Last week I found myself at the Ham Yard Hotel in Soho, that lovely, warm, slightly hidden-away spot just off Piccadilly Circus, surrounded by canapés, drinks, and a room full of people who, like me, get genuinely excited about Christmas. The occasion: the launch of Lumo the Lapland Reindeer, the first animated series from Lapland Studios, the creative team behind LaplandUK.
I went in expecting a nice evening and a sneak peek at a new children’s show. What I got was a genuinely lovely conversation with Christian Battle, Head of Studios, and a confession about his family Christmas that I have thought about approximately forty times since.
The Christmas confession
Amidst the lovely canapés and drinks, I got chatting to Christian, who, by the way, is exactly the kind of person you want to talk to about Christmas. He grew up with the Father Christmas stories his mum Alison created, the very stories that went on to become LaplandUK. Christmas is, quite literally, the family business.
So I asked him the obvious question: what does Christmas Day actually look like in the Battle household?
His answer made me laugh out loud.
“Everybody is tired,” he said, “and we do not decorate the house now that we live and breathe and work all year long at Lapland UK.”
Which is, honestly, the most relatable thing I’ve heard all year. Imagine spending twelve months creating the most magical Christmas experience in the country, then getting to 25 December and thinking: right, that’s enough tinsel for one lifetime. I have never related to a multi-million-pound attraction more.
It’s also, in its way, a perfect illustration of just how much of themselves the Battle family pour into this world. You don’t get to two million guests and visits from the Prince and Princess of Wales without living and breathing it. And now they’ve taken that same world and turned it into something for the very youngest audiences, children who aren’t quite ready to walk through the gates of LaplandUK in Ascot, but who are absolutely ready to fall in love with a curious little reindeer.
What is Lumo the Lapland Reindeer?
Lumo the Lapland Reindeer launched on Netflix UK and Ireland on 1 November 2026, and it has gone straight to number one in Kids Series. Not bad for a first outing.
Made especially for under-fives, the 3D animated series follows Lumo, a curious young reindeer who dreams of one day joining Father Christmas’s sleigh team. Along with his friends, Rollo the bear, Kea the Arctic fox and Chichu the penguin, he sets off on playful adventures that introduce little ones to the characters, places and folklore of Lapland.
There are five 13-minute episodes. Each one starts with a small problem or a spark of curiosity, builds through comic complications, and resolves through the friends’ own ingenuity and teamwork. Which, as any parent of a preschooler will know, is exactly the right structure: short enough to hold their attention, long enough to feel like a proper treat, and with just enough humour for the grown-up on the sofa to enjoy too.
Think of it as a first introduction to Lapland. The hope is that children will grow alongside these stories and characters throughout their believing years, which is a genuinely lovely thought. You start with Lumo on a Tuesday afternoon, and before you know it, you’re booking a certain immersive experience in Ascot.
The people behind it
Lapland Studios was founded in 2024 to bring the world of Lapland to children around the globe. It grew out of LaplandUK, which Michael and Alison Battle founded in 2007 with a simple purpose: to honour the precious years of childhood belief in Father Christmas. Since then, more than two million guests have stepped into their world.
The series is led by Creative Producer and Head Writer Melissa Czaja, whose credits include Teletubbies Let’s Go, Tiddlytubbies, Caillou’s New Adventures and Strawberry Shortcake. The writing team includes Jo Clegg (Hey Duggee), Zahara Andrews (Moominvalley, Stan and Gran), Roxana Altamirano (Dora, The Creature Cases) and Joe Stone. That is, by any measure, a proper preschool pedigree.
A four-strong voice cast plays the full ensemble: Teresa Gallagher (Noddy in Toyland, Numberblocks, Thomas and Friends) voices Lumo and Dasher; Penny Rawlins (Peppa Pig Tales, Rainbow Rangers) voices Kea, Rollo and Wish the elf; Jo Ruiz (Horrid Henry, Tractor Ted) voices Chichu and Kloppi; and Rob Rackstraw (Bob the Builder, Thomas and Friends) voices Comet and Father Christmas. Recording, casting, score and sound design are by Score Draw Music.
What Christian told us
At the launch, Christian spoke beautifully about why this project matters to him personally.
“Growing up, my mum brought the world of Father Christmas to life for my brothers and me through stories that made it all feel wonderfully real. Nearly twenty years later, that world has become something millions of families have experienced for themselves.
“Our ambition with Lapland Studios is to bring that world to children everywhere, honouring the precious years of childhood belief through stories created with the quality, care and imagination this subject deserves. We want to reposition Christmas as a storytelling space, and Lumo is the first invitation for a new generation to discover the world of Lapland.”
“Reposition Christmas as a storytelling space” – I’ve been thinking about that phrase ever since. Because he’s right. We talk endlessly about the stuff of Christmas: the presents, the lists, the frantic supermarket shop. We talk less about the stories. And for the under-fives, the stories are the whole point. They’re the thing that makes the magic feel real.
The verdict (from a mum’s perspective)
There is a lot of children’s television out there. Some of it is lovely. Some of it is… fine. Some of it makes you want to hide the remote in a drawer.
Lumo sits firmly in the “lovely” camp, and then some. It’s gentle without being sleepy, funny without being frantic, and beautifully made. The animation is warm and richly detailed, you can feel the LaplandUK sensibility in it, that sense of a world that has been properly imagined rather than quickly assembled. And the friendship at its heart is exactly the kind of thing you want your little one absorbing: curiosity, teamwork, and the idea that small characters can do big things.
It’s also, and I say this with the deepest sincerity, a genuinely useful piece of parenting kit. Those five 13-minute episodes are the perfect length for a post-nursery wind-down, a rainy Saturday morning, or a “I need twelve minutes to drink this coffee while it’s still hot” emergency. And because it’s on Netflix, it’s there whenever you need it.
If you have an under-five in your life, or a slightly older child who is still fully committed to the believing years, this is a lovely place to start the Christmas countdown. It’s the first introduction to Lapland for a new generation and it’s already at number one, so clearly a lot of other parents have worked that out too.
Where to watch
Lumo the Lapland Reindeer is streaming on Netflix UK and Ireland now. Five 13-minute episodes, perfect for under-fives and their grown-ups.
For more information, head to the LaplandUK portal.
And if you’re wondering about Christian Battle’s Christmas tree this year, I’m going to assume it’s still undecorated, and after everything they do all year, they’ve earned it.
Related articles
Monica Costa founded London Mums in September 2006 after her son Diego’s birth together with a group of mothers who felt the need of meeting up regularly to share the challenges and joys of motherhood in metropolitan and multicultural London. London Mums is the FREE and independent peer support group for mums and mumpreneurs based in London https://www.londonmumsmagazine.com and you can connect on Twitter @londonmums
