• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Nordic Kitchen

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Season
      • Spring
      • Summer
      • Autumn
      • Winter
    • Category
      • Bread
      • Breakfasts
      • Cakes
      • Christmas
      • Cookies
      • Desserts
      • Muffins & Cupcakes
      • Pies & tarts
      • Savory
      • Smoothies & Drinks
      • Swedish Pastries
      • Sweets & Treats
  • Lifestyle
    • Beauty
    • Gardening
    • Home
    • Slow living
    • Travel
  • About
    • About The Nordic Kitchen
    • Portfolio
  • Contact
  • Shop

A Slow Christmas

25 november, 2022

slow

Slow living is a lot about living more intentional. To value the simple things in life and to steer away from the work more-earn more-buy more merry-go-round. Christmas is, for many, a holiday where more is more and it’s a competition of who got the best/most expensive/the most Christmas gifts, who had the biggest Christmas tree, the most trendy decorations, most outdoor decorations, most food. Who baked the most, who was done with all the preparations first. It never ends. 

I love Christmas. It’s probably my favorite time of the year. But I really don’t like the stress, materialism and consumerism that it’s so much about these days. Since K and I started to celebrate Christmas together, and created our own traditions, we decided that Christmas should be slow and not about stuff, but rather about food we love and just being together. We give Christmas gifts, but we’ve decided that the price is not important. What matters is if the other one wants or needs the gift or not. If one of us needs socks, it would be a great gift since it’s something that’s needed anyway. Boring to some perhaps, but we want to avoid buying expensive things for the sake of doing it. We’ve had this approach for years now, and we don’t plan to change it. 

slow

We also have a one gift-policy, which means that we give one gift each, and that’s it. That includes Adam and William too. They get one gift from us, nothing more. We love to spoil them rotten, but we don’t want to do it with stuff. To us, it’s much more important that they get memories of being loved, being happy and having their family around for Christmas. We want to show them that that is what’s important, not how many toys you get under the tree. Of course, we also want them to appreciate what they get, not just throw it to the side and tear open the next gift. Since they’ll also get gifts from others, they’ll end up with a few gifts on Christmas Eve anyway, which makes the one-gift-rule even more important. 

slow
slow

When it comes to food, we love to have a Christmas buffet with a few carefully selected things that we love (mindful eating). We cook as much as we know we will eat and make sure that nothing goes to waste. We don’t serve anything just because it’s tradition to do so. We serve food we like, be it a traditional dish or some new thing we want to try out. We add and remove dishes every year. Some we make every year, others show up just to disappear again. 

The same goes with Christmas candy. We bake a few things, and make a couple of different sorts of candy and that’s it. We don’t buy tonnes of candy in the store and eat until we feel sick. We decide on a few things we love, bake them from scratch and eat them over the Christmas days. Nothing more, nothing less. This year we’ve decided to make even less than we usually do. 

slow

I guess our traditions can sound boring to some, but this is how we like it. It feels good knowing that the gifts we give will be appreciated, that we don’t contribute to climate change by buying lots of gifts and new Christmas decorations, that no food will be thrown away because we made too much, or things that no one really likes but ”has to be there because of tradition”. And I want to make it very clear that we don’t feel like we’re giving anything up. We value the time spent together with loved ones the most. Getting together, eating good food and having a good time is all we need for a lovely Christmas. 

If you want to celebrate a slow(er) Christmas, here are my best tips: 

  1. You come a long way with candles, some flowers and wreaths. You don’t need a neon colored Santa shining in your garden. Your neighbor might have ten, but that does not mean that your garden has to look the same. 
  2. Focus on what you and your family like. What’s important to you? Learn to see the difference between what you like and what you think you should do. It’s not about pleasing others. It’s about you and your loved ones. What you see on social media is not important, you don’t have to do everything everyone else is doing. You do you. 
  3. Cut down on the gifts. No kid (or adult) needs 20 gifts. 
  4. No, you don’t need a new Christmas outfit. 
  5. Cook less food. No one wants to eat Christmas food for 4 days anyway. 
  6. If you are celebrating with others, everyone can bring something. Everyone can cook or bake something to bring. 
  7. With less decorations, food, bakes and Christmas gifts you’ll have more time for other things, like playing with your kids, read, talk, and be outside. 
  8. Don’t compare. Remember that the snippets you see on social media is just moments from someone’s life. Don’t compare your life with someone else’s. Log out from social media if you need to. You don’t need new Christmas decorations just because someone you follow on Instagram just bought new stuff. 
  9. Be thankful. 
  10. Put away your phone. Be present, take in the smells of Christmas, enjoy the company of others and just be yourself.  

Merry Christmas! <3

Previous Post: « Plant based spaghetti bolognese & my go-to tomato sauce

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Livvy

    25 november, 2022 at 12:18

    I love this so much!! Its so good to know that we are not alone in our approach to Christmas. We have vegan sausages with veggies and atuffing for Christmas lunch. People get so upset over it, but as I explain to them, why would I spend the time and money making a ”show stopping” nut roast or something when my children dont like it? They like sausages and we chose not to eat them that often as they are processed. Its perfect for us.
    Wishing you all a lovely season x

    Svara
    • thenordickitchen

      1 december, 2022 at 10:36

      I love to hear that! And I completely agree, why do or make things to make others happy? It’s so weird! But I’m happy that you do what you like no matter what others think of it. Wish you a lovely December and merry Christmas to you and your family <3

      Svara
  2. Cat

    30 november, 2022 at 13:48

    I absolutely love these, and wholeheartedly agree! Happy celebrations to you & your family 💛

    Svara
    • thenordickitchen

      1 december, 2022 at 10:37

      Thank you so much, I’m happy you liked it <3 Wish you a merry Christmas <3

      Svara

Lämna ett svar Avbryt svar

Din e-postadress kommer inte publiceras. Obligatoriska fält är märkta *

Recipe Rating




Denna webbplats använder Akismet för att minska skräppost. Lär dig hur din kommentardata bearbetas.

Primary Sidebar

Hi,

and welcome to The Nordic Kitchen. I’m so happy you’re here!

I’m Sofia, a food stylist and photographer living a slow life in a small town in Sweden. I love coffee, vintage cameras, cinnamon rolls, old wood and strawberries.

The Nordic Kitchen is a blog devoted to seasonal plant-based cooking and finding beauty in the everyday moments.

Welcome!

Buy my book!

IN SEASON RIGHT NOW

spaghetti tomato sauce

Plant based spaghetti bolognese & my go-to tomato sauce

Easter cupcakes

Vanilla cupcakes with lemon frosting

Vegan pancakes

My best pancake recipe – plant based and super simple

Strawberry & rhubarb crumble

Strawberry & rhubarb crumble

Lemon cake with poppy seeds and lemon frosting

Lemon cake with poppy seeds and lemon frosting

Mocca Chocolate Bundt Cake with Coffee Glaze

WINNER

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Alltid aktiverad
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieVaraktighetBeskrivning
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SPARA OCH ACCEPTERA