Good morning,
My boyfriend is not European and where he is from Christmas has not historically had the same family or cozy vibes as we are used to. In most Asian countries Christmas is more like a second or pre-Valentine’s day. A day where couples go out and have a cute date and a nice meal. With that said he spent Christmas with mum, aunt, and me last year but before we got to the classic Swedish julbord on the 24th he had to endure the first third of Swedish winter.
One of the cute little things we do for children that is fun in the wait for Christmas is the chocolate advent calendar, BF prefers gummy candies so I got him the Haribo one last year and this one too. As for me, I got a Kinder one, I also wanted some variation in my candy days.
Scandinavian winter can be cozy if you are born here and know that it doesn’t last forever but for foreigners that come unprepared, the cold weather in combination with the DARK days can really take a toll on you. In December the sun tends to go up around 8 am and down around 3 pm, that with the lack of any real sunshine(most days) gives quite bleak days, something the boyfriend really got a feel for with his first dose of seasonal depression last year. I think most Scandis know the importance of a cozy atmosphere and having small plans along the week or month to make this time of year more bearable.
