When you hear the jingle bells and follow their sound, you might get to peek into the secret hideaway of the elves.
A yellow elf hat can be seen bouncing in the herb garden. It rushes hiding behind the Arctic root, comes up by the marigolds only to disappear again somewhere beyond the angelicas. The hat stops by the mountain sorrel. Rising above the herbs you see the smiling face of an elf.
“This tastes like strawberry” says the Elf in the Yellow Dress while munching on the leaves of mountain sorrel and adjusting its felt hat.
This is the Elves Hideaway, near Levi. The home of the Elf in the Yellow Dress and all the other elves. This is where the elves tend to their herb garden, take care of Santa’s correspondence and go to school (studying singing, playing and making toys, and no math).
When you have behaved well, you might get to peek into the secret hideaway of the elves. You just need to follow the Elf in the Yellow Dress and the bell on its hat. “There is a small elf inside us all if you listen closely”
BELLS JINGLE on the path in the middle of the woods. There are giant mushrooms and pine trees with old man’s beard, or usnea, hanging from them. The elves’ sheep, Piki and Päkä, run to sniff and greet the visitors. A zigzag path leads deeper into the forest far beyond the elves’ twig hut, past the chocolate bushes and stems of magic potatoes.
The bells stop by a wooden gate. You enter and arrive to the heart of the Elves Hideaway: the house of herbs, the school and the gingerbread house. The Elf in the Yellow Dress opens the creaky gate and motions to follow walking towards the door of the gingerbread house. Inside you see gingerbread chandeliers and feel the aroma of ginger and clove.
“When Mrs Claus bakes gingerbread biscuits, the dough is rolled on a long wooden table. She then stomps her foot three times and runs by the side of the table holding a rolling pin with moulds. Elves follow her and place the biscuits on baking trays”, says the Elf in the Yellow Dress showing the elf-hat-shaped baking oven.
From the windows of the gingerbread house you can see the house of herbs. There are 1500 plants growing on its roof. “There is a small elf inside us all if you only listen closely”, says the Elf in the Yellow Dress stepping in the house of herbs.
Do you have what it takes to follow the elf?