Published December 22, 2018
In Iceland, Christmas is a little wacky. Instead of one Santa, we have thirteen. And rather than being a jolly old white-bearded fellow who lets children sit on his on his lap in a shopping mall and showers them with presents, our Jólasveinar—or “Yule Lads,” in English—are a tribe of mischievous little weirdos.
Starting on December 12th, the Yule Lads come down from the mountains one by one, each day until Christmas. If you’ve behaved well, they’ll put a gift in your shoe; if not, you get a potato. In honour of this harrowing game of cat and mouse, we present: the Thirteen Days Of Grapemas, where every day, a Yule Lads will deliver one of you—our beloved readers—a special Icelandic gift.
So what’s a girl gotta do to get some cool stuff in her shoe? Just tag the friends or loved ones you think are most deserving on this Facebook status, along with a damn good reason that they should win. Remember: If you don’t enter in this life, you sure won’t win. #JÓLÓ!
What’s In The Shoe Today?
Horror movie fans beware. Today, Kertasníkir—’Candle-Stealer’ in English—has arrived to ensure that were the electricity to go out, you’d have no way to protect yourself against any havoc raising mask-clad maniac. Unless, of course, your iPhone is still charged. Then just turn on the flashlight. Sheesh!
But, we digress, as the wax thief is also here to hand out a voucher for a meal at Snaps. This is an especially amazing gift as the cosy, plant-brightened bistro is a true Grapevine favourite, winning “Best Goddamn Restaurant” an inordinate amount of times in our Best Of Reykjavík magazine. The house fries—a mound of perfectly fried spuds with home-made béarnaise—are reason enough alone to come. Did we mention they make a stellar crème brulée as well? A true keeper.
So, dear reader, tag your most well-behaved friend here for a chance to get this delicious meal. While it might be the last official day of Grapemas, it’s the spirit of Grapemas inside you that counts, right?
A note: The winner of yesterday’s BusTravel Iceland contest was Erika Beatriz Wood, who will be coming to Iceland in October with her friend Virginie Parker to celebrate their birthdays. But never fear—you can book your own Northern Lights tour here.
