“Christmas spirit is found in creating a celebration for others”: step inside this 1890s wooden house, where a holiday feast is prepared with love
Quiet music drifts from the crackling radio. The porch in Äänekoski, Finland, scented with apples and oranges, feels like a gateway to a Christmas of yesteryear. This cozy wooden house once served as Kuntala and a library, and it now belongs to the family of Päivi Peltola, who run it as both a home and a restaurant.
Overnight, snow has fallen. The white shepherd dog Pirkkå has caught snowflake after snowflake on her tongue. A few flakes settle on her black nose and melt away. Her small paws trek out to gather conifer branches in the nearby forest, then return to her usual spot outside the broad porch. The yellow house’s double doors stand invitingly ajar.
This house has a long history. It was built in the 1890s by merchant Wille Rutanen, and it has served as Kuntala—the municipality and borough office—and even as the city museum. Wille maintained the city’s first library in his home in the 1880s. He is remembered as a true gentleman with a small dog. Even in those days, the door was open to local residents, and it still is.
“History has a way of repeating itself. Our doors are open at Christmas. We make the Christmas meal with all our heart for anyone who stops by,” says current resident Päivi Peltola.
No longer just a library and a home, this old house now encompasses both a restaurant and a family dwelling. The chilly porch is decorated for the holidays well ahead of time. Decorations come from the forest and are made by hand. Päivi’s friend Eija searched Pinterest for ideas before they started decorating. Two diehard Christmas enthusiasts together can’t help but create a wonderfully festive setting.
“I first met Eija—also known as Christmas-Eikku—seven years ago at a mother-and-baby group. She’s a true devotee of the holidays, and her enthusiasm is contagious,” Päivi says with a laugh.
“The Christmas spirit comes from making a celebration for others. Setting a table loaded with Christmas foods is a great joy.”
For Päivi, her husband Timo, son Simo, and Pirkkå, Christmas is a family holiday focused on food. On Christmas Eve, two Santa Clauses arrive instead of one. This double-Santa tradition, which began about a decade ago, captures the family’s humor and their generous holiday spirit.
The Santas’ sacks hold presents for everyone, but especially for the children. Everyone gets a soft package—wool socks knitted by Timo’s mother. Pirkkå only goes for the hard packages. Sometimes a carrot appears inside, and she can’t get enough of it.
“The best part is seeing Simo’s excitement, that genuine childhood Christmas feeling. My own childhood Christmases were steeped in traditions, and I want to pass them on to Simo,” Päivi says.
When Päivi was young and living on a farm, everything was cleaned from top to bottom before Christmas. Flowers were rinsed, every cupboard was tidied, and the contents were properly aired.
They made all of their baked goods and dishes using the farm’s grains and vegetables in a wood-burning oven: homemade puff pastry, gingerbread dough, different cookies, rosolli beetroot salad, and their own salted ham. Nothing could top her mother’s sweetened potato casserole and Christmas loaf.
“Whenever I’m getting ready for Christmas, I can’t help but remember those childhood celebrations—they were intense. We did it all for our family, but we also included older neighbors who would otherwise have spent the holiday alone, inviting them to share Christmas dinner and sauna.”
“Our doors are open at Christmas. We make the Christmas meal with heart for anyone who drops by.”
On Christmas, Timo and Päivi spread out the traditional family dishes in the old house’s drawing room, warmed by tiled stoves. They follow Päivi’s mother’s recipes, though with a lighter touch than in her childhood. She no longer sprays every plant, but she still cooks by hand with heartfelt care. Baking never fails to bring her into the Christmas spirit.
“Christmas spirit comes from creating a celebration for others. Setting a table loaded with Christmas foods is a great joy. We give our neighbor a wreath, and the path for our two Santas is lit by the ice lanterns we make ourselves,” Päivi says.
The porch’s Christmas decorations are entirely handmade, each with a story. The magnificent cone tree started as the broken top of an old tree—it needs nothing more than its own pinecones. A felt snowflake, made by Päivi’s sister Heli with a needle and a gingerbread cutter, hangs on one branch.
For a matching touch, Heli also felted a little bullfinch.
“I tied the conifer stars following Eija’s instructions. First, make two triangles out of branches. Overlap them to form a star and decorate with conifer sprigs.”
As the porch door is pressed shut, large paper stars glow in the windows. Inside, the air is fragrant with apples, oranges, and gingerbread. Elvis tunes play softly on the crackly radio—Päivi has loved them since childhood. Now it’s time to bask in Christmas peace, unwrap gifts, and spend time with family.
“For me, Christmas is a promise of light. Every year, I hang stars in the windows to remind me of that,” Päivi says, stroking Pirkkå’s fur.
