Preparing for a Simple Nordic Christmas

DIYcelebrationcraftstraditions
Written By Mari Stuart

I’m a Christmas person, through and through. Most Finns are. My (very non-original) theory is that that’s what helps us get through the extreme darkness of November and December: a prolonged period of festivity with candles, endless mugs of hot glögi, and Christmas music helps to tide us over the darkest weeks of the year. Even the Finnish word for December is joulukuu, literally “the Christmas month.” Santa lives here. We really get into it, in other words.

 

My aesthetic, however, is what’s apparently called Scandinavian: simple, with lots of white, drawing mostly on natural elements. I can handle the classic bright Christmas red in very limited amounts.

That serves me well now that we’re living in a borrowed home — a city apartment way cooler than we are, with lots of white, owned and furnished by someone else. I want to bring festivity into our temporary digs and make this time magical for Aava in particular, but with minimal acquisition of new decorations we would just have to leave behind.

So decorating for the season had to be DIY, minimalist, natural and biodegradable.

(We’ll be taking the train up north on the 22nd to spend Christmas with my family, and there will be a Christmas tree and all the gingerbread houses, candles, red tablecloths, elves, poinsettias and hyacinths we can handle.)

  

Himmeli

When I was growing up, every other home had a Christmas himmeli, a traditional intricate hanging ornament made of straw or reed. The name comes from the Swedish word himmel, “heaven.” I’ve never tried himmeli making before, maybe because it seemed to require an intimidating amount of patience… but now that we’re preparing for the holidays in the homeland, it was one thing I wanted to learn to make.

I got this simple, modern himmeli kit, perfect for beginners.

In old agrarian Finland, himmeli making was the special domain of young girls. They would get together in the evenings to make himmelis in a warm sauna — where else? — because the heat and moisture made the straw easier to work with. Sometimes the village’s young men would join them. So himmeli making was a time for a bit of fun and flirting. On Christmas Eve, the finished himmeli was brought into the cleaned house and hung above the table set for the Christmas feast. Straw used to symbolize the coming year’s harvest — the bigger the himmeli, the better the harvest.

 

Paper stars in the window

 Here’s a tutorial for how to make these simple 3-D paper stars out of paper bags.

 

 

Wreath

I make a wreath each year. In our home in the Southern Appalachians, I like to use a lot of cedar and silver dollar eucalyptus. Now that we’re in Finland, I wanted to incorporate the materials from the Finnish forest. I wove the base from some slender willow branches and then added spruce branches, lingonberry sprigs, rose hips, pine cones and sea grasses.

Aava wove her own “squirrel’s nest” to put on our balcony for any visiting squirrels.

 

 

Tree advent calendar

I made this simple tree advent calendar for Aava. It was really fun to plan it and think about ways to bring magic and surprise to her days. The look on her face when she saw it, and her excitement each morning as walks up to it, has been all the reward I could ask for.

The concept is simple: Find a pretty, bare tree branch. Set it in a bucket or vase filled with sand. Then hang a little surprise for each day. I used mini envelopes, small jute bags and tiny gift boxes, which I numbered using a stencil. And added some ribbon and jingle bells in the mix.

Here are some ideas for what to put inside:

 

Evergreen branches everywhere

Need I say more?

Create a feast for the senses

Seasonal festiveness is not just about what’s visible. Our sense of smell often brings back childhood memories of Christmas most powerfully. These are the fragrances of Christmas for me: fresh spruce branches (so heavenly!), cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger, molasses, mandarin oranges, candles. What are yours?

Making gingerbread cookies is a great way to fill the house with a bunch of those sweet smells. Making glögi (the Scandinavian mulled wine, although we make the non-alcoholic version) is another.

So my No. 1 tip (if you can call it that, it seems so obvious) for creating a simple, no-fuss, low-waste Christmas is: focus on creating experiences that engage the senses and leave memories. Not so much on particular material objects. Make things together. Bake until the fragrant spices of the season fill the house. Play all the music that resonates with you.

Speaking of resonant music: my Spotify Christmas playlist is here if you want to check it out. But be aware that it’s heavy on Finnish classics and on choral pieces (I sang in the choir for 10 years so that set the tone for my holiday soundtracks for ever and ever).

Use what’s already there

Well. Our landlady left for us dishes, sheets and towels — and these two 2-foot tall Christmas elves. All the essentials, in other words. (I told you, Finns are really into Christmas!) Needless to say, they are Aava’s favorite decoration.

Also, the beautiful candle holders and lanterns were all here waiting for us.



Handmade Gifts

Don’t miss my blog post with 12 ideas for handmade gifts!

It’s got something for everyone: knitted, crocheted, sewn, body care & food gifts.

 

Other ideas for simple, waste-free, natural holiday decorations

Mari Stuart
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