CHRISTMAS wishes came true for a group of youngsters who visited Santa at his home in Lapland.

The 73-strong party of Boltonians enjoyed a one-day festive extravaganza with children agog as they raced around a winter wonderland of reindeer, husky dogs and snow.

Among the day trippers was a group of young VIP guests who had been treated to the visit because of the fund raising efforts of the Saturdays Dancing Club.

The deserving children, including several disabled youngsters, all had a whale of a time throwing snowballs and presenting Santa with their Christmas present lists.

It is not often that minus 4C ever strikes anyone as being balmy weather, but in Lapland this temperature was positively roasting as the December average is minus 17C.

And, yes, it did feel very cold despite everyone wearing thermal ski suits and boots to plough their way through the thick snow. But Lapland is breathtaking and the scenery is straight from a picture postcard -- thick pine forests, log cabins and endless snow.

Our party arrived at lunchtime, but the sun was already setting and by 3pm it felt like the middle of the night. However, the darkness did not deter the youngsters from racing around Santa's village and making a beeline for a giant homemade snow slide.

Our itinerary also included a ride on a reindeer-hauled sleigh which was precarious at times because of a frisky young reindeer who enjoyed racing towards trees instead of trying to keep up with his pals.

The reindeer, which are kept in their dozens at Santa's village, are wonderful creatures, but the animals that captivated everyone's imagination were the beautiful husky dogs.

By the time we had found our way around the village, which includes hectares of thick woodland, it was already totally dark, but this only added to the excitement of the husky ride. The dogs race through the woods at breakneck speed and all the passenger can hear is the flutter of the snow and the yells of the driver who stands on the back of the sleigh to command the huskies.

If the huskies were exhilarating for everyone, then the children meeting Santa Claus was heartwarming as they came out of his grotto beaming with smiles.

Little Jayne Mortimer, aged five, enjoyed herself, as did her mum Beverley. Jayne was born with part of her brain missing and only has an attention span of seconds, but she was delighted when her mum treated her to some mini-cowbells which she played with throughout the day.

Beverley said: "Jayne has loved it -- but we did stumble into the wrong restaurant and she ended up eating a reindeer burger."

Anthony Grimshaw, aged 16, his nine-year-old brother Nicholas, and their mum Kath would head back to Lapland tomorrow after the trip.

Anthony, from Horwich, suffered brain damage following complications after he underwent heart surgery when he was just 12 days old, but he has stunned doctors by learning to walk and talk and proved to be the chatterbox of the trip.

His brother said: "Anthony loved today, but we want to come back for two weeks next time."

The Jones family also had a great time with Westhoughton High School pupil Philip, aged 13, busy snowballing all day with his best friend, 12-year-old Thomas Bartley.

Philip was invited to join the trip after nominating Thomas -- who suffers from arthrogryposis, which means he was born with few working muscles and cannot support his own weight -- to be a VIP guest.

Philip's dad, Barry Jones, said: "This has been a very enjoyable day, a chance we've never had before. I think I've proved to be the biggest kid of the day."

Handful of the day proved to be tiny Nathan Howarth, aged three, who despite suffering from a rare genetic disorder called fanconi anaemia proved to be a live wire and could be spotted racing around in search of fun.

His mum, Denise Kelly, said: "We've had a fantastic day. I loved the husky ride, but seeing Nathan with Santa was the best moment because he was completely in awe of him."

Pam and Paul Strangwood and their eight-year-old son Andrew, from Astley Bridge, deserved every minute of their day out as they have had a fraught year after their other son, Michael, aged 10, became ill with a rare genetic disorder.

Michael, who is terminally ill, has been ravaged by adrenoleukodystrophy, which has robbed him of his speech, hearing, smell, sight and mobility, and he now requires 24-hour care. Pam said: "We've had a brilliant break, but we just keep wishing Michael was with us today."

The organisers of the Lapland excursion, sisters-in-law Mandy Heron and Alison Power, both got up to as much mischief as their daughters in the snow.

Alison's daughter, 11-year-old Katie, might have had one of her legs in plaster, having undergone a serious operation earlier this year, but she was still first in the queue for the snow slide.

Her mum said: "We're very tired, but everyone seems to have had a great day which is what mattered."