Rainy Day Reads

The stocking is not really something I have been used to doing for Christmas Eve. Rather, we would use a stocking as an advent calendar receptacle rather than wait for Christmas Eve/morning to empty it. Santa would put a gift in your stocking each day or perhaps only some days, and you would get to check the stocking every morning.   When you are little you are quite excited for all the erasers, pens, stickers and tiny toys you receive, but once you get older, you might wish for gifts of better quality and usefulness. This is when Santa perhaps only leaves gifts every few days or so.  I find that it can be hard to balance between buying gifts that are actually wanted and will be used and not blowing your budget on the stocking stuffers alone. Below is a list of some ideas for smaller, but useful gifts, that I think would go well in any stocking. For pampering : Face masks Lip blam Nail polish Small sized body lotion Hand creme For the reader : Inex...

I love to travel, but it can be a bit expensive with all the gear you need, aside from the tickets and accommodation. Especially if it is your first big trip, you might find it helps to put a few of the bigger items on your wish list. That way you can save some money to spend once you are out in the world.   Before my big Asia trip in 2009 I got a lot of the stuff I needed for Christmas which was a big help as far as my travel budget was concerned.  Below are some of the bigger items any traveller might appreciate under the tree. Backpack - an essential if you are off traveling the world. Unless you are the type to bring a long a suitcase with wheels. But those can be expensive too. Perhaps settle for a gift card or consult the person you are buying for as a backpack is a very personal choice. Some like outside pockets, some don’t, some want them big, some small, some like color, some don’t. There are endless possibilities, so if you do decided to spring for the ...

Gifts in jar is a fun way to give gifts to those you struggle buying for or if you need to bring something for the hostess of a Christmas party or something similar. This post will focus on smaller, mostly inexpensive gifts in a jar, suitable for bringing along for the hostess or to give any friends or relatives you don’t really exchange bigger gifts with.   When making a gift in a jar, it is nice to have a theme. It can just be the person you are giving the gift to, if they have many varied interests and you know them pretty well. If you are struggling to come up with something, some sort of theme will help you fill that jar in no time. Below are a series of suggestions for themed jars and inexpensive items to put in them, that will hopefully help you out. Hot Chocolate in a jar Pour some of your favorite hot chocolate powder mix into a cute, small container and tie a bow on it. Add a small bag of marshmallows and a cute mug and you are good to go. If they really deserv...

We all know that Christmas isn’t about the money. It’s not the gifts or the food or the fancy clothes or the parties that matter. It’s family and love and joy…even so Christmas tends to be expensive. Because you DO want to buy the perfect gift for your loved ones, and you DO want to eat good food, and you DO want to look nice for all the parties.   If money is tight there are a few ways to save money though, that won’t make too big of a dent in the holiday spirit.  Decorations: The first tip is RECYCLE! Use your decorations from last year. Don’t let the fancy magazines and store windows tempt you into thinking that you need to scrap all of last year’s red and gold decor for this year’s silver and purple. You are doing Christmas for you, and I always think the coziest decorations are the ones that are handed down in the family, and the slightly wonky homemade stuff, that also serve as keepsakes from Christmases past. I think this kind of decor adds the cozy family ...

The 13th of December is Lucia Day. When I went to school this meant that all the students of the older classes dressed in white, and walked around the school with lighted candles in hand singing the Lucia song. All the lights would be turned off for this and you would sit waiting for the Lucia parade to enter your classroom hearing them coming down the hall. It felt really exciting and like you were part of a grand tradition. The tallest girl of the class would be the Lucia “bride” wearing a crown of pine branches with 4 lighted candles and she would lead the parade around the school.   I think this is a really nice tradition. It is based on the fact that in the old calendar this night was considered the longest night, and Lucia brings the light back again. She was originally a saint, and this day is her saint day.  It turns out the Danish tradition is actually derived from the Swedish. In Sweden the tradition of bringing light (and food) around mostly took place in ...

