Ramblings from Stockholm

The slimming ads are beginning to appear in newspapers and TV-commercials again after a short lull over the Christmas season as weight loss companies vie with each other to sell their sure-fire solutions. I seldom pay much attention to these miracle cures, but when I tried on an old dress I had in... Sign in to see full entry.

… or late-December blues … they surface with monotonous regularity each year when all the Christmas euphoria is over. I think of it as the body’s way of recovering from the prolonged adrenalin surge that preceded it. Anyway, I had a great Christmas and hope yours was great too. Christmas is more of... Sign in to see full entry.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, folks. Have a jolly good time with your dear ones. It’s Christmas Eve at last. In Scandinavia, we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve (blame it on our impatient viking genes). It is a day for family gatherings. Grandmammas and grandpappas travel to their children and grandchildren... Sign in to see full entry.

Today is the 4th Sunday of Advent and we're almost there. Our Nordic Santa has just left his workshop in Rovaniemi. He’s a little late, so Run Run Rudolph … it’s Christmas Eve tomorrow. Ooooppps …. oh no, Santa's in trouble. Anyone got a spare?... Sign in to see full entry.

If you haven’t done it yet, it’s about time. In the good old days, the Christmas scrub was a ritual -- guys first, then kids, then womenfolk... in the same tub … but not all at the same time. Perhaps we should return to old habits to keep the environmentalists happy … but in reverse order to keep... Sign in to see full entry.

Tomorrow morning at 6.08 GMT/UTC the Sun will enter the sign of Capricorn, the Winter Solstice for us in the northern hemisphere. So enjoy your longest night of the year – yay, things can only get brighter after tomorrow. Just a gentle reminder … if you are driving far and wide this season (or any... Sign in to see full entry.

Royals are no different from us. They have to make their own Christmas sausages too, just like we do. Watch our king and queen one Christmas past -- when they were still young and beautiful – having some family fun with their kids.... Sign in to see full entry.

Have you ever wondered what a Swedish turkey looks like? OINK OINK http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Xmas/calendar/day19.html Sign in to see full entry.

How would you like to sleep on a bed made of ice, down a whiskey in a glass made of ice and eat your dinner off a plate made of ice? Then you’ll have to make a trip to the little Swedish village of Jukkasjärvi situated 200 km north of the Arctic Circle. There in this village is a hotel made of ice... Sign in to see full entry.

The Norwegian environmental organization, "Framtiden I Våre Hender" (The Future in our Hands), suggests that a G-streng truse would make a very appropriate Christmas present. It’s something small, doesn’t use much cotton and therefore very eco-friendly. So let’s do what the Norwegians do. Get one... Sign in to see full entry.