Visiting a home in Finland

Spring is almost here and folks are starting to go to their summer cottages. But still it is good time to invite guests and have nice time with friends and family.

So if you get invited to visit a home in Finland what to bring, when to leave, what’s going to happen? Here is some information about how we usually visit.

The invitation is quite often very informal, most commonly given vocally or by SMS. Be sure to answer the same way, even when you cannot go. If it is not a party, the host will try to settle a new date with you. If you do not want to go for a visit, express it clearly in the first place. The Finns are used to direct answers.

Of course arrive on time, but not more than 5 - 10 minutes ahead. If for reason or another you are going to be late, send a message to the host and give a new estimated time of arrival and a good reason for being late. A Finn will understand. :)

When entering a private home remember to take off your shoes just inside the front door. Yes, take off the shoes. It’s a tradition in Finland that at private home we never wear outside shoes indoor. One can have so called visiting shoes, if one does not want to walk on socks. When visiting a summer cottage, you can ask the host, that should I take off my shoes or leave them on. In most of the cottages I have visited the shoes should be taken off when entering the premises.

What to bring then? Flowers or a bottle of wine is always a good choice. So is something from your home country. Some Finns enjoy traditional souvenir from visitor’s home country and some don’t. But the Finns are usually quite polite and do not say, if they do not like something. 

If invited for coffee, you will be served coffee and biscuits, coffee cake buns, cake and maybe something salty. Depending on the home the coffee table can be very plentiful or quite poor. And usually this has nothing do with the wealth of the family. My family’s tradition has been for decades to give the visitors a plentiful coffee table. I have been taught to always have something to serve also for surprise visitors.

If then invited for lunch or dinner, be prepared for food with Finnish or foreign twist, depending once again on the host. I myself try to offer something traditional but still modern Finnish food for our guests. I commonly serve meat or fish, if somebody is not allergic to fish. During lunch I serve water and milk with the food. On dinner I serve water and wine and/or beer, depending on what the guests prefer.

Most Finns know how to consume alcohol wisely and do not try to get guests drunk and drink them under the table. Most of the Finns can also speak at least English, but we are usually quite shy, so prefer only to speak Finnish. In Finland you do not usually bump into situation where on dinner table everybody else speak Finnish, which you don’t speak and do not understand. The Finns tend to speak then English and try to make the foreigner feel comfortable.   

And few words for the upcoming summer time and cottage visits. If you are invited to a private summer cottage, take food or wine with you. Something that is easily stored, does not require cool temperatures and is useful. Quite many cottages are located far from civilisation and require the hosts some extra effort to get all the food and drinks there. So food and drink presents are highly valued. In summer cottage you can also offer to help the hosts. Help is also highly appreciated. In many cottages modern amenities are not all present. This may mean that water is brought in from outdoor well or that dishes are washed manually and even some places have no electricity, while that has become rare.

Enjoy visiting Finland!