Heldrinki

An Anti-capitalist Guide to Finnish Gift-Giving, for the Holidays and Beyond

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With the holiday season in full swing, we may yet again find ourselves wondering how to show our loved ones we care. Giving feels good! While Finland is no stranger to holiday-fueled hubbub, the country has its own unique quirks and culture that might influence how we give and receive gifts. Let’s get into it!

Maybe each season we feel the mounting stress of expected gifting, or maybe we aren’t able to do things how we once used to. Finding stable footing in a rapidly-changing social/economic environment can be challenging, and many of us might be craving a divestment from the usual, both individually and globally. That will look different for everyone, but there is so much room for something new if we forge a less-trodden path! While some of the points in this piece are Finland-specific, many of the ideas around gift-giving are universal and can be applied anywhere. 

First, some foundational points so we’re all on the same page:

• Commerce ≠ capitalism
  • Commerce: the exchange of goods and services (barter, currency, gift, etc), in play since around 10,000 BC and integral to human civilization. You can support commerce without advocating for capitalism.
  • Capitalism: a system of organizing commerce that prioritizes profit and unchecked growth over all else (often at the expense of workers and the public), existing just a few hundred years.
• Gifts are not necessary to show love
  • Potentially unpopular opinion: it is easy to fall for the trap of commercialized gifting. We have been conditioned to regularly supply each other with products and services at industry-set intervals–not to expand our hearts and nourish our communities, but to drive consumerism. Our feelings are real, but they have been manipulated to increase sales. We must push back on that at every opportunity.
• Celebration of each other and the world is essential
  • We are beings capable of immense of joy and delight. We want to gather, to feast, and to show love. When we travel, we crave to capture a sliver of the magic we experienced and bring it back home with us.

Economy, Empathy, and Everything in Between

No matter what part of the world we are in, we are all experiencing a massive shift. The climate is changing– literally and metaphorically– and it can feel disorienting. In an attempt to establish firm-footing, we look to what we are familiar with, clinging to tradition and worshipping nostalgia. In the face of severe shake-ups, do we continue business as usual, repeating the same patterns and behaviors that we grew up with? Or do we pivot and adapt to the evolving world? And if we choose to adapt, what does that mean for us and generations to come?

The current situation in Finland is dire for many creatives, with significant political/economic instability, VAT increases, normalized extraneous fees, and rising unemployment. For immigrants and many locals, “forced entrepreneurism” has become the norm–we’re all out here just trying to survive…and maybe even do what we love in the process. Supporting corporations over small, independent businesses or individuals sends a message that independent art and local work is not important. Your support will be more meaningful (and tangibly beneficial) to an independent artist, maker, or service provider living/working in Helsinki than it will be to a multi-million-dollar organization, Finnish or otherwise.

Oh boy! So, what can we as mindful consumers do? Choose local. Support small businesses. Shop intentionally. 

How to Shop with Intention

Exploring our ideas and impulses around gift-giving is essential regardless of the season or reason. It is necessary to softly examine the root of our desire to give, so we can make sure we are doing so in an effective and authentic way. Intentional shopping looks not only at your own motivations but extends out to the effects your purchase has in the greater community.

• Intention: The Product Itself

Not all goods are made equal. When considering mindful purchasing, we look at the product itself. Who made it? Were the working conditions fair? Who profits from it and is that the same person that made it, or someone else? What cultural values are we supporting with our purchase? If the answers to these questions aren’t clear, or point toward potential exploitation, maybe reconsider. If this all seems too complicated or overwhelming…stay with me! It’s new and we just need practice and an open mind. Determine what is important to you–quality, origin, equity, significance, function, price– and go from there.

• Intention: Personal Motivation

Gifting is a learned behavior, the product of wanting to express our affection, deeply shaped by familial and societal narratives. It can be sublime! However, if we are not careful, without hesitation we let our gifts be directly influenced by industry’s demand. Expensive jewelry and flowers for women. Elegant watches and leather for men. Chocolates for specific holidays. Candy for others. Every purchase is inextricably linked with notions of gender, class, and culture. When did we let ourselves become so predictable, so easily swayed by targeted marketing? Who made these “rules”, and why are we following them?

