Free-of-charge Christmas cafés by the Red Cross serve as meeting places

Red Cross Christmas cafés are once again open at and around Christmas.

Christmas cafés are meeting places with small snacks and drinks and nice things to do along with the opportunity to spend time together – completely free of charge. The cafés are operated by volunteers. 

“Even though December is one of the busiest times of year for me as a hairdresser, I have yet to be too busy to join other volunteers in creating the festive Red Cross Christmas café, or bringing good Christmas spirit to people as we call it, for local people,” says Finnish Red Cross volunteer Heta Ahonen from the Merijärvi branch.  

Ahonen has been involved in Red Cross activities since she was in lower secondary school, following in her older brother’s footsteps. Christmas cafés have been organised in Merijärvi since 2020, and Ahonen has been involved in organising them from the beginning. 

“You cannot buy Christmas spirit at any store or sense it sitting in traffic. Instead, you can foster Christmas spirit by knowing that you helped create a sense of community for people that may not have any visitors at Christmas. Or people whose life is more or less lonely all year round, or whose finances are too tight to visit anyone,” Ahonen says.
 
“The Christmas café has been very popular and all of the feedback we have received has been positive. The thing that people have been most impressed by is that everything truly is free and made happen by volunteers coming together. I think that we have been able to make Christmas less lonely for many lonely people,” Ahonen says. 
 
The moments spent together at the Christmas café bring much needed meaning to many people over the long holiday season. The cafés provide communality, especially for people who would otherwise spend Christmas alone against their will. 

The Finnish Red Cross’s Christmas cafés in 2024

Updated list of the locations and opening hours of the Christmas cafés for 2024 in alphabetical order:

Heinola: 24th December 2024 in the afternoon and 30th December 2024 from 13:00 to 15:00, Café HeiMo, Kaivokatu 14, 18100 Heinola

Karkkila: 27th December 2024 from 13:00 to 17:00, Hiljan Kammari, Valtatie 8, Karkkila

Kimito: 27th November 2024 from 14:00, Red Cross Local, Arkadiavägen, Kimito

Leppävirta: 21st December 2024 from 11:00 to 14:00, Leppärengas, Suomalanpurontie 18, Leppävirta

Merijärvi: 20th December 2024 from 11:00, Kilpukka Dining Hall, Merijärventie 106, 86220 Merijärvi

Rautalampi: 20th December 2024, Kuopiontie 22, Rautalampi

Riihimäki: 6th January 2025 from 13:00 to 15:00, Department premises, Keskuskatu 1, 11130 Riihimäki

Tampere: 24th December 2024 from 12:00 to 18:00, Meeting Place Tampuri, Otavalankatu 12 A, 33100 Tampere

Uimaharju: 26th December 2024 from 10:00 to 14:00, Better Everyday Niskantie 46, Eno and Uimaharjun Kasari ry, Harjunraitti 26, Uimaharju

Vantaa: 27th December 2024 from 12:00 to 15:00, Tikkurila Department premises, Tikkuraitti 11 A 19, 01300 Vantaa

Virrat: 26th December 2024 from 14:00 to 16:00, Keskustie 7, 34800 Virrat