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Woman moves to Lapland for new job as Santa's elf

Emily Henry A woman in black trousers, a white ski-style jacket, a black beanie hat and black gloves stands on snow-covered ground in front of snow-covered trees.Emily Henry
Emily Henry is experiencing temperatures of -35C in Lapland

A woman is braving sub-freezing temperatures to spend winter working in Lapland as one of Santa's elves.

Emily Henry, from Hereford, said she saw an advert for the job and "couldn't resist trying it".

She spends her days telling traditional Scandinavian stories to children around the campfire and helping Santa in his workshop.

"It's very busy, we've got a lot of children on the good list this year so we've got a lot of presents to be making," she said.

Emily Henry A woman in black trousers, a white ski-style jacket with red stripes down the sleeves and a black beanie hat and black gloves crouches down on snow-covered ground and scratches a husky dog under the chin.Emily Henry
Ms Henry said that, despite the cold, she had no regrets about her experience

Ms Henry has to stay in character whenever she is wearing her elf uniform - and is not allowed to post pictures of herself in costume in order to keep the magic within Santa's village.

And she said that with temperatures dropping to -35C (-31F), the extreme cold was "like nothing I've experienced before".

She added that she and her colleagues were having to take vitamin D supplements to cope with the fact the sun only rose for two hours each day.

That was also affecting her training for next year's London Marathon, she said, which she was continuing during her time in Finland.

"It's quite a challenge out here in the freezing cold," Ms Henry said.

"My eyelashes completely freeze, my hair freezes."

But she said it was worth it: "I've definitely not regretted it, it's just an incredible experience."

Ms Henry is able to lead a social life alongside her work as an elf - but it is somewhat restricted.

"We have to go out past 22:00 so as not to meet any children at the pub.

"But sometimes an elf does need a pint at the end of the day."

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