Renta Santa ...

Tonight is Christmas Eve and in millions of households across Finland, Father Christmas will be visiting to deliver presents to all the good little girls and boys. Which helps answer one of the conundrums from my childhood:

Q: How does Santa visit every home to deliver the presents in just one night?

A: He starts earlier in Finland, because it is closer to Lapland, where he lives.

For us growing up in England, Santa visited in the middle of the night, but only if you were asleep. Of course, now in the wisdom of parenthood, we understand that this is a ploy to get the kids to bed so that mum and dad can breathe a small sigh of relief, eat the mince pie and drink the whisky left out for Santa and then wrap the final presents.

But in Finland, Joulupukki visits while you are awake. And sadly, it seems, so often at just the moment that dad (or grandpa) has nipped outside to empty the bins, or some such pressing activity.

For the older children, such a ruse is easily be seen through and so there is a seasonal opportunity to hire a Santa. My most recent Finnish lesson included a few tips on what to look for in the small ads for Joulupukkipalveluita, or Father Christmas Service. A sample is show in the image, you may need to click to make it large enough to read. (The handwritten notes are my own from the lesson).

First, a good word to look for is kokenut, meaning experienced, isokokenut denotes very experienced. Next, autoleivat is a good idea, meaning they have their own car - a good idea as it means they are likely not to be drinking too much of the koskenkorva which is offered at each house they visit. To be certain, raitis means they don't drink at all. Luotettava means they are trustworthy, something to consider when entrusting them with your little treasures. If the ad states lauluttaa then they sing (I would certainly want to see sobriety combined with that one, just to avoid off colour lyrics).

The most impressive, though, is the display ad with the picture. This is for a genuine Santa from Korvatunturi in Lapland, the genuine home of Santa.

So, should you ever find yourself in need of a rental Father Christmas in Finland, I hope this information will be of some help. As for me, I shall be waiting for Christmas morning to open the presents with my family. Until then, I wish you Hyvää Joulua.