Preparing for Christmas I SIMPLE & MINIMAL I Scandinavian

Time really flies this time of year and we're only a couple of weeks away from Christmas. In this video I'll take you along for a few days in December, leading up to Christmas Eve which is when we celebrate here in Sweden. There are so many Christmas markets that you can visit. I usually go online early in the holiday season to check where and when the holiday markets are and mark my calendar accordingly so I don't miss my favorite ones. Some of the markets are just one-offs with just a single market and that's it. The Open Air Museum Skansen market is open Fridays through Sundays leading up to Christmas and New Year and so worth the entrance fee. I don't buy a lot, perhaps a snack, something for our julbord, the Christmas smörgåsbord or for William and Victoria's stockings. Depending on the condition of what I already have, some greenery might also come back home with me. I might get some gifts if I find the perfect ones. Buying local is always nice so if I do find something great at a market and have someone for whom that would be a great gift, I love to get it there. This time around I shopped entirely for myself. It was really cold when I was at Skansen so I got a much needed pair of fleece lined wool mittens. I also got some granola and seed crackers. I most of all love going to Christmas markets for the cozy atmosphere and ambience. There are no grumpy faces at holiday markets. People go there for the same reason you do, to enjoy themselves and to get into the festive spirit. What I love about Skansen around the holidays is that not only is the market going on but the historic buildings are decorated for Christmas as they would have been in the olden days. Just imagining the people who lived and worked in these houses and how in some cases the very simple foods were a celebration is quite eye opening in this day and age. I highly recommend Skansen any time of year but on December weekends in particular. A few markets are in action pretty much all of December so the one in Gamla Stan, Stockholm's old town, is just so cozy to drop in on when I'm in that area. The stalls sell similar things as at Skansen and you can't really beat the location right there in the center of the old town. I didn't get anything there this time but I will pass by at least once closer to the date to get some food items and perhaps a few small Christmas gifts I'm sure. What are your thoughts on Christmas shopping by the way? Do you enjoy it? I quite enjoy Christmas shopping in person. Browsing at my own pace earlier in the holiday season rather than later is key. And I do feel like I'm on track with my gift shopping this year. Aside from tangible gifts I also like to give non-material gifts like experiences. Tickets to events, gift cards towards travel and annual passes to local museums are great gifts. Giving your time is also an amazing gift. You could offer to babysit, help with housework or assist with a project they've been wanting to tackle. You can make a handmade gift card or voucher to go under the tree if you do want to present something tangible. Another great present would be to give the gift of a new language to someone you love. I love my Italian lessons with Babbel who are sponsoring this video. Babbel is one of the top language learning apps in the world and their learning platform is so easy to use and teaches you in a way that lets you start having real conversations in a new language in as little as three weeks. They make it so entertaining to learn a new language and imagine how exciting it will be to see someone in your life being able to make themselves understood when traveling and when in contact with far away friends and family. The lessons are designed by real language teachers and Babbel offers a 20-day money-back guarantee so your gift is safe. So, give yourself or someone you love the amazing gift of a new language and let me know which language you choose and why. Click the link in the description or scan the QR code to get up to 60% off on your Babbel subscription. So, by now we've had Advent first and second go by and have lit two of the candles in the Advent candle holder. Two more to go and it's such a nice and cozy countdown to Christmas. Have you seen a cuter angel? I couldn't resist her at less than a dollar while I was browsing the charity shops for Swedish things for my UK friend Jane. She had a broken wing but nothing a little wood glue couldn't fix. The perfect little new old addition to my holiday decor this year. Something I like to do is to get myself an Advent calendar every year. This year I found a calendar holding 24 mini jars with jam, honey and chocolate spread. I love the tiny jars and will bring the majority of them to the house for when we have friends stay over and eat breakfast there next season. The empty jars will come in handy after for organizing the sometimes super small nails and other little bits but also for the archive boxes I'm working on. I should report on the granola and seed crackers I got at the market. The granola is supposedly saffron and white chocolate but I can't really taste the saffron. The bits of chocolate are quite few and far between which isn't a bad thing considering that it's granola and not dessert. Added on top of yogurt it's really good. The chili flavored seed crackers are amazing. Wille who's gluten intolerant can eat them and he said they're the best he's ever had so I'm definitely going back to get more. At the moment here in Stockholm the weather is very random. Some days really cold and other days strangely mild but we did have a freeze and some snow a while ago. The pots on my balcony that have the fall plants are still looking good but the fern froze so I cut that down and added some branches over the soil. Not only does it look nicer but if I'm lucky the fern might grow back in spring. The mint also wasn't looking great so I did the same with that pot. Wille's girlfriend Victoria has been traveling this December so my grand dog Saga has spent a bit more time here with me while Wille has been in the office for work. It's so cozy to have her here. I've taken the opportunity to work on her fleece sweater. That sweet girl is a tricky size and shape and I've had to adapt the pattern slightly for her. Not quite sure how the end result will turn out. This fleece is the trial run so after this I'll have a better pattern to work off. Wille and I have been meeting up on Sundays to watch a couple of shows on TV together that we both enjoy and sometimes that's at my place and sometimes at his. I love that it's so easy to just walk over to each other and hang out spur of the moment. In December Glögg is usually involved. Glögg is our traditional malt wine that you would usually have with blanched almonds and raisins. Neither of us can really tolerate raisins so we often do without. Back in the day Glögg was mostly made of red wine but now there are lots of varieties from white wine which I much prefer. Something I love about the month of December are all the craft opportunities. Handmade holiday cards are such a craft that I really enjoy. I make them differently every year. Last year I used watercolour but this year I decided to dig out my hole punches. I got some art paper in off white and punched away. My initial idea for the cards was a Christmas tree with punched outline but I didn't think that turned out that well so I decided to go with a snow design instead. Just random different sized holes, as simple as that. While I craft I have some saffron buns and tea. The buns and anything saffron really is tradition here in December but mostly at our upcoming Lucia celebration on the 13th. When Ville was younger I baked saffron buns but nowadays I just buy some or take every opportunity to eat one when I go for fika at a local coffee shop. Oh, remember the rowan berries I picked and strung back in fall? Now that we're closing in on Christmas I added some of those to my decor. I know I've said things like I don't do red in the past but I honestly don't dislike red. It's just not a colour that I use a lot in my city apartment. At our summer house there is a lot of traditional red and there I really do enjoy it. I both like the look and the colour of the dried rowan berries so red does make a brief appearance here in my city apartment too. And going back to Christmas gifts I still have a few more to get and after that it's time to rhyme. Rhyme you say? Yes, here in Sweden it's tradition to write witty rhymes for each gift. You attach the rhyme to your gift and read it out loud as you pass the gift to the receiver. That person then gets a hint of what's inside. My side of the family with a German mom never did that but my ex-husband's side of the family went all in on rhyming and they were great at it. Bill and I do it sometimes on gifts for each other but as with all traditions we only do it if we have the time and the energy. Traditions should be fun and joyful and not a burden in my book. In fact I've chosen to skip a lot of traditions that only feel like they're the done thing to do. Then again I create new traditions that are fun and simple like bringing the season's first hot glögg in a thermos in late October when we go to the cemetery on All Saints Eve. What's your favourite holiday tradition? Looks like the neighbours across the back courtyard have started a new one. So cute with kids dancing around the tree. Don't forget to check out Babbel and get up to 60% off through the link in the description or by scanning the QR code and give yourself or someone you love the gift of a new language. Thanks so much for watching! I'll see you in the next one. God jul!