Started... so I’ll Finnish
to the system but nothing will dispel the cold quite like a bone-chilling dip before legging it back to the warmth of a sauna.
An hour’s drive from Helsinki is Fiskars, an ironworks village founded in the 17th century and another wonderful place to soak up the yuletide mood.
The home of the orange- handled Fiskars scissors, this small town remains the design capital of Finland.
More than 400 artists and creatives call it home, from master brewers and furniture makers to performing artists.
A particular favourite of mine was the town’s glassblowing workshop run by upbeat Tarmo Maaronen, who coached me through the process of blowing a glass bauble for my Christmas tree.
Fiskars’ Christmas craft market is set up in a converted barn that used to hold the town’s grain stores, and the range of local talent and craftsmanship is beautifully reflected in the vast array of stalls.
Between browsing their wares, I fall in love with the Manor House, the town’s centrepiece. The yellow mansion hasn’t been lived in for more than 70 years.
Visitors coming across the building would be excused for thinking they had walked on to a Wes Anderson movie set.
Nearby Mathildedal is another historic ironworks village where you can experience Finland’s Christmas market tradition. Located by the sea an hour’s drive from Fiskars, it is set in the middle of a beautiful nature reserve. The market
Kuurna offers delicious modern Finnish food made from local ingredients as well as quality reindeer meat – it’s a favourite among Finns. Try their Finnish flat bread, nakkiliepa. kuurna.fi
Fiskars Wärdshus serves beautifully crafted dishes using seasonal produce. Try the white tail deer with mushrooms foraged from the forest surrounding the town, or the salmon with white fish roe, seaweed caviar and marinated red onion. wardshus.fi
The best of Mathildedal is combined in this village hub at Terho Village restaurant. Highlights include coffee made by Terho’s coffee roastery and beer made by the brewery next door. ravintolaterho.fi is in the old ironworks factories and red ochre houses the workers called home and is lit up when it gets dark at around 3.30pm, giving the town a warm, welcoming glow.
For a final bit of festive fun, on my way back to Helsinki, I stop off at the Nuuksio Reindeer Park in Espoo.
The rangers give visitors buckets of lichen, which is apparently like candy to the reindeer.
After several days of browsing Christmas markets, nothing feels more festive than feeding Rudolph and his pals before they fly Santa Claus around the world on Christmas Eve.
And I’m really glad now that I didn’t have that steak…