Tag: danish christmas

Christmas

CHRISTMAS :: 5th Annual Scandinavian and Nordic Christmas Series

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

5th Annual Scandinavian and Nordic Christmas series on the oaxacaborn.com blog

For the fifth straight year (wow!) I’ll be bringing you Scandi Christmas gorgeousness during the entire Advent season. According to the feedback you’ve shared with me over the years (and the number of times you’ve pinned the content on to Pinterest) this is your absolute favorite series. Together, we’ll be talking adventskalender, sharing interiors cozied up for the season, exploring different ways to decorate, celebrating Scandinavian and Nordic traditions, and more.

As in previous years, you’re invited to join the celebration. If you have a favorite post you’ve written, a link to a particularly Scandinavian store, a set of photos, a memory of Nordic holiday traditions, a Pinterest board full of Scandi images, or simply want to share the URL of your blog (point me to the category with the most Christmas-y content), email me! In previous years,  contributors have been from the U.S., Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom — even far above the Arctic circle — but you’re of course welcome to participate no matter where you live. I can’t wait to hear from you!

P.S. The series will begin on 1 November and continue through 25 December. Hyvää Joulua! God Jul! 

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Christmas

SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS :: Advent Calendar Ideas

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Whether you spell it advent calendar or adventskalender — or even  julkalender  — we’re just two weeks away from December 1.  Time to get this Scandinavian Christmas series underway!

The first advent calendar example comes from Elisabeth Heier in Norway. She made this kalender tree from painted white boards — and then attached the paper bags to the tree using nails and wire. It’s really striking — and the black and white design keeps it from looking too cluttered.

Elisabeth Heier Kalender Tree via SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS Advent Calendar round-up on the Oaxacaborn blog
Advent Calendar Tree / Kalender tre via Elisabeth Heier

This next advent calendar, from The Merry Thought blog, cleverly strings up an evergreen bough and then decorates with tiny plywood-covered matchboxes. The full tutorial can be found here.

The Merry Thought - Evergreen Bough Hanging Advent Calendar via SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS Advent Calendar round-up on the Oaxacaborn blog
Hanging Christmas Tree Branch Advent Calendar via The Merry Thought

Starting with a plain tree, and adding one decoration per day until the tree is filled at Christmas — what a good idea! This filigrantrae is Danish-inspired and comes from Nalle’s House blog. Bonus: her post has a full tutorial if you want to make your own dowel tree, although this ideas would work with any small tree.

Nalle's House DIY Wooden Dowel Tree via SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS Advent Calendar round-up on the Oaxacaborn blog
Danish Wooden Dowel Tree via Nalle’s House

Most of the advent candles I’ve seen in my life are a group of four candles, one for each advent Sundag leading up to Christmas. But I love the idea of a single large candle measuring the days, turning the candle into a daily tradition rather than weekly one. In fact, Tina over at Copenhagen’s Traveling Mama, has observed that’s the norm in Denmark!

Traveling Mama Advent Candle Numbered for Days via SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS Advent Calendar round-up on the Oaxacaborn blog
Advent Candle Numbered for Days via Traveling Mama

If you have an accessible staircase bannister, you could make that the focal point for your advent gifts, like Swedish blog Fröken Knopp did with newsprint and twine. (P.S. How cute is that painted floor?)

Fröken Knopp Advent Calendar on Staircase via SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS Advent Calendar round-up on the Oaxacaborn blog
Staircase, Newsprint and Twine Advent Calendar via Fröken Knopp

I can hardly get over Vibeke Design’s stunning advent calendar shop display. Paper cones, edged in lace, hung from a lichen-covered hardwood branch. Oh, so pretty!

Vibeke Design Christmas Shop Display in Sweden, via SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS Advent Calendar round-up on the Oaxacaborn blog
Advent Calendar Display via Vibeke Design Christmas Shop in Sweden

How are you planning to celebrate and decorate for advent this year? I’d love to hear! And if you need more ideas, here are more advent calendar ideas and even more advent calendar ideas!

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Want to contribute to the 4th Annual Scandinavian/Nordic Christmas Series? Click here to find out how!

Christmas

SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS :: Your Chance to be Featured on the Fourth Annual Blog Series!

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Scandinavian_Christmas_Oaxacaborn_2014

It’s that time again. For the fourth year in a row, Oaxacaborn will soon be transformed into a Scandinavian winter wonderland — and I can’t wait!

Here are a just a few highlights from the last few years.

Of course, none of this would be possible without YOU, my incredible world-wide readers. So, what do you have for us all this year? Email me at oaxacaborn@gmail.com!

(Still need ideas? You can read more about what sort of Scandinavian/Nordic Christmas topics to submit, or click here to see the entire Scandinavian Christmas archive.)

Christmas

SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS :: Copenhagen // Flying House by Traveling Mama

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Dear readers, this Christmas season’s final guest post is by none other than the Copenhagen-based Flying House blog. You might know her as Traveling Mama AKA Tina Fussell — you do follow her Instagram account @tinafussell, right? Tina’s graciously agreed to share a little about her experiences in the magical place that is Scandinavia at Christmastime.

Scandinavia has to be one of the most charming places in the world to celebrate Christmas.  For weeks the light of day grows dimmer and dimmer, like a great bear snuggling down for a long winter’s nap.  By three o’clock, darkness descends and candlelight flickers in the window of every home and shop.  It is everything you might imagine an authentic Christmas to be, as if every everyone and everything has been perfectly scripted into a fairy tale story.
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Click for more about Christmas Market shopping and the store windows, from Tina’s blog.

The days are filled with festive foods such as pebernødder cookies and æbleskiver, eaten while creating traditional handmade Christmas decorations, a craft that is passed down from one generation from the next, while the evenings are festive with parties and glogg, a warm mulled wine.  The shops are packed with everyone bustling about while Christmas music hangs in the air.
tivoli
Click for more about gløgg and the Christmas market at Tivoli, from Tina’s blog.

The Christmas markets sell a variety of wares, from seasonal teas to wool hats and gloves and the air is filled with the smell of earthy pine and sweet, sugary nuts being roasted and peddled by street vendors.

If you are looking for a quintessential Christmas experience, then Scandinavia is the place for you.

traveling-mama-pebernødder-christmas-cookies-600x898
Click for more about the pebernødder cookie, from Tina’s blog. 

Tina, thank you so much! And readers, for more of what Denmark has to offer, be sure to follow along with Tina over at the beautiful Flying House blog, as she takes you inside some of the best little spots in Copenhagen — and shares peeks of her cozy home! It’s one of my favorite reads, for sure.

Merry Christmas!