Santa was very popular!
Merve Colak, with her daughter Defne. Merve moved from Ankara, Turkey. Lives and works in Boliden.
Marloes Meter with her baby Mauck Hienstrå, from the Netherlands.
Has a farm here, Mjölkgård, with chickens and horses. Loves snow.
Micael Silenstam (Welcome House), Anna Asplund (CV - Centrum För Vägledning Skellefteå), Magdalena Kajka (Welcome House), Mathilda Olsson (CV)
Guo Chen with her son Elliot, they live in Skellefteå and are from China.
Left, Palita Nampetch (Lycksele) and right, Camille Nampetch (Umeå)
Christmas Cafe for newcomers, 2023.
A food elf.
Daniel Vesterland playing air hockey with his son Loke. Daniel is from Piteå and will spend his first Christmas in Skellefteå this year.
The Christmas Cafe for newcomers, 2023, at Exploratoriet in Nordanå.
Sunday's Christmas Café was a free, invite-only, event for those who had been in Skellefteå for two years or less. The organizers had hired the Exploratoriet in Nordanå for the event, expecting approximately 400 people to attend.
There was fika, hot dogs, coffee and soft drinks, all provided for free, as well as a visit from the big man himself, Santa Claus. There was also the wonderful child-friendly fun provided by the exhibits and installations at the Exploratoriet, and a big room devoted to crafting activities.
But, as it turned out, a whopping 800 newcomers thronged the event which was held just adjacent to the annual Christmas market. Micael Silenstam of Welcome House Skellefteå was overjoyed with the turnout:
– It was a delight to see so many people from all over the world meet up and mingle. Meeting Santa and taking pictures with him was a big event for both younger and older children, he said.
There are even more photos of the event below. See anyone you recognize?
Meagan and Johnathan, with their son Mateo. They have lived in Boliden for one year and hope to move to Skellefteå soon. They are from Trinidad and love the snow here!
The Christmas Cafe for newcomers, 2023, at Exploratoriet in Nordanå.
The Christmas Cafe for newcomers, 2023, at Exploratoriet in Nordanå.
The Christmas Cafe for newcomers, 2023, at Exploratoriet in Nordanå.
Left, Hyungrae Kim, middle, Palita Nampetch (Lycksele) and right, Camille Nampetch (Umeå).
Julius Karajos and his dog Kraken.
Santa was VERY popular.
The Christmas market was busy.
The Christmas Cafe for newcomers, 2023, at Exploratoriet in Nordanå.
Lego!
The Christmas Cafe for newcomers, 2023, at Exploratoriet in Nordanå.
The Christmas Cafe for newcomers, 2023, at Exploratoriet in Nordanå.
Madison-Rae, daughter of Meagan and Johnathan, trying out the drums.
The Christmas Cafe for newcomers, 2023, at Exploratoriet in Nordanå.
The Christmas Cafe for newcomers, 2023, at Exploratoriet in Nordanå.
It was a very busy day, with more than 800 visitors, twice as many as were expected.
Children on the climbing wall.
Thea Andersson, from Skellefteå.
Fransesca Quartey, talking to the crowd about Swedish Christmas traditions.
It was very busy!
Welcome House Skellefteå's Micael, in the Santa hat.
Left to right, Jing Berry, Fan Kun and Feng Biao, all enjoying varmkorv.
Sedigullah Sakhi, coordinator for Skellefteå kommun.
Roland Eriksson of Skellefteå kommun talking to a newcomer. Roland also doubled-up as Tomten.
Fransesca Quartey, talking to some of the crowd about Swedish Christmas traditions.
Left, Palita Nampetch (Lycksele) and right, Camille Nampetch (Umeå) taking selfies in the crazy mirrors.
The Christmas Cafe for newcomers, 2023, at Exploratoriet in Nordanå.
Norran’s Helena Strömbro Ershag and Paul Connolly.
Baubles.