6 December 2015

Welcome, once again, to my Danish Christmas Advent Calendar! Every day I’ll be giving you a little peak into how our family celebrates Christmas here in Copenhagen.
Do the Danes love Christmas? Um, yes – they even use the word Christmas as a verb… Vi juler! (We are ‘christmasing’!)

So get comfy, put your feet up, grab a cup of something warm, and prepare for an avalanche of hygge!

6 December 2015

Today is the second Sunday of Advent, so the kids got their second presents this morning at breakfast…

Many of my Danish friends spend these advent Sundays catching up with family or friends. Baking Danish Christmas cookies, making paper decorations or homemade sweets. And always with a generous side helping of those ubiquitous æbleskiver (yes, we had more of them at DD13’s school party on Friday afternoon)…

…all washed down with gløgg  – Danish mulled wine.  Just like æbleskiver, every family has their own favourite gløgg recipe or brand they like to buy.  Go google gløgg recipes and you’ll see just how many variations there are – some for kids, some which are white, some absolutely full of snaps that are lethal!  Just do your own thing and don’t listen to the purists.  I warm (and keep warm) our supermarket gløgg in my crockpot but a large saucepan on a low heat will do the job just as well.  Just remember not to boil it – unless you want to lose the alcohol!

Last year we tried a different brand, from Irma (a supermarket chain), and a non-alcoholic gløgg from IKEA. Both very acceptable. (Especially as I’m not really a gløgg fan, so one traditional glass a year is fine!)

Whatever gløgg you chose to make, remember to add a large bowlful (or packet) ofhakkede mandler (chopped almonds) and rosiner (raisins) to your concoction.

Floating bits…  For me, it’s the act of fishing out the ‘bits’ that turns it into a true gløgg experience… Don’t forget to give everyone a spoon with their glass!

See you tomorrow!

Diane