Christmas

SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS :: Jul, Lagerhaus Style

GOD_JUL

Like GRANIT, the Swedish retailer I posted about earlier this season, this next retailer hails from Sverige, too. Lagerhaus has a lovely line of home goods — and their Jul collection is just so pretty! I’d leave out the gold-dipped mugs all year round — and the numbered tags make creating a set of your own weekly advent candles so, so easy.

Scandinavian Christmas styled by Lagerhaus Sweden

Scandinavian Christmas styled by Lagerhaus Sweden

Scandinavian Christmas styled by Lagerhaus Sweden

Scandinavian Christmas styled by Lagerhaus Sweden

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Gold mug // mugg guld 

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Christmas matches // jul tändstickor

Chocolate / Chokladkaka

Chocolate / Chokladkaka

Chocolate advent calendar / Chokladkalender

Chocolate advent calendar / Chokladkalender

Numbers for each week of Advent / Nummerbrickor

Numbers for each week of Advent / Nummerbrickor

Want more tidings of jul cheer? Browse the entire Scandinavian Christmas seriees on Oaxacaborn.com, or see more from Lagerhaus’ Christmas collection.

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Christmas

CHRISTMAS :: 5th Annual Scandinavian and Nordic Christmas Series

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! 

Christmas, Monday's Pretty Things

MONDAY’S PRETTY THINGS :: Decorating with Christmas Tree Branches

Every Christmas tree doesn’t have to be a big, Costco-sized production. Here are some lovely ideas to use small, table-top trees — or even the extra branches you might have leftover after trimming to fit into the tree stand!

My Lovely Things on Oaxacaborn's MONDAY’S PRETTY THINGS :: Decorating with Christmas Tree Branches
Tiny tree in the hallway via Anna Truelsen / My Lovely Things

Nora Lill on Oaxacaborn's MONDAY’S PRETTY THINGS :: Decorating with Christmas Tree Branches
Fir branches in jar of water via Nora Lill

Christmas Tree Branches as Chrismtas Trees via A Barefoot Day on Oaxacaborn's MONDAY’S PRETTY THINGS :: Decorating with Christmas Tree Branches
Evergreen branches in mason jars via A Barefoot Day

waltherogco_dk on Oaxacaborn's MONDAY’S PRETTY THINGS :: Decorating with Christmas Tree Branches
Cut tree in glass vase via Walther & Co

Design Chaser - Tabletop Christmas Tree, wooden, and wire geometric on Oaxacaborn's MONDAY’S PRETTY THINGS :: Decorating with Christmas Tree Branches
Table-top Christmas tree with wooden and wire geometric ornaments via The Design Chaser

Princess Pine in Clay Pot Anna Truelsen on Oaxacaborn's MONDAY’S PRETTY THINGS :: Decorating with Christmas Tree Branches
Princess pin in clay pot via Anna Truelsen / My Lovely Things

Noralill Branch in Jar on Oaxacaborn's MONDAY’S PRETTY THINGS :: Decorating with Christmas Tree Branches
Evergreen branch in jar of water on tin tray via Nora Lill

Fika on Oaxacaborn's MONDAY’S PRETTY THINGS :: Decorating with Christmas Tree Branches
Small tree in Swedish enamel bucket on windowsill via B.I.B. And I spy pour-over coffee! The whole photo series is here, and it’s lovely.


Have a photo of Scandi-inspired Christmas loveliness? Send it to me, and I might feature it on 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!

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

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.

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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!

Christmas

SCANDINAVIAN/NORDIC CHRISTMAS :: Christmas Trees

Happy Friday! Aveline is sitting on my lap, and I’m finishing up my coffee as we listen to music together.  And now let’s peek into a few living rooms in Sweden and Norway, and see what the Christmas trees look like, shall we?

Swedish Christmas Tree on Stairs via tidningenlantliv.se
Swedish Christmas via Lantliv (I love that subtle pattern on the painted wood floors!)

Swedish Christmas via vitaranunkler
Swedish Christmas via Vita Ranunkler

Norwegian Christmas Foto by Kenneth Havgaard via Bo Bedre
Norwegian Christmas; Photograph by Kenneth Havgaard for Bo Bedre

Christmas Tree - Black and White, Nordic - Photographer Nina Holst for Stylizimo Blog
Norwegian Christmas; Photography by Nina Holst for Stylizimo Blog

Have you ever stuck to a simple, more neutral color scheme when decorating for Christmas? It requires so much restraint!


Click here to find out how to contribute to the 3rd Annual Scandinavian / Nordic Christmas Series.

Christmas

SCANDINAVIAN & NORDIC CHRISTMAS :: 3rd Annual Open Call for Christmas Submissions

NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS for the 3rd Annual Scandinavian and Nordic Christmas Series on the Oaxacaborn blog! (Carl Larsson image) 

It’s October, and already, I’m seeing a big spike in Christmas-related searches. (You all really, really love Christmas posts.) Can you believe it’s almost time for the Third Annual Scandinavian & Nordic Christmas Series? It’s crazy that we’ve been doing this together for three years now!

