The Christmas party season in Helsinki means full restaurants, full taxis and groups of people trying to get to the same place at the same time. One rental car solves all of that at once: the whole group leaves together, arrives together and gets home together. Rentnow’s office is in Itä-Pasila at Ratapihantie 11, from where you quickly reach both the city centre and the ring roads.
A rental car for Christmas parties – the whole group in one car
When there are more than five of you, two cars mean two drivers, two parking spaces and constant agreeing on where to meet. A nine-seat minibus removes the whole problem. The Ford Tourneo Custom in our fleet has nine seats including the driver, and an ordinary category B licence is enough – no separate licence category is needed.
- a work group’s Christmas party at a restaurant or activity venue
- a hobby group’s end-of-season celebration
- a family Christmas meal in another town
- transport back to the starting point at the end of the evening
Check rental car availability for the Christmas party weekend
Who drives the rental car? Agree on the driver in advance
This is worth deciding before the evening starts, not during it. Agree as a group on who drives, and name them as the driver in the booking. Only the person named in the rental agreement may drive the car – worth remembering when the evening runs long and someone else offers to drive the rest of the way.
Many groups solve this by taking turns: one person drives to the party, another handles the journey home. Tell us when you book if there will be several drivers and we will name them in the agreement in advance.
A rental car for Christmas – what fits in the load space
On Christmas journeys there is usually more luggage than there are passengers: presents, food and often cottage equipment as well. Our roomiest estate, the Skoda Octavia Combi, takes up to 640 litres according to Škoda, and up to 1,700 litres with the rear seat backs folded forward. The Kia Ceed Sportswagon has 625 litres according to Kia, and the Toyota Corolla Touring Sports 596 litres according to Toyota.
If there are four adults and a whole Christmas worth of presents, the large estate is the safest choice. For a smaller group an estate or a mid-size car is enough.
What size rental car for a Christmas party?
The choice comes down to the number of passengers and nothing else. For a group of fewer than five an ordinary passenger car is enough, and when there are six or more, a nine-seat minibus is in practice the only sensible way to travel in one vehicle.
- 2–4 people: a mid-size rental car is plenty, even with coats and presents.
- 5 people with luggage: a large estate – according to Škoda the Octavia Combi has up to 640 litres of load space.
- 6–9 people: a nine-seat minibus, which is driven on a category B licence.
If the group is a borderline case, choose the larger option. In a cramped car with winter coats the mood suffers faster than the budget.
Pick-up and return over the holidays
Around Christmas and New Year the opening hours differ from the usual. Our office is open on weekdays from 9:30 to 17:00, and at weekends and in the evenings pick-up and return work by arrangement. When you book a car over the holidays, agree the pick-up and return times in writing when you book – that way both sides know what has been agreed and there is no need to make calls on Christmas Eve morning.
Please note: we are often out and about and not always at the office, so call before visiting.
Christmas parties in Helsinki – a car also gets you outside the centre
When the party is at a restaurant in the city centre, public transport takes care of it. A rental car comes into its own when the venue is somewhere else: a sauna space in Espoo, a manor house in Vantaa, a ski slope or a cottage an hour’s drive away. Public transport does not stretch to these places, and taxis are hard to come by on a Saturday evening in December.
From Itä-Pasila you quickly reach Ring Road I and through it the whole capital region, as well as the main roads north and west. The same car handles the journey home too, so there is no need to negotiate about leaving halfway through the evening.
Book early – December weekends fill up
The Christmas party season is the busiest time of the year for a rental company. Nine-seat vehicles in particular go quickly for Friday and Saturday evenings in December, because there is a limited number of them in the fleet. Once you know the date, book straight away – cancelling is easier than finding a free vehicle in the middle of December.
Pick-up in Itä-Pasila
Our office is at Ratapihantie 11, 00520 Helsinki. The entrance is on the Ratapihantie side and the office is immediately on the right. Pasila station and Tripla are a few minutes away on foot, so the whole group can come and collect the car by public transport.
See the detailed directions and map or read our tips for a smooth car rental.
