Christmas in Finland has always been about stillness.
Before tourism, before busy schedules and attractions, Christmas on a countryside farm meant slowing down completely. Preparing food together, heating the sauna, caring for animals and gathering around the fire.
This is the atmosphere we recreate during the Old-Fashioned Finnish Christmas retreat at Ranch Kuulas.
Guests arrive two days before Christmas Eve and step into the rhythm of farm life in winter. The house fills with the smell of wood-fired ovens, slowly prepared casseroles and freshly baked bread.
We decorate the Christmas tree together after bringing it from the forest with a horse. Traditional dishes are prepared gradually over the days — not as a cooking class, but as a natural part of the celebration.
On Christmas Eve, the most important day of Finnish Christmas, the morning begins with joulupuuro, the traditional rice porridge cooked in a wood-fired oven with the famous almond hidden inside the pot.
During the day we spend time with the horses — either enjoying a peaceful sleigh ride through the snowy forest or riding Finnhorses to a quiet hill overlooking the winter landscape.
The Christmas sauna in the afternoon prepares everyone for the evening celebration.
Dinner is shared slowly by candlelight. Traditional Finnish dishes are served around the table, conversations flow quietly and the evening ends by the fire — just as it has on Finnish farms for generations.
Christmas Day is intentionally calm. There are no alarms, no schedules and no pressure to participate in anything. Guests can take a winter forest walk, ride horses, try ice fishing or simply enjoy the rare luxury of silence.
This retreat is designed for travellers who want to experience Christmas as it truly feels in Finland: simple, quiet and deeply connected to nature.
