Are you up for a little game today? How about I show you eight traditional things you’re likely to find in a Scandinavian home at Christmas—and then you can share in the comments (if you’d like) how many of these you also display in your country?
And what better way to do this than through a tour of the living spaces in the Norwegian home of Nina Holst? Her name might ring a bell, as she’s the founder of Stylizimo, and I featured her previous home at Christmas way back in 2015! Nina lives with her husband and little baby in a beautiful, early 20th century art nouveau villa, and she has a talent for incorporating soothing earthy tones and design classics into her decor. Her Christmas decorations are always elegant and timeless.
Let’s take a look and see what we can discover!
1. Nature makes for the best decorations - whether in drinks, on presents or around the house. I quite fancy one of these gin and tonics tonight, it is lillördag (little saturday) after all.
2. There's nothing like the sweet scent of hyacinths at Christmas. Scandinavians love to remove the soil, place them in a glass vase and dip the roots into water instead.
3. With the sun barely lifting over the horizon, a group of candles in mix and match glass and brass candleholders helps to brighten up the darker days.
4. It wouldn't be 'Jul' without tall amaryllis in either white, red or rose - they're often placed in a vase or the bulb is wrapped in moss.
5. The Julgran (Christmas tree) is a given. After all 33% of Norway and 68% of Sweden is covered in forest so there are plenty to choose from! This popular variety is a Kungsgran (Nordmann fir).
6. Beautifully wrapped presents are a go-go - whether carefully done at home or by the in-store gift wrapping service that's widely available.
7. The adventsljusstake (advent candlestick) placed in the windows of homes, schools and businesses helps to bathe the dark streets with a warm glow and creates a welcoming feel in the cold.
8. A simple yet pretty homemade wreath is hung on the door, but also indoors on walls, or the chimney of a traditional tiled fireplace.
Such lovely decorations - ideal for anyone who loves a more simple, natural approach to decorating in wintertime.
I am guessing you have quite a lot of these decorations in your country too - are there any that stood out as different? Do you bring in the same winter flowers?
If you'd like to see more of Nina's Norwegian home throughout the seasons, head on over to her instagram here.
After some more winter decorating ideas today? Here are a few features for all tastes and styles:
And because I'm in the mood for cosiness, check out these wintery cabins:
Have a lovely Wednesday friends!
Niki
Photography courtesy of Nina Holst, shared with kind permission.
I always had candles and proper trees when I lived in London and Dublin now I have an artificial tree but I decided to get a real one this year. However none of the trees I’ve looked at where I live have any scent which is the main pleasure of having a tree. I don’t like wreaths or the smell of hyacinths so I guess I would fail as a Scandinavian. : )
ReplyDeleteThere are certain things you need to love as a Scandinavian - like liquorice (which means I also will never truly be Scandinavian), having said that there are some trees out there that smell divine - like the 'rödgran' which is a Norway spruce, the only thing is all the needles drop so it's a bit of a pay off and should be brought in way later than other types of tree.
DeleteI love liquorice and I do like the Scandinavian holiday decor.
DeleteIt sounds to me like you are very much an honorary Scandinavian!
DeleteLove the sage green and neutral theme in Nina's home. It has a calming effect, timeless and bet its a beauty even without the Jul decor!
ReplyDeleteWe have a real tree, and wreaths, a few candles( not fancy ones as featured here), no advent candles), eucalyptus in Nov/ Dec maybe, but no hyacinths or amaryllis, just what we can find at the store, if weather permits. We used to have presents, and it was great fun!!! However we stopped a few years ago, when we realized we were just filling the house with stuff. So now something valuable or an experience/outing as a family, precious as time flies!
I love eucalyptus at Christmas too. I understand you with regards to presents - my husband and I never buy each other physical gifts, only experiences, which I love! My girls though, very much still have a 'list'. In sweden it's customary to write a short rhyme to go with your present which hints at what is inside!
DeleteChristmas decorating seems more minimalistic in Scandanavian countries than in the US. I have (and prefer) an artificial tree and wreath on the front door. Sometimes I have brought in live greens for my mantel and a live wreath for my door, but this is not that year. :)
ReplyDeleteI have sometimes seen amaryllis, but never hyacinths. Poinsettia plants are popular here. I avoid most plants/flowers in my own home, as they are potentially poisonous for my cats.
Most homes that I know of have some sort of Santa decoration, and a nativity set. I enjoy seeing Christmas customs from around the world--feel free to bring on more!
Oh, I wish I could say that you are right regarding the minimalistic decor. I think the reason you think so, is because most bloggers/intragrammers are of the minimalistic style. The majority of homes in Norway are decorated way differently - there are santas, angels, garlands, amaryllis, other flowers and lots and lots of of decorations. But the minimalistic style is gaining in popularity. I myself barely decorate - usually only a bowl of nuts, one bowl of clementines (both are traditional snacks around Christmas), and a vase with som green and some pocelain Christmas balls.
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DeleteThank you for sharing how you decorate your home Kris- and how you've seen others around you. In England you see a lot of Poinsettia and nativity sets. You do see the former here, but less so the latter. It is more likely to be a 'Lucia train' with all the characters lined up.
DeleteDoes you cat like your tree? I've seen so many memes of cats 'enjoying' Christmas from the vantage point of a Christmas tree branch!
Anon, thank you so much for sharing your experience of Norway, so interesting! :)
Oh yes, our cats have "redecorated" our tree several times already this year. All my breakable ornaments are in large glass vases on our fireplace mantel (out of their reach). Life wouldn't be the same without them, but they do make seasonal decorating tricky.
DeleteAnon, it's true that my exposure to Scandinavian decorating is restricted to what I see online. I enjoy my armchair travels via My Scandinavian Home, including the comments from readers around the world. So fun!
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ReplyDeleteLovely photos today. I always buy paper white bulbs each year and put them into my bulb vases, wonderful smell when blooming. And Poinsettias are very festive each year.
ReplyDeleteYour floral decorations sound lovely! There's nothing like creating a natural scent at home at this time of the year.
DeleteIn all your Xmas posts over the years I see these details and I always thought how this relates to our Xmas celebration in an Eastern Orthodox country - Bulgaria. Well, we do all of these - lot's of candles, Xmas tree, wrapped presents. But NOT amaryllis (here it is just a home plant mainly in the red version) and no hyacinth at all - for us, it is a garden plant mainly and the smell of it, is definitely smell of the Spring for us and mainly March 8 - International Woman Day. Street flower shops are flooded with it on March, 8. For Xmas we also traditionally decorate with lots of fruits - mainly quinces, walnuts and persimmons and our traditional decoration is with a lot of red color.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this insight into the Bulgarian Christmas - so interesting!
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