What’s not to love about Christmas I say? For me it’s not just one day, it’s the whole month of December to enjoy. I always have the decorations up by the 1st of December. In order for me to do that, I usually start mid November, slowly going through my Christmas boxes, sorting out what to use and what not to use this year. Some years I prefer everything to be white and gold, other years lots of red. Having grown up in Sweden I still love many of the Swedish traditions and try to teach our children to enjoy and cherish these too.
Last night I baked a Gingerbread Cake, using my Great Grandmother’s recipe. She passed away a few years ago and I just love baking her recipes. It really makes me feel so happy inside as the memories of her pop into my head and fills my heart with love.
Some of the things I cherish at Christmas time are:
- Hanging paper stars in the windows
- A Real Christmas Tree – the smell is divine
- 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th of Advent
- Paper Advent Calenders
- Watching the daily Advent Calendar on Swedish Tv online
- Cloves pushed into the skin of oranges which fills the house with a Christmas smell
- White Fairy Light (no coloured lights here)
- The Baking – Gingerbreads, Toffees, Biscuits, Saffron Breads, Wholemeal Tea Cakes, Rocky Road and Daim just to name a few
- Mulled Wine – topped with sultanas and almonds
- The Cooking – so much goes in here
- Edam Cheese
- St Lucia & Saffron Breads (13th December)
- Candles everywhere – even if its stinking hot
- Christmas Music
