Old traditions, new sparkle

A blue-and-red Christmas inside a former infants’ ward—“The entryway chaos doesn’t matter, because none of us spends Christmas there anyway”

Finnish interiors writer Seija Killström loves Christmas. For her, it’s all about cherished traditions, loved ones, and ever-changing decorations. This year, the family’s Christmas is blue.

Author Seija Killström

Images Frida Steiner

December 18, 2025Lue suomeksi

I love Christmas. I’m from Northern Finland, and it has always been special to me. In my very first home I had a real Christmas tree and took great care to create the mood. I’m not yet at the stage of life where I make every Christmas dish myself, though—I take plenty of shortcuts. The whole point of Christmas isn’t a nervous breakdown!

Christmas starts to appear at our house little by little in November. That’s when I hang Christmas lights in the windows of our red-ochre house. We light candles in lanterns in the yard, and I scatter spruce branches here and there outside to set the mood.

Home: A former infants’ ward of a children’s home, built in 1898, in the village center of Vihti, Finland. The building was fully renovated in 2008. 5 rooms + kitchen, 140 m² (1,510 sq ft). Plus a separate sauna building.

Living here: Interiors writer Seija Killström, Pasi Lehtola and the family’s two youngest daughters Mila, 11, and Nella, 9. Big sister Maija, 21, just moved to Stockholm.

Follow on social: @seija_killstrom

Paper stars in every window are part of Christmas in this late-19th-century house.

The wooden nutcracker figures are the newest arrivals in the home’s Christmas decor. The kids think they’re a little scary, but in the stairwell they make a just-right, soldierly honor guard.

We have three daughters. When the eldest was little, I dove headfirst into the magic of Christmas and, in the dark hours of the night, made surprises for her advent calendar and messages from the elves. She still remembers how I claimed there was a direct camera link to Santa Claus in the ventilation ducts of our home.

”Some decorations have to be in the exact same spot where they’ve been for the last 15 years.”

Now that our daughter is an adult, she insists we keep certain traditions in our Christmas. Some decorations have to be in the exact same spot where they’ve been for the last 15 years. Luckily, in recent years she’s been the one to put together her little sisters’ advent calendars with surprises.

The windows in the old house are low. The paper stars hanging in them are from Clas Ohlson. Mismatched chairs wander around the table into a spontaneous order as Christmas evening goes on. Mila helps with setting the table. On the back wall is a fir wreath tied by Seija, decorated modestly with just a bow.

The Christmas table setting came together from thrifted treasures. Seija had the blue checkered napkins sewn from valance fabric. She set the linen tablecloth in place the day before and misted it generously with water. In the morning, a smooth cloth awaited the setting.

We live in Vihti’s village center, whose coziness I love. For several years I’ve had a little pop-up Christmas shop. Sometimes I’ve also invited friends over for a wreath-and-glögi evening, and we’ve enjoyed the company, the hot drink, and making things with our hands.

”In a family of two entrepreneurs, the run-up to Christmas can sometimes feel like a tailspin.”

In a family of two entrepreneurs, the run-up to Christmas can sometimes feel like a tailspin. I often dream of a perfectly tidy and beautiful Christmas home. Yet there’s always some spot that erupts into unsorted stacks of paper or children’s clothes. I focus on the rooms where we truly spend time—the living room, kitchen, and dining area. The entryway chaos doesn’t matter, because none of us spends Christmas in the entryway. I prioritize so I can fit everything in.

At Christmastime, treats are set out here and there throughout the house. The old hospital serving cart is a handy extra surface in the small kitchen.

On Christmas Eve we dress up and make sure the food is on the table on time. The counter that spans nearly the whole room is perfect for desserts.

We usually get the tree well in advance and bring it inside only close to Christmas Eve. The tree has to be handsome and full. As a child I went with my father to fetch the tree from the snowy northern forest by snowmobile. When we melted the mass of snow off the giant, what emerged underneath was most often a scraggly, ugly thing.

”In my stash I have ornaments to suit at least six different styles.”

Every year our tree gets decorations with a different theme. In my stash I have ornaments to suit at least six different styles. There are straw ones, silver, glass, white, and the newest are Moomin baubles and bows. And yes, I’m exactly that mom who lets the kids decorate the tree but then tiptoes around at night, adjusting the ornaments to my liking without them noticing a thing.

For our more-than-25-year-old Ikea Tomelilla sofas, we ordered new white covers from the Swedish company Bemz for this Christmas. The checked pillowcase fabric was found at a thrift store.

This year the tree was trimmed with Arabia Moomin baubles, Blomus glass balls, and velvet bows. The middle daughter, Mila, puts the finishing touches on it.

An old wooden crate stands in as a coffee table. On top is a grouping of brass candleholders and small ceramic trees.

Our Christmas Eve morning starts with rice porridge, with an almond hidden inside, as per Finnish tradition. Later we set out a cold fish spread, because that’s what everyone likes best. Only on Christmas Day do we move on to the traditional, heavier Christmas dishes.

Over the years I’ve met people who don’t like Christmas. Maybe the stress around it is so great that it feels overwhelming. Still, Christmas comes every year, whether we fuss or not. I want it to be only happy memories and traditions for us — the kind the children will someday carry into their own homes.