My house had its first real visitor

My house had its first real visitor today! Not someone passing through but a real, "please do come in" visitor.

I offered tea, and drinks and tried to act civilised. It was quite an occasion.

I think it's about time the flat met people, and with the advent of furniture, may come dinner invitations.

Tips for playing host in Finland.

• Have coffee, real coffee available. Finns drink 9 cups a day, more than any other country.
• Have cake. Traditionally it's 7 different kinds but that is a bit superfluous with a kitchen as little as mine. I always have cake in the house, just in case a neighbour wants to pop in.
• Give your friends the door code so you don't have to go all the way downstairs to let them in. Unless they need to lock their bike up or can't find your house because of bizarre Finnish numbering.
• If you're going to invite people to your sauna, make sure they are up for it first. Are they all Finnish? Will the one foreigner feel a bit awkard. If you are sauna-ing in "couples", will the single person feel left out?
• If you're hosting dinner, Finns eat at about 6pm. So have snacks for your non Finnish visitors when they are still getting drunk with you some time later. And advise your foreign friends to have a light lunch!

Tips for visiting in Finland

• Shoes off! You don't realise how much snow ice and mud is on your shoes until you trek it through the house!

So far, these are the only rules I have learned as I have not been to many houses. Apparently it is a great honour to be invited into someone's home. This makes sense, because you have to expose them to your socks, and that probably takes a bit of intimacy.