Virginija Werder will be among Santa’s elves just a few kilometres from the Arctic Circle this Christmas.
Bay of Plenty teacher Virginija Werder is jetting off to a Lapland-based Santa village to work as an elf.
It’s a minimum-wage job but the associated experiences - including seeing the Northern Lights - will be priceless, she says.
After receiving her “elf diploma”, Werder will work in temperatures as low as -30C.
Christmas is 74 days away, but children across Tauranga have already been on their best behaviour as their teacher jets off to the North Pole to work as one of Santa’s elves.
Virginija Werder has been relief teaching at various schools in her hometown but will this month swap the classroom for a Santa Claus village a few kilometres from the Arctic Circle, in the Lapland region of northern Finland.
Her upcoming job had already been proving its worth in her existing one, Werder told the Herald before leaving New Zealand on Friday.
“I use it as a discipline thing. I tell [the students] at the start of the day, ‘Oh, I’m gonna be working with Santa, so you’ve got to behave - if you don’t, I’m gonna tell Santa and he’s going to put you on the naughty list’.
“They all get so worried, it’s so funny seeing their faces.”
Some have even been securing their place in Santa’s good favour by writing personal letters for hand delivery to the big man in red, Werder said.
“[They] gave me some letters to Santa, and said that I need to pass them on to him.”
Virginija Werder will be among Santa’s elves just a few kilometres from the Arctic Circle this Christmas.
Photo / Mike Scott
The 22-year-old will this month join people from around the world working amid scenes familiar to most of us only through the snowy landscapes and sleigh rides of Christmas cards, and in a role first spotted by Werder on TikTok.
“I didn’t know anything about this - I just saw a video pop up about this girl and she was doing a ‘day in the life’ video of her being an elf in Lapland. I thought that would be a cool experience, and then just thought, ‘Why not do it?’”
After googling “elf jobs in Lapland”, Werder discovered several Santa’s village companies seeking elves and, after interviews with several, had the pick of a job from all.
The companies mostly wanted to know why she wanted to be an elf.
“I said I’ve always loved Christmas, and I’m always the one at home to put up the Christmas tree and put up the Christmas lights and organise the Christmas lunch and do all that sort of thing.”
She was also asked how she’d deal with the extreme cold, with temperatures falling as low as -30C in winter.
Virginija Werder will work as an elf in SantaPark's secret forest in a Santa village in Lapland, Finland this Christmas. Photo / SantaPark Instagram @santaclaussecretforest
Fortunately she loves “the snow and the cold”, as while her company - SantaPark - has an indoor Christmas theme park, Werder will instead be based at its outdoor “secret forest”.
She’ll lead visitors through the forest to activities such as sleigh rides, snowball fights, roasting marshmallows, creating crafts in Santa’s workshop and making gingerbread, before taking them to meet Santa.
Her green, gold and red costume included a jacket and boots suitable for the below freezing temperatures, topped with an elf’s hat and elf-specific make-up, Werder said.
“We have to put little freckles on our face, and blush. And they also provide us wax to put on our noses as well.
“I think that’s supposed to make your nose look big, or pointy like an elf nose. If you imagine an elf in the movies, that’s how we’re going to look.”
This Saturday, Werder begins her on-site elf training, including how to deal with various situations involving visitors, and more generally how to act like an elf - mostly by being “cheerful and joyful”.
Once she graduates with her “elf diploma” she’ll start working, likely at the start of next month.
Elf pay is "pretty much" minimum wage, but Werder says she's going to Lapland to work in a Santa village this Christmas for the experience, not the money. Photo / Mike Scott
She’ll also be settling into the shared accommodation provided to workers in Rovaniemi, 830km north of Helsinki and considered the hometown of Santa Claus.
“By the sounds of it, there’s an elf house where all the elves get put. So I’ll be with all the other elves.”
Her four-month gig - the Santa villages run year-round - pays “pretty much” minimum wage, Werder said.
But it was worth it for the opportunity to meet people from around the world and live in an environment so different from home.
“I’m just doing it for the experience. Not the money.”
Along with living in almost 24-hour darkness by the time of the Northern Hemisphere winter solstice, Werder would also likely see the Northern Lights for the first time.
“And since I’m going to be there for a long period of time, I’m probably going to see it multiple times. So I’m very excited for that as well.”
A scene from SantaPark's secret forest in a Santa village in Lapland, Finland, where Kiwi teacher Virginija Werder will spend four months working as an elf. Photo / SantaPark Instagram @santaclaussecretforest
When her time at Santa’s side ends, Werder plans to work at a resort or as a nanny in a yet-to-be determined European country, and travel when she can.
Werder, who was born in Lithuania and came to New Zealand aged 9 after being adopted by Angela and Wayne Werder, along with her two younger siblings, has a European Union passport.
It’d helped her secure a job as an elf, but those with only a Kiwi passport shouldn’t be deterred, she said.
“You can still go over there, but you will have to apply for a visa. It’s another expense, and more paperwork as well, so I’m super-lucky to have my EU passport.”
The passport would also allow her to work in Europe next year, she said.
But home, and teaching, still beckoned, and she expected to be back in New Zealand in about a year, Werder said.
“I’m just seeing what I can do, and the different options. But yeah, I still definitely want to be a teacher.”
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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