Simply by thinking of Christmas as Yuletide...

you’re already getting a bit Northern European as the word Yuletide is derived from the Germanic Jul, or Geoll, which was a pagan midwinter festival. Yuletide means, literally, Yuletime; in Scandinavia it’s known simply as Jul and if you see something with this prefix you’ll know that Christmas shenanigans are afoot.
If you fancy some Scandinavian Christmas shenanigans this year, here are a few pointers to help you get your God Jul (Good Christmas) on.
Get some glögg on the go
Glögg is Swedish mulled wine and it’s pretty much ubiquitous from November onwards. Outdoor markets will be selling cups of it alongside thin ginger biscuits spread with cream cheese (it works). Every household will have its own recipe, but you can start buy mulling red wine, sugar and orange juice with a mixture of ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.
Celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve
That’s right! Christmas Eve is when Scandinavian families gather together to enjoy succulent boiled ham with herring and potato salad. Of course you might not feel quite right about giving up on the roastie, so why not do both?
Find the perfect tree
Scandinavians take their Christmas trees very seriously indeed – what with being the land of the Christmas tree and all. Look hard to bag the biggest, densest tree you can find, before decorating it with gingerbread cookies, twinkling lights, and strings of flags. You could pick the flag of your favourite Nordic country (If you are in Melbourne, come check out our mini Christmas trees that we have in store, they're to us a little piece of Scandinavia right here in Australia!)
Get baking
Bake some Lussebullar, or Lucia buns. These typically Scandinavian sweet buns have raisins and saffron in to brighten up the dark Nordic winter months. In Oz that’s not a problem, but don’t let that stop you firing up the oven.
Light some candles
As a Scandophile you should already have a ready supply of candles in the house, so find some Nordic-looking holders and light them up once the sun has gone down to impart a cosy glow.
Have a lovely Christmas time!
With much love,
MuBu x
Photo Credit: Pinterest / babyanddesign.com