Virginija Werder will be among Santa’s elves just a few kilometres from the Arctic Circle this Christmas. She spoke to the Herald before leaving her Bay of Plenty home in October. Video / Mike Scott
Virginija Werder has been working as an elf in a Santa Claus village near the Arctic Circle in Lapland, northern Finland, since October.
The former Bay of Plenty teacher has experienced the Northern Lights, the polar night, and temperatures as low as -20C.
The job involves taking people on activities - such as sleigh rides - in a forest, before meeting Santa.
Eight weeks on, the 22-year-old has ticked off a bunch of experiences few on this side of the world can match, including seeing the Northern Lights multiple times, experiencing the polar night and escorting Australians to meet Santa in snowy Christmas card landscapes more than 15,000km from home.
Former Bay of Plenty teacher Virginija Werder - elf name Kiwi - has been working in a Santa Claus village in Rovaniemi, near the Arctic Circle in Lapland, since October.
Making friends from around the world was the best part of the job, said Werder, who’s already locked in future travel plans with her new mates.
“I didn’t think there was going to be such a big variety of different cultures … within the staff there aremore than 30 different cultures and I’m living with nine other people from six different countries. It’s been very cool experiencing and learning more about the different cultures and what life looks like for them.
“[At work] I’ve met a few families from Australia but unfortunately none from New Zealand yet ... however, it’s been very nice chatting with the Australian families because they recognise my accent straight away, and my elf name - Kiwi - gives it away too.”
Elves at work in SantaPark's secret forest in a Santa village in Lapland, Finland, where Kiwi teacher Virginija Werder has been working as an elf. Photo / SantaPark Instagram
She’d heard some New Zealand families had gone to the “cave”, an underground Christmas theme park, but Werder is a forest elf, taking smaller groups to a “secret forest” for activities such as sleigh rides, roasting marshmallows and making gingerbread before meeting Santa.
After arriving in the Lapland city of Rovaniemi, 830km north of Helsinki, Werder graduated from her employer SantaPark’s in-house “elf diploma” school, was fitted with her green, gold and red costume, given make-up, blush and wax for her elf “look”, and sent out to work.
Former Bay of Plenty teacher Virginija Werder has been working as an elf in a Santa Claus village in Rovaniemi, near the Arctic Circle in Lapland, northern Finland.
“A day might look like me having three private programmes where a family will come to the forest and we make their tailored Christmas experience magical. Or I might have a big charter group, which will take the whole day, around 10 hours.
“In the forest, we have the elf school, the command centre - where all the Christmas magic happens - and the toy factory.”
The forest also included teepees and laavu, which are traditional Lappish fire pits, she said.
Temperatures in the Santa village near the Arctic Circie can fall to -30C, Virginija Werder says - but they also promise perfect conditions for making snow angels.
“It’s been exhausting … [and] elfs are very happy and energetic so having to be like that for the majority of the [work] week has been very hard, especially when you’re tired.”
The payoffs were the friendships and, especially, seeing the Northern Lights.
“It is amazing … one time it was bright green, red and pink and it was moving in the sky. I’ve downloaded an app that tells me if there’s a chance of seeing them, so now I get a notification.”
She's seen the Northern Lights multiple times since arriving in Lapland in October to work as an elf in a Santa Claus village, former Bay of Plenty teacher Virginija Werder says.
Temperatures can fall to -30C but had mostly been ranging between -10C and 5C so far, although they dipped recently to -20C, Werder said.
“This is definitely cold. I’m really starting to miss the warm weather now.”
The winter darkness had been “very weird”, reaching its peak today when the sun would rise at 11am and set two hours later, she said.
“It’s very strange because once the sun has set I just naturally think it’s already dinner and bed time, but no it’s only 2pm, so it’s very hard to get used to.”
Werder, a relief teacher at various Tauranga schools before jetting off to the North Pole - where her European Union passport allows her to work - has always loved Christmas.
It's a long way from a Bay of Plenty Christmas this year for Kiwi teacher-turned-elf Virginija Werder, who is working for a Santa Claus village in Rovaniemi, near the Arctic Circle in Lapland, northern Finland.
But despite being in a part of the world considered Santa’s home turf, creating festive magic for others meant for her and her colleagues “it doesn’t feel like Christmas”, probably because of the long work hours, Werder said.
“It truly is magical when the kids get very excited [to see Santa], so it is all worth it even though it doesn’t feel very Christmassy for me.”
Making new friends from around the world has been the best part of her elf adventure, says former Bay of Plenty teacher Virginija Werder, left, who is working as an elf this Christmas in a Santa Claus village in Rovaniemi, near the Arctic Circle in Lapland.
Christmas Day will, of course, be a work day although Werder isn’t yet sure if she’ll be rostered on.
“This will be my first Christmas away from home and my family. But it will be fun celebrating it with my housemates and seeing the traditions that everyone does.
“It’s been a blast and I am very grateful I went ahead. I’ve made lifelong memories that I’ll never forget.”
Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features.
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