If you’re a new reader, every year in November and December everything goes Christmas here on Oaxacaborn. And not just any Christmas. We celebrate all things Scandinavian and Nordic, and during these next two months the blog will be full of Jul with brilliant guest posts by bloggers, photographers, writers from around Northern Europe.

We’ll talk about advent calendars (julkalender and adventskalender, that is), traditional celebrations and foods, wrapping paper, decorations, meals, dinner parties, ornaments, and Christmas trees. We’ll delve into snowy winters and traditions and we’ll light candles in the windows and we’ll deck the halls with red and white (and blue and yellow, and blue and white, too).

The most amazing part to me about the Annual Scandinavian & Nordic Christmas series is how all of you — all of us — come together to make this happen. For the last two years, people from all over Europe and the US and have shared beautiful Decemberish photographs and words with Oaxacaborn readers, and it’s you who have made this series the success it is today.

If you participated before, you’re welcome to share again! If this is your first time, we’re so happy to have you. (You don’t even need to be Scandinavian or Nordic…just a lover of Christmas and the northern traditions.)

Maybe you have a tutorial on how to create a Swedish heart. Maybe you want to share how your family celebrates Finnish Independence Day. Maybe your Christmas dinner table last year was stunning, and you want us to see. Maybe you live in a Scandinavian or Nordic country, and you want to send photos of your town’s or family’s celebrations. Maybe you have a memory of your grandparents and how they passed down the traditions to you. Maybe you’re an absolute pro at curating images, and you want to send a round-up of (properly credited) Christmas images. Maybe you’re a knitter who creates Icelandic sweaters. Maybe your Norwegian heritage shows proudly every time you get out the Christmas decorations. Maybe you want to show how the streets of Copenhagen look in December. Maybe you want to share some Christmas legends and lore. Or maybe you have a killer mantle display and want to share the wintry beauty.

Remember, we’re celebrating all things Nordic and Scandinavian, all November and December. So in addition to Christmas (of course!) this series also aims to showcase any national holidays or celebrations happening during that time leading up to Christmas, too.

So what are you waiting for? Check out the previous Scandinavian/Nordic Christmas posts here, and then email me, oaxacaborn@gmail.com.

(Content which you’ve already published on your own blog is perfectly fine. And remember, the posts don’t have to be lengthy – a single inspiring image is excellent, as well.)

Can’t wait to hear from you. :)

Hyvää Joulua! God Jul! 

Christmas

NORDIC CHRISTMAS :: Beate Hemsborg on Christmas Decorating and Relaxing

spisestue - Beautiful Nordic Christmas interior from the beate hemsborg blog as seen on the Oaxacaborn blog
The Norwegian blog beate hemsborg is a huge, huge inspiration to me when it comes to interiors. Inger’s home is absolutely and completely cozy all year long — the perfect spot for an coffee and cookies break! — and it turns even cozier at Christmastime.

Well, Inger is here on Oaxacaborn today to share her approach to Christmas (it includes cookies AND relaxing). I think we all, myself included, would do well to heed her wise advice when it comes simplicity and relaxation!
spisestue - Beautiful Nordic Christmas interior from the beate hemsborg blog as seen on the Oaxacaborn blog
“The best part of Christmas is to have some days off with my husband and my two children. Sleeping until we wake up, and then lighting the candles in the livingroom because it is still dark when we get up. Children playing with toys that they got for Christmas…

I’m not the one who has a long to do-list for Christmas. I enjoy doing things whenever we want to… not just because it is on the list / schedule. We bake when the kids desire and Christmas-decorations are taken little at a time. The cookie-jars stand on the kitchen-shelf, and they are often empty before Christmas.

How I decorate / what gives me the Christmas spirit: I am not a fan of angels or Santa, I usually decorate with red and brown details. I think it’s the red details that create the Christmas spirit in my home. I do not like to fill up the room with lots of decorations, I use stuff that I have — but with a little Christmas twist. For example, a rustic flower pot with a small strip of brown paper and a red and white ribbon. I also use zinc a lot, and I love a little red string around a zinc bowl.”

advents stake - Beautiful Nordic Christmas interior from the beate hemsborg blog as seen on the Oaxacaborn blog

bord - Beautiful Nordic Christmas interior from the beate hemsborg blog as seen on the Oaxacaborn blog

kjøkken - Beautiful Nordic Christmas interior from the beate hemsborg blog as seen on the Oaxacaborn blog

stuen - Beautiful Nordic Christmas interior from the beate hemsborg blog as seen on the Oaxacaborn blog

kjøkken Beautiful Nordic Christmas interior from the beate hemsborg blog as seen on the Oaxacaborn blog

jule kalender - Beautiful Nordic Christmas interior from the beate hemsborg blog as seen on the Oaxacaborn blog

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