The holiday season seems like one long line of Christmas parties with food and drink in abundance. At the end of the month all those parties can leave you tired out if you don’t prepare.   Outfit Be sure to pick something comfortable! Of course you want to look nice, but I try to go for a mix between comfort and style. In Denmark Christmas parties are all about the food! And the drink, to some degree, but mostly the food. So be sure to pick something that isn’t too tight around the waist.  As for shoes, keep them comfortable too. There is sure to be a lot of dancing going on, and you need that exercise to start burning off all the food you’ve just gobbled down. For the same reason I like to put up my hair. All that dancing is sure to create some heat in the room and an up-do will give you a little air. Just make sure it’s a sturdy hairdo that will withstand vigorous dancing.  The same goes for make-up. If you know you will be dancing make sure your make-u...

There is something quite cozy about homemade decorations. I like the mix and match of all the colors and textures, the slightly wonky decorations the kids have made, the old family heirlooms mixed with the new and funky decorations bought from the shops.  When the Christmas themed magazines come out with the “color scheme” for this year’s Christmas I must confess I roll my eyes a bit. I don’t go in for Christmas having a color scheme. I mix all the colors and while that might be a bit messy, I think it’s cozy. The carefully curated set of baubles in the perfect color combination just makes me feel like I’m living in a magazine picture and I am afraid to touch anything.  Granted the color coordinated Christmas trees look great! I think they are really pretty, but they are just not for me. I feel like the pressure of creating and adhering to a color scheme just adds to the pressure and expense of Christmas, and I don’t need that! So I am all about the homemade decoratio...

I always enjoy homemade Christmas gifts. It just adds a personal touch, and sometimes that is worth more than the newest gadget from the shops.   There are a number of DIY Christmas gifts you make yourself to add that personal touch, or if your budget is tight, this can also be a good way to save some money. I’m not that great at crafts of any sort, so I have divided these ideas into two categories; for the crafty and for the not-so-crafty (the crafty ones are still not too complicated, so have look at those as well, even if you belong in the latter category). Hopefully you will find something that suits your level of craftiness! For the crafty: Homemade knitted washcloths. An easy knit-and-purl or straight up knit project that will look cute in any bathroom.  A blanket for the couch. Depending on your level of skill you can knit, crochet or make a quilt. This will probably take some time, though, so get started early.  A wipe-off menu board. Find a glass f...

Now this is a recipe for what is directly translated called “Apple slices” (æbleskiver). Traditionally there are supposed to be bits of apple in them, but I don’t like cooked fruit and my family recipe is without apples.   You do need some speciality equipment for these. You need a pan like this:  If you can’t find a pan for “æbleskiver” try searching for a takoyaki pan. This is a Japanese snack, that uses the same sort of pan for little dumplings with squid.  For the apple slices you need: 250 g of flour (glutenfree if you want) 1 tablespoon of sugar 1/2 tablespoon of baking soda 500 ml of buttermilk 2 eggs Mix everything but the eggs to a smooth batter. Add the eggs and mix well.  Heat up the pan on a high heat (but not the highest) and add some sort of lubricant to the pan. I like to use butter. This recipe is not for the faint of heart, as you need a lot of butter to grease the pan, to make sure they don't stick!  ...

I must confess that I am a bit of a grinch when it comes to Christmas music. If the radios start playing it one second before December 1st, I’m ready to throw my radio out the window. Amazingly I managed to go through almost all of November without hearing a single Christmas song on the radio!   And in the spirit of getting into Christmas this year, I have made my own Christmas playlist, with all my favorite Christmas songs. There are the classics like Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and Wham’s “Last Christmas”, but I think Elvis Presley’s Christmas music takes up the major part of it. If you don’t have his music on your Christmas list get it now! It is really nice and there are both festive songs and the more quiet ones, suitable for background music for dinner.  When it comes to Christmas music I’m more of a classics girl. All the old favorites are acceptable, but the new songs that artists put out don’t really make it on my list usually. Except las...