The reasons we give are also learned through the lenses of our own needs. While foundationally they may be to express love or gratitude, in practice they often become bids to prove our value or seek approval. Look what I can give to you. See how much I love you. Recognize how well I understand you. We may not even consciously realize that is what we are doing, we are just so used to doing it (and receiving positive feedback in return) that we’ve never questioned it. Question it!

It is also remarkably easy to get carried away with what we think the person needs, putting ourselves in a position of authority. I know you told me what you want (or don’t want), but -I- think you actually need this. Usually it isn’t even that calculated, and we genuinely think we are helping–And it can be fun to guess what people might want! It’s just when we are wrong about it, it’s key to acknowledge that and move on without making it about us or our feelings. We inject way too much of our own story into the presents we give to others, and that becomes clear when the gift is not received how we hoped it might be.

That brings us to…

• Intention: Consensual gifting

 At the core, this is gifting with the recipient’s needs prioritized instead of your own motivations. One might think this is the standard, but it often is not! For example, if you give your friend a car as a birthday present (Wow! A car!), but they are someone that has clearly stated they have no interest in owning a car due to its ecological impact, this would not be a consensual gift. But aren’t they grateful?! This is an amazing gift! Yes, it may be extremely generous and certainly a gift that someone else may drool over, but for your friend it is a burden that they do not want, with the added labor of having to now be gracious to you about it (and buy some car insurance). The gift was not only not given with the recipient in mind, but actively goes against their wishes or ethos. This is often accidental!

The idea here is to detach from whatever narrative we have surrounding the gift experience and see it for what it is: we misread the situation. And that’s okay. It doesn’t need to be catastrophic. If we are truly gifting for the other person, and not ourselves, we should be able to suspend our ego and recognize that we might have missed the mark. We can laugh about it! We can even re-gift it to someone that will appreciate it more. 

While this automobile example might be unlikely, many real-life scenarios of gifting follow the same pattern. We give something that we are excited about, instead of the recipient. We repeat the story that if a gift is not a extravagant surprise, it’s not as “good” or “thoughtful” (even though studies show that we are more content when we receive what we explicitly asked for vs a mystery gift). Not all gifts need to have a lasting impact, or even be deeply meaningful, but when we consider the immense environmental and psychosocial impacts of excess, combined with the actual desires of our gift recipients… it may give us pause on our next purchase. In these days of abundance, many of us have accidentally wandered into a pattern of giving that comes more out of obligation and manufactured urgency (or even our own self-soothing) than out of love–and whole communities, the environment, and our wallets suffer for it.

Another way to say this is: intention does not negate impact. So, while you might have a lovely intention of gifting, the impact of that gift does not always match. This does require us as givers and receivers to be clear with our needs, direct with our asks, and not assume the other person knows what we are thinking or is being intentionally inconsiderate.

Theoretical to Practical: How to Find a Great Gift

Okay okay, so we’ve waded through the psychology around giving… but what about the gifts themselves? Though many of the following examples are Finland/Helsinki-specific, the same approach can be applied to any city that you find yourself in. When in doubt, ask a few locals!

Beyond the Big M’s

Moomin and Marimekko are undeniably staples of Finnish contemporary culture, and are known worldwide for their beautiful art and craft. Rightly so! This is not an admonishment of either, but rather an awareness of how prioritizing companies like these at the expense of investing in other lesser-known, resident foreign and Finnish creators influences the landscape of Finnish creativity. As a note, many products of large corporations like these are manufactured outside of Finland (eg Moomin mugs are primarily made in Thailand), so if you are looking for a local Finnish product, there are definitely more excellent options that directly support the local economy and increase creativity in the community. This may require you to go out in the community itself!

