Published December 18, 2019

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 share this Facebook status and tag the friends or loved ones you think are most deserving in it, 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?

Cries of woe were heard from the windows of Airbnbs today as tourists woke up to discover that their breakfast Skyr had been devoured during the night. People were hangry. It was the worst crime spree since the Panama Papers. But who was responsible?

Well, our sources have disclosed that it was the work of one of the most mischievous Yule Lads, Skyrgámur—’Skyr-Gobbler’ in English. None but the lactose intolerant are safe from his Skyr-eating criminality.

However, the Yule Lads come bearing gifts for the well-behaved. Today, straight from the racks of Handprjónasambandið, he’s offering to put a hand-knitted wool hat in your shoe. Who knew the Yule Lads had such a fantastic sense of style?

So, dear reader, share this post and tag your most well-behaved friend in it. And if you’re not based here, don’t worry—the voucher lasts a year. And if you don’t win today, check out our page tomorrow for the next gift.

A note: Yesterday’s Northern Lights tour for two was won by Paul O’Brien “because he’s new to living in Iceland and I think he hasn’t had a chance to see truly awesome northern lights yet.” Daww. Well now you can, Paul! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s winner. It could be you!