On Christmas, everyone needs to get home to their loved ones. Valio’s Christmas Bus will, on 22 December, run from Helsinki to Rovaniemi, the home of Santa Claus, and is now looking for young adults that live far from home to join the ride. The bus will take everyone where they need to go, but what’s equally important is a pleasant trip and an unhurried Christmas get-together. That is why we are converting an express bus to a slowness bus: along the way, the bus will make stops for shared food stops and to pick up new passengers.
Valio’s Christmas Bus will start its journey in downtown Helsinki on the morning of Saturday, 22 December. Its route will go through Tampere, Jyväskylä and Oulu to Rovaniemi, in northern Finland, and will pick up new passengers on the way. On some of its stops, we will host shared meals with family and friends. The last passengers will arrive at Rovaniemi late that night.
“Last Christmas, Finns showed their hospitality by opening their homes to new acquaintances. Over 100 groups invited a stranger to their homes on Christmas through Valio’s Christmas meal service. Warmth and open-mindedness were all over the messages people used to invite each other to share a mulled wine, a Christmas movie or for Christmas Day leftovers. Us Finns have a slightly undeserved reputation for being dour,” says Valio’s SVP for Marketing and Communications, Ann-Mari Hämäläinen, about the idea that was meant to combat loneliness.
“This Christmas, we want to keep spreading that good spirit and bring people together in surprising ways,” says Hämäläinen.
Would you sit next to someone?
On the bus, us Finns often want to sit by ourselves. This bus, however, is promising a different mood: you are supposed to spend time with the other passengers. Tinni Wikström, known for being the afternoon host for Radio Suomipop, will be joining the trip to raise the mood. It may also be that we’ll pick up some surprise passengers along the way. Passengers will have a say in what happens on the bus during its journey. You will also get to follow their journey on Valio’s Instagram.The Christmas Bus is meant for young adults (18-30 years old) that want to get to their families for Christmas. The trip will be free of charge. All you need to do is sign up on the campaign page, and Valio will pick the passengers. We will contact everyone that signed up as soon as possible.
Caption: Valio’s Christmas Bus will run from Helsinki to Rovaniemi, the home of Santa Claus, and is now looking for young adults that live far from home to join the ride. During the trip, the passengers will get to share meals.
