This Christmas seemed to be an important one in establishing our family’s Christmas tradition, finding a way of integrating Finnish and British customs. Food with different flavours and smells is what I remember very well from my own childhood and is what I want to pass on to Noa. Noa’s absolute favourite baking turned out to be joulupiparit (similar to gingerbread, but slightly less gingery). Noa and I found it hard not to eat the dough before it was baked.