Happy Christmas!

This is the final post of my Advent Calendar this year. It is time to concentrate on the family, traditional foods and celebrations. Drive safely if you need to go somewhere, remember your loved ones, feed the birds, have a rest, read a good book. Thank you all for coming by, thank you for your comments, thank you for being there and writing your lovely blogs. I wish you all a happy Christmas time and best of luck and craftiness to the New Year!

Christmas Market 3 and playing in the snow

So nice to find a place to sit down after a long walk. Maybe she was put here waiting while her parents buy her a toy for Christmas in the stall behind her back.

After skiing and playing in the snow the children have such rosy cheeks, wet mittens and runny noses!

Christmas Market 2

I thought you wanted to see more of the miniature Christmas Market in Jyväskylä.

Here is a craftsman selling traditional items woven of birch bark: baskets on the bench and on the ground, the little girl is wearing shoes called virsut  and in front of the bench is a woven rucksack. the little bundles of twigs are whisks. None of these are really used nowadays except for maybe the baskets, but antique ones may be seen as decoration.

Christmas Market

On Thursday we visited our dear daughter Kaija in Central Finland. This time the Craft Museum had a miniature Christmas Market in their window. Kaija took these photos as I didn't have my camera with me. Click to enlarge!

The Santa on the left is guarding the Salvation Army  collection pot, and the other one is there to meet the children and hear their wishes. The real Santa comes on Christmas Eve, preferably with his sleigh pulled by a reindeer or two along the snow. Cars and lorries are alternative means of transport when there is no snow. Santa doesn't climb to any roofs here because a) our chimneys are too tight for anyone, b) they are shut by two draught preventing shutters when there is no fire in the fireplace, and c) Santa leaves the gifts behind the door or under the tree while the family is having a meal in another room or still in the sauna or taking candles to the graves of their loved ones. He may meet families with young children, because the elves know when the family is at home and ready to meet Santa.

Christmas Lights

Our days are so short that I keep the little electric candles burning on three windows all day. This heart shape is my favourite.

More Christmas

This time an elk-looking reindeer Rudolf with an angel friend Celeste and two little Santas Shorty and Skinny. Celeste's star on a stick keeps falling and her ribbon wings are askew, but they all seem like a happy little group.

A Finish and a Half

Here are the socks I started knitting in November when I could begin to move my arm again.

I used the multicoloured yarn for a tiny pair of Train Socks, here both socks at the heel flap. I did not reach my goal which was to make one pair every month for the charity, but they must have enough knitters without me to get socks for every new baby born in town this year. This pair is going with the big socks for a next year's baby.