Santa Claus’s home is tucked away in a secret place near Korvatunturi, in the snowy heart of Finnish Lapland. His home is a grand log house nestled in the center of a magical village – a place called the Christmas Wonderland. The village hums with life like a tiny, bustling town, where you’ll find Santa’s gift workshop, cozy elf cottages, reindeer stables, a post office, and a sleigh garage.
On the southern slope of Korvatunturi, a nearly one-hundred-meter-long ear-shaped rock formation decorates the landscape. This mountain wasn’t formed by chance, but is the result of astonishing engineering. The ear cleverly mimics the structure of an elf’s ear – even down to a giant ear canal. When standing at its end, one can hear even the quietest whispers of children from the other side of the world.
Each school day begins with Santa Claus’s morning storytime. He shares tales from Christmases past – sometimes thrilling, sometimes funny – and reminds the little elves how important it is to help others and be kind at heart.
Autumn brings excitement and hustle to Korvatunturi. It’s the busiest time of the year, when gifts are crafted and letters to Santa are carefully answered. In the elves’ workshop, hammers ring and wrapping paper rustles – every wish matters.
In summer, Korvatunturi slows down for a moment. The elves enjoy playful days filled with crafts and games. Joyful hearts and shared laughter are the most important ingredients of Christmas – and of life at Korvatunturi.
Every school day starts with Santa's morning opening. He tells stories of Christmases past - sometimes exciting, sometimes funny - and reminds us of the importance of helping others and being kind at heart. Autumn brings with it the hustle and bustle of preparing presents and carefully answering letters to Santa. In the Elves' workshop, hammers rattle and wrapping paper crinkles - every wish counts. In the summer, there's a moment of silence in Korvatunturi. The elves play, do crafts and spend time together. Cheer and laughter are the most important ingredients for Christmas and for the people of Korvatunturi.
Santa Claus’s house is a place where the magic of Christmas lives in every moment. It holds the season’s greatest secrets, sparkling enchantment, and joyful togetherness. The house has many doors, both big and small, leading to secret passageways, the attic, the gift workshop – and to places known only to Santa himself.
At the heart of the house, next to the large fireplace, is Santa's own armchair. From the coffin next to the chair, Santa Claus picks up a big red Book of Names in his lap in the evenings. In that book, closed with a golden clasp, are written the names of all the children the elves have told Santa about. Every night, the stories of fair and caring children make Santa smile and think about the coming Christmas.
Many doors
The house has many doors of different sizes. There are big doors for large animals and gifts, and small doors that even the smallest elves can open. Doors can lead to the attic, the cellar, a secret passage or the hustle and bustle of the gift shop. It is said that no one has passed through all the doors and that only Santa knows where all the different sized doors lead. Many an elf has spent evenings wondering what lies behind the doors and what secrets the house hides.
Command Centre
Behind the stairs leading up to the top of the house is Santa's secret hatch, which gives access to the basement command centre. There, dozens of computers receive messages and letters from children around the world. Listening devices relay even the tiniest whispers, and elves make sure that all wishes reach Santa at the right time. The Command Centre is where the magic of Christmas turns into plans and wishes for presents start to come true.
The Kingdom of Mrs Santa
Behind the big room upstairs is Mrs Santa's kingdom. In the vast kitchen, Santa gives instructions to the kitchen elves and tastes the evening's meal. Mrs Santa is known for her big feasts and for never running out of food. The cheerful and good-humoured Mrs Santa's encouraging words and a little tickle on the neck are never forgotten by the little kitchen elves. For Mrs Santa, the peace and atmosphere of Christmas comes from gathering around the table to prepare Christmas cakes, tasting the warm cookies from the oven and admiring the candle lanterns the elves have made in the window in front of the stable.
The Path to Korvatunturi
How do the reindeer find their way back to Korvatunturi, where no one knows the right route?
When even the last gifts have been delivered on Christmas Eve and Santa Claus approaches the Arctic Circle, it is said that he turns off his satellite navigation devices and gives his lead reindeer, Rudolph, directions based on the northern lights and winds. Lapland’s nature knows that Santa Claus and his sleigh are returning from an important journey and guides the tired reindeer to the right place. Helping Santa Claus is an honorable task for Lapland’s nature, and from time to time, you might see northern lights rehearsals in the Finnish sky – even though Christmas is still far away.
The trolls that live in Lapland belong to the Arctic troll family, or polar trolls. You can recognise them by the snow packed in their fur and their fierce growling. They are tough to give snow washes and are therefore feared throughout the Korvatunturi region. However, you can easily placate the Sunbird by giving it a good hug. It will melt the troll's boggart heart and with good luck you'll make a lifelong friend.
Finnish horse
In Finland, we are used to a certain modesty. The Finnish horse, for example, does not boast much about being one of the fastest and most versatile cold-blooded animals in the world. Even though it is. In the Korvatunturi, the abilities of Finnish horses are well known, and they have been considered one of the most reliable working companions for centuries.