You Can’t Get More Local Than Down The Street

While it absolutely does require more time and energy to shop locally, the experience itself can be part of the adventure. As a general rule, get out of the immediate “downtown” area (although, there are exceptions to this, like community markets). Most independent shops will not be able to afford the higher rents in the city center, so be prepared to go a few streets or neighborhoods out. Grab a coffee from a nearby cafe and wander through the district on foot. Go into the small shops that look intriguing, you may find something surprising. Or, you can get more targeted and ask a local! Everyone knows at least one artist or shop they can point you toward. Let them know you want to buy something from an artisan directly. 

If window-shopping isn’t your bag or you are limited on time, consider consumables. These can be purchased at the grocery, kauppahalli, or a specialty market. In Finland, things like boxed Spruce sap, powdered forest berries, dried mushrooms, flavored licorice, or even a bag of assorted bulk mystery candies can be exciting for someone that has never had them. Literally, “a taste of Finland”. In summer, you could even bring a box of fabulous Finnish strawberries with you on the plane! A pretty special and surprising gift, for less than 8 euro and a bit of care. 

Putting Second-Hand First

If you have any lingering notions of “used” items being undesirable, leave them here. Millions of kilos (just in clothes!) are annually donated to second-hand organizations in Finland alone, with the global used apparel market expected to reach $351 billion in the next 2 years. And that’s just clothes!  From an ecological perspective, we already have more things created than we will ever know what to do with. From an emotional perspective, older things are a snapshot of another existence, a memory contained in a physical vessel–how excellent! A new item is not automatically better than an old one– especially when it comes to classic designs, quality craftsmanship, and ecological footprint.There is a treasure trove of fun and interesting objects hidden away in the many thrift stores of the city just waiting for you to find and give them a new home–and the finding can be quite fun itself! Do you have a friend that loves ducks? Great, here’s a hand-woven tapestry of a farm scene from the 50’s. Perhaps a friend collects The Little Prince books and you find an old copy translated into Finnish. Maybe you discover a ceramic dish sculpted by an island hermit, or an intricately-painted tile for the patio, or some warm woolly socks knitted by someone’s Mummo, or even simply an iron kettle that will remind you of your trip every time you warm your morning tea. When we overlook all these previously-loved things, we miss out on a major opportunity to find something truly special and give fresh life to something discarded that might otherwise end up in a landfill.

Gifting an Experience

For local Helsinki givers, or even the temporary visitors, an experience can hold significant meaning and provide an even deeper insight into a culture. Classes (cooking, somatic yoga, foraging, folk dance, etc) or services (mending, massage, hairstyling, etc) give the receiver a chance to interact with someone embedded in the city, sharing work that they love, and maybe learn at the same time. Individuals and organizations run workshops ranging from tea specialties to menstrual cycle awareness to indoor surfing to making fish leather–all year round! It can even be as simple as hiring a friend’s mom to teach you how to bake pulla. This kind of community support can be essential, and could even result in someone learning a skill that they use for the rest of their life! It may take a bit of creative thinking, and some sifting through physical or digital spaces, but the possibilities are endless. These kinds of gifts are especially beneficial for those that feel like they already have enough, or are looking for something really different. Check in with nearby arts organizations, community centers, relatives, your couchsurfing host– you never know what skills people have!

Finding Art

Helsinki is bustling with domestic and international talent. In addition to the many independent artists, there are several organizations like Helsinki International Artists Association, Helsinki Contemporary, and Helsinki Bienaali that feature local work. Go down a rabbit-hole on instagram to find creators living in the city. Don’t hesitate to contact an artist directly to ask for prints or originals! Many boutiques will also often feature small works from neighborhood artisans that are functional, beautiful to look at, and easy to transport.

Let Your Creativity Shine

The magic to giving a great gift (and to begin the remedy for ingrained capitalism) is to think outside the giftbox. Divest from any concern around tradition or “normality” and question any set rules society has collaborated on that don’t make sense to you, the environment, or your pocketbook. If you really consider your recipient, something as simple as the recipe of an excellent cocktail you tried while abroad (maybe paired with a mini bottle of Minttuviina), or a book full of freshly pressed wild violets (or violet-infused sugar, even easier!), or a framed photo of you bathing in the frozen sea, could be a warmly-welcomed gift. And if you do feel compelled to purchase something new, have it be something that pours back into the community it came from.

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