Pikkujoulu Explained: How Finns Celebrate Before Christmas and How Visitors Can Join

What pikkujoulu actually is

Pikkujoulu translates as 'little Christmas'. It is the party Finns hold in the weeks before the real thing, and nearly everyone goes to at least one. Workplaces host them, but so do sports clubs, student organisations, choirs, housing associations and groups of friends. Many people attend three or four in a single season.

Christmas itself in Finland is a quiet family affair, centred on Christmas Eve at home. Pikkujoulu is its noisier opposite: a night out with the people you see every other day of the year. The season roughly runs from mid-November to mid-December, with Friday and Saturday evenings in late November and early December the busiest of all.

Pikkujoulu has a reputation, too. The office party where a normally reserved colleague takes over the karaoke microphone is a national cliché, and most Finns will tell you a story or two. In practice, most evenings are warm, sociable and well fed rather than wild.

What's on the table: joulupöytä

The centrepiece of many pikkujoulu dinners is the joulupöytä, the Christmas table. In restaurants this is usually served as a generous buffet, often eaten in rounds: cold fish first, then cold meats and salads, then the warm dishes, then dessert. Pace yourself on the first round. There is a lot to come.

Cold dishes

• Fish: pickled herring in several sauces, cold-smoked or gravlax-style salmon, and sometimes roe with smetana.
• Rosolli: a salad of beetroot, carrot, potato and pickled cucumber, usually served with a pink whipped-cream dressing.
• Christmas ham: sliced cold and eaten with strong Finnish mustard.

Warm dishes

• Laatikot: baked casseroles of carrot, swede (rutabaga) and sweetened potato. They are the most distinctly Finnish part of the meal.
• Warm ham or roasts, sometimes with turkey or a fish option alongside.
• Lipeäkala (lye-cured fish in white sauce) appears on more traditional tables. Try a spoonful. It divides opinion even among Finns.

Sweets and drinks

• Riisipuuro: rice porridge with cinnamon and sugar. If one almond is hidden in the pot, whoever finds it is said to have good luck.
• Joulutorttu: star-shaped puff pastries with prune jam.
• Piparkakut: thin gingerbread biscuits.
• Glögi: spiced mulled drink, with or without alcohol, served with raisins and almonds in the cup.

Not every pikkujoulu uses a full buffet. Many restaurants offer seated Christmas set menus that take the joulupöytä flavours and serve them as three or four courses. Vegetarian and vegan versions are now common, so ask when booking.

Customs worth knowing

• Gift exchange: friend groups often do a secret-Santa-style swap. The group agrees a price limit in advance, and everyone sticks to it.
• Dress: smart-casual is the norm for restaurant parties. Some groups set a theme, and Santa hats are never out of place.
• Toasts: look people in the eye when you say kippis.
• After the meal: many parties move on to a bar or karaoke. Leaving after dinner is perfectly acceptable.

How visitors and newcomers can join

If you have just moved to Helsinki, the easiest route is to say yes to every invitation from work, your language course or a hobby club. Pikkujoulu is one of the friendliest ways into Finnish social life, and newcomers are usually welcomed warmly.

Visitors without a group still have good options:

1. Book a Christmas lunch. Many restaurants run a joululounas (Christmas lunch) during the season. It is the same kind of food at a gentler pace, easy to book for two, and usually cheaper than an evening party.
2. Look at hotel restaurants. Central hotels often serve Christmas buffets that are open to individual diners as well as groups. Radisson Blu Plaza in the city centre promotes Christmas parties through the Raflaamo restaurant group.
3. Make your own pikkujoulu. If you are travelling with friends or family, book a table for a joulupöytä evening and call it your pikkujoulu. Finns do exactly the same.
4. Combine it with the markets. A glögi at the Helsinki Christmas Market (Tuomaan Markkinat) on Senate Square, open 27 November–22 December 2026, before dinner makes a classic Helsinki December evening.

Booking tips for Helsinki restaurants

The most important tip is simple: book early. Restaurants openly warn that pikkujoulu slots are in high demand, and prime Friday and Saturday dates in late November and early December go first.

• Be flexible on the day. Monday to Thursday evenings and lunchtimes are much easier to get, and sometimes better value.
• Check group rules. Private rooms and party packages often have a minimum headcount, a fixed menu and a deadline for confirming numbers. Some ask for a deposit.
• Give dietary needs up front. Kitchens plan buffets in advance, so tell them about allergies and vegetarian or vegan guests when you book.
• Ask what's included. Packages vary. Glögi on arrival, coffee and dessert may be included or charged extra, and drinks are usually separate.
• Use the big booking pages.Raflaamo's pikkujoulu page lists Christmas parties, Christmas lunches and seasonal menus across its restaurants in English. For comparing Christmas lunch and brunch menus and prices in the centre, the Finnish-language listings site Brunssit.fi is a useful starting point. MyHelsinki, the city's official visitor site, covers the wider Christmas season.

Menus, prices and available dates for the 2026 season change each year and fill quickly, so check before you go and confirm the details directly with the restaurant.

A few useful words

• Pikkujoulu / pikkujoulut: little Christmas party / parties
• Joulupöytä: Christmas table or buffet
• Joululounas: Christmas lunch
• Glögi: mulled drink
• Hyvää joulua: Merry Christmas
• Kippis: cheers