes a photographer. Tell us your story and we reply within one business day.
WeddingsHoneymoon in LaplandRovaniemi WeddingsSee more →Signature proposalA Thousand PetalsFrom €700 · year-roundDiscover this proposal →Signature proposalDinner in the Glass DomeFrom €1,450 · year-round (northern lights possible late Aug–Apr)Discover this proposal →WeddingsChristmas Wedding in LaplandRovaniemi WeddingsSee more →Rovaniemi Weddings is our own wedding planning and proposal design company — Joona & Alla, based in Rovaniemi. We plan, style and coordinate proposals and weddings across Lapland, Finland, Sweden and Norway.
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