One enthusiastic stable elf devoted much of his life to trying to teach a Finnish horse to fly like Santa's reindeer. He was proved to be too heavy for the job - the height record was set by crashing into the chimney of Santa's sauna.
Snowman
The world's tallest snowman was built in the United States. It was over 37 metres high and took over three months to build.
The world's smallest snowman was built on the Korvatunturi. It was built by Hjalmar Metriparta, head of the Tonttuversta's miniature department, by stacking three snowflakes using specially made tweezers cooled to absolute zero.
In his excitement, however, he threw the snowman away without a trace before anyone saw it.
Niila the dog
A happy and playful puppy, whose best friend is Palle-poro. Nilla, with her beady eyes, prefers to sleep next to a warm stove. Nilla wears a collar around her neck. Nilla loves snow!
Palle-poro
Teddy is Santa's trusty sidekick. On Christmas Eve, when things get busy, Palle makes it to every corner of the world with Santa Claus. Palle's favourite food is apples. He can draw beautiful patterns on snow with his horns. Palle is also musical and loves to dance to Christmas carols. He wears a big bell around his neck.
The reindeer, by the way, is a semi-wild domestic animal related to the deer that grazes in the fells. You may not have known that all reindeer are naturally able to fly. But neither do the reindeer themselves. So the biggest challenge for the reindeer trainers at Korvatunturi is to get the reindeer to realise their flying skills themselves. Learning to fly is one of the most closely guarded secrets of Korvatunturi. The training technique is passed down by tradition through whispering alone.
Ensio
Ensio an "easy" guy with a heart of gold who doesn't stand up straight but stands up when help is needed. Whether it's an almond stuck in Santa's throat or some other humanitarian crisis, our good guy is eager to be there with a first aid kit on his back, ready to save the day. On rescue missions around the world, he's accompanied by his trusty Alaskan malamute, Nöpö, whose sharp muzzle and snow shovel-sized paws come in handy, especially when searching for lost skiers in the snow.
As a selfless elf, he always wants to put good things into circulation, which is why he has set up the Little Monkey First Aid School, teaching the children of the world the all-important first aid skills of a girl and boy. As well as wound cleaning and plastering, there are courses on everything from doing good to helping your neighbour make snow to making coffee for lonely grandmothers.
Fredrik
The Porvoon riverbank is an ancient settlement area. Several hundred years ago, a merchant ship sailed down the small river with a ship's elf named Fredrik Flodbåt on board. Fredrik is attached to his hometown of Porvoo and its warm, friendly inhabitants, whom he likes to playfully tease every now and then, if not every now and then. His best friend is the cat in the cathedral. From his home in the bell tower, he can see every nook and cranny of the city. The elf's role model is the Runeberg family itself. He thinks it is wonderful that Porvoo has been home to a family whose words and art have remained alive in the hearts of all. True to his role model, he wears glasses on his nose, even if he doesn't need them when he is sharp-sighted.
The elf spends a lot of time in nature and for this former riverside elf, the Pelling Archipelago is the most beautiful place in the world.
Lampertti
Smile every time you step on board, because so does Lampertti the ship's elf! Sailing at sea makes his eyes light up like the anticipation of Christmas Eve, as the merrily crashing waves carry him off on incredible adventures. Lampertti has dipped his miter in the Red Sea, anchored his ship in the fabled port of Atlantis and disappeared a few times with his boat into the Bermuda Triangle.
Lampert's favourite pastime is also pedalling in a Christmas balloon - with a swimming ring, flippers and his best friend Harri Hylke, of course. The open sea, the joyful chatter of the seagulls and the sea wind blowing tiny fireworks into his beard always make Lampert sigh with happiness, because the sea is his home and adventure is his calling.
Morning
The dawn was comforting people and reducing the fear of flying for the first time back in 1909 when those great giants of the sky, airships, made it possible to fly like a bird in the sky. Morning is a philanthropic elf who loves the human bustle of the station and can best be spotted from his favourite spot in the arrival hall, where tears still well up in his eyes every time he witnesses the emotional reunion of grandparents and grandchildren on the eve of Christmas.
The days at the station are busy, with Aamu scurrying around with a walkie-talkie in his pocket attaching loose luggage tags. In the run-up to Christmas, Aamu likes to assist Santa himself in choosing and wrapping last-minute presents. At night, the station is more serene and this is when Mamu patrols the terminals, tucking in sleeping backpackers and waking sleep-deprived passengers for their onward flights.
Veikka
Veikka is an elf that most of us have unknowingly come across somewhere in the world. He's always on the move, but his weathered face is often covered by binoculars, a sun visor, ski goggles or a sleep mask made from a Christmas red blanket. But you can still recognise Veika for his exceptional sense of adventure and his ability to guess all his fellow travellers' favourite holiday destinations - sometimes even correctly!
Veikka has travelled the world a hundred and one times, and has captured a thousand and one sights on his camera memory card, from the Eiffel Tower to the famous limestone mound of Kheops. But his favourite destination is Joulusaari, which broke away from the Korvatunturi when the continental plates moved a long, long time ago. The island still has a small but hardy reindeer population, and special almonds used in Christmas porridge are grown on the slopes of the tropical fells. Veikka always brings them back to Korvatunturi as souvenirs.
Konrad
You may have noticed that many train carriages have small hatches in the wall or ceiling that the average passenger never gets a peek behind. They give access to the secret service routes of the train wagons.
In fact, each train is staffed by three to five real elves. Their responsibilities include checking train schedules using star maps, waking up dozing passengers at the right stop and looking after animal passengers.
Train elves live a nomadic life. The oldest of them all, the legendary Konrad "Konnari", who has travelled every single stretch of Finland's 6,000-kilometre railway network. Konnari's favourite route is Oulu-Rovaniemi, especially in winter frosts and when it's brown. Konrad's favourite motto is "Now things are on track".
Papu
People drink a lot of coffee in Finland. In fact, the most in the world. And a big slice of our country's coffee consumption rests on one, rather small, shoulder. They belong to an elf called Paul the Pot-bellied Gaffebau - more commonly known as Papu. His most famous motto is 'Christmas in white and coffee in black'.
Papu is the official coffee elf of Korvatunturi and a true enthusiast. He has tuned all his elf senses to the development of the perfect Christmas coffee. The right recipe has now been honed for 147 years, and coffee has been drunk in the same amount as one medium-sized forest pond.
The number one customer at Papu Elf is Santa Claus himself, for whom a steaming cuppa is poured every morning straight from Paul's traditional copper pot. Today it was blend number 3008, with a touch of lichen. We don't yet know what they thought of it.
Tuutio
Tuomas Torventöräys, nicknamed Tuutio. Tuutio is 107 years old. His familiar catchphrase is "There are elves of all stripes on the road again". The Korvatunturi is a traditional region where sledges run on the hillside to the glow of the northern lights. Quiet and peaceful. It has always been like this and that's good. But it was Tuutio's love of cars that took him from Korvatunturi to the city. He combined his love of cars with the elves' unerring sense of direction and became a taxi driver. How does he reach the pedals of a car? Tuutio has specially designed stilts decorated with speed stripes, which he received from a grand elf as a Christmas present.
Edison
The Edison elf always carries a computer in his backpack, as he is responsible for the IT affairs of Korvatunturi. Edison's role model is Linus Torvalds, the inventor of Linux. He is also developing his own computer application called Eartree with milk.
Patrick
Playing number 11, Elf Patrick loves not only hockey but also other winter sports. He loves animals, and is training for a running race to beat his dog in the 100 metres.
Kaamos
A big fan of metal music, Kaamos the elf gets inspiration for his music from Finnish nature and the changing seasons. Kaamos's first hit, Swallow the Norhern Light, topped the Korvatunturi charts for 24 weeks! Kaamos' hobbies also include baking.
Echo
An echo-elf understands animal speech. The animals are the elves' helpers, and Kaiku translates the animals' speech for the other elves. Kaiku can also turn elves into animals, but only one at a time.
Höperö
Höperö is also particularly known for his absent-mindedness. To be on the safe side, the elf celebrates Christmas on the 24th of every month, just to make sure he doesn't forget. He is 350 years old and a scribe by trade. He collects beards in different colours and uses them to keep his beard wavy. He likes to eat Rice Porridge every day to find an almond, because he can't remember ever having found one.
Sparky
At 111 years old, the pink-haired Säihky is a real cheerleader who puts everyone in a good mood. Dancing and singing are among his favourite pastimes. She can play several songs in a skirt while dancing. Säihky likes anything with colours and stripes. They often go hippy-hopping with Palle the reindeer.
Oula
A 193-year-old bearded and snooty elf. Oula is a hard-working elf, but when needed, he can easily be inspired to play and romp around. Oula enjoys sledging, snowmaking and jumping into snow piles. He is learning to play the guitar and loves Joulumuor's black coffee.
Santa Claus's tassels
Santa's slippers are like the embrace of a fireplace - soft and warm. The spruce pattern that decorates them speaks of his love of nature and his connection to the northern landscape.
Santa's boots
Santa Claus' boots have traversed the snowy forests and corners of the world. Their surface carries the memories of thousands of Christmas journeys, and the fir tree pattern speaks of the values that make Christmas magic.
Santa's hat
Santa's cap is deep red and soft as first snow. Its tassel floats like a snowball falling from the clouds, and it carries with it the spirit of Christmas and thousands of stories that whisper softly in the wind to Santa's ears.
Santa's beard
Santa's beard is like a shimmering snowdrift - long, bushy and mysterious like a northern fir forest. Its thousands of curls are like loops woven by the Christmas tree, dancing like snowflakes in the winter weather.
The face of Santa Claus
Santa has a warm smile on his face and a sparkle in his eyes. Soft furrows and bushy eyebrows tell of centuries of wisdom and stories.
Tuomo
157-year-old beardless elf. Tuomo is very young for an elf, still in his infancy, or rather in his infancy. Tuomo hasn't eaten a tutt for at least a hundred years! He knows how to do a vault when he jumps from the roof to the rivet. Tuomo admires Santa Claus more than anything.
