Traditional Danish Christmas Luncheon

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GLAEDELIG JUL!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, this year, I had a taste for our OLD traditions.

Since my parents have pased, we have not had a Christmas Day Brunch. Here, we normally celebrate 

a traditional Christmas Eve and everyone has Christmas Day in their own homes.

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The Danes celebrate both days. 

The Smorgasbord style meal is a mixture of hearty foods. 

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The cold plate is sausage, Leverposte (Liver pate baked) with red onions, Rollepolse (traditionally lamb or pork rolled with pepper and spices) these are served with hearty rye, pumpernickel and egg breads.

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A crab-shrimp salad with chopped celery and onions served with lettuce.

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Cheeses, Jarlsberg wedge(nutty creamy cheese-Danish), Danish Blue cheese, American sharp cheddar, and mozzarella.

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Pickles are served in a variety of styles, the pickled asparagus was served with ham wedges.

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Herrings, and hot garden mix. Pickled gherkins, beets, dill pickles and American corn relish, a favorite here.

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Danish Sausage (Medestepolse-is a mild pork sausage with a delicious mix of spices, this is served fried hot or cold-boiled).

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Hot Parlsey buttered red potatoes, American mix veggies, and creamed cabbage which is sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. 

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The table is waiting for the guests. My husband was Santa Claus and very hungry, 

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Lots of coffee and cocoa!

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Normally this luncheon would be served with spilling glasses of beer and shots of a wicked 

liquor of Akquavit in shots, But, everyone travels so far, that drinking and driving is not a 

great idea. Instead we have coffee, cocoa, fruit juices and water with lemon. 

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After cookies and cake, we have presents---Lots of presents.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas full of memories and family. 

Thanks always for visiting. 

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.

 Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

I will be sharing at these fine Parties!

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Sandi

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Christmas Nostalgia and Whimsy

I've been slacking on posting this year. I've been slow at everything, and decorating has been a month long...snail's pace process. The buffet is always a centerpiece for our home.

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When you have Grandchildren you decorate for them. Usually this buffet has the entire village up, but this year, I went with a snow and our favorite things theme.

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Unpolished family and thrift store silver softly reflects the lights. The white weasels are Royal Copenhagen from my family's collection. 

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A dapper mouse ski's on the snow, while Santa floats in a boat.

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A sugarplum fairy, vintage trees, a plastic scene, an old chalkware Santa, and mice all occupy my buffet forest.

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Two polar bears nestle under a dome, while birds, shelter below.

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The Nisse elf (representing Scandinavia), is one of an old series of Santa's around the world, issued by Carson Pirie Scott in the 1990s. I have several. I have two Rudy's, one from my husbands grandparents, and one from mine.

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We can pretend it is Rudolph and clarice.  The Ty baby, is the Grand's and she always wants it in the decorations.

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Mama Bear and baby, play in the sparkling snow---they are Royal copenhagen from my family.

The sweet bird, is one of the last gifts I gave my mom.

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Back in the forest, a sweet fairy does her magic.

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Only a few feet away is the Christmas tree. This is the first year with all glass ornaments in quite awhile. We downsized the tree last year, and it has wonderful open spaces to showcase our collection.

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In an Antique fenced stand, a few toys lurk before presents are banked around the tree.

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My 19th Century spinning wheel, has a few decorations. I still have elves to find that will play on this.

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Hoping your Christmas is filled with Nostalgia, Whimsy and Love. 

Thanks always for visiting. 

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.

 Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

I will be sharing at these fine Parties!

Amaze Me Monday
Share Your Style
Share Your Cup
Home and Garden Thursday
Thursday Favorite Things

Sandi

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Cookie Day at our House.

This is an annual event, we make up dough and family and friends roll, cut and bake them at our house. Then, ages 5-70, we decorate until we drop. Some are left un-iced for those who don't like icing.

Some wine is consumed, and we have a potluck of sorts. Fun Day!

I make up two huge batches of dough (12 cups of flour) of my husband's great grandmother's recipe.

It has buttermilk in it and lard....so they are very tender.

Here are the cookies drying out. The dough was just too soft this year, so I aged them.

Even the the non-artist types got into it. Love this moose---with the white stockings.

We also had a batch of gingerbread, these are the real hard/crispy ones.

A few pans burned a bit...always happens. 

So I made dog treats, 1/3 (1 cup about) broken/crisp cookies - 2/3 (2 cups) long-cook whole grain oatmeal, about 1/2 cup of baked pumpkin and equal amount of peanut butter to make a soft mixture. Roll into balls, dry for a few hours, and then freeze. 

These are great treats for older dogs as they are softer. 

Thanks always for visiting. 

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.

 Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

I will be sharing at these fine Parties!

Make it Pretty Monday
Amaze Me Monday

Sandi

DIY Christmas Advent Calendar

Last year I made a DIY lunch bag advent organizer, with bags attached with strings to a calendar. What a mess. This year, I decided to invest in something permanent...

sort of for my 5 year-old Grandgirl.

My son's house is basically BLACK,  WHITE, and LIME GREENS. .

So I chose the lighter green for the numbers.

The shoe organizer for the REDO was under $8.00 at Walmart. Finding the 24 pocket one wasn't that easy---since I didn't want to spend an arm an a leg. Besides the mesh front is a bit forgiving 

for different shaped items.

I used sticky foam for the numbers----I know these won't last forever, but that is the level she is at right now. I added felt snowflakes with hot glue and little foam embellishments in simple shape to go 

with their contemporary decor. 

I used a number stencil set on one of my alphabet stencils to trace on the back of the foam, backwards, and then cut them out...!

Because the front of the pockets is a nylon mesh, I hot glued a couple inches on the back of the letters and rubbed the hot glue across with a spoon, to encase the mesh. 

In the pockets, I used decorative lunch bags (5 for 97cents) and filled them with craft supplies, kits, books, puzzles, cookie mix and sprinkles, window clings, 

...glitter glue, velvet posters, wooden ornaments to paint, 

acrylic pots, pom-poms--life savers, and more books.

and of course chenille stems. A paper banner with stickum letters to put together for 

MERRY CHRISTMAS. 

Phew! I collect these things and more over the Fall season, and sale pricing was so good I hit Michael's and Joann's for small kids kits, as well as the Dollar Store. I probably have enough to do another one. To be honest, it didn't take that long to do. One night cutting out the letters in front of the TV and the next day attaching the numbers, decorations and bagging the booty.

The colored lunched bags add a very festive look to the organizer.

Here, is the finished festive Advent Calendar. The best part of this, is she has something to do 

everyday now and can learn how many days away Christmas really is.

I rolled it up in a ball and took it to their house yesterday.

My Grand can't wait to investigate, and the calendar installed into my son and d-in-law's home. 

I had an extra book wrapped up for yesterday---that was too big, just to appease her until

Friday, December 1st---!

Christmas is only 25 days AWAY!

Thanks always for visiting. 

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.

 Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

I will be sharing at these fine Parties!

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Christmas DIY Party

Sandi

Ready for November?

I can't believe we are into November and Veterans Day is this weekend.

Special Thanks to our Veterans, young, old, here and gone.

My Dad (the blond) served in WWII in a Surgical Hospital unit.  Here they are on previously held Japanese territory, somewhere in New Guinea or Philippines. 

Our newest memorial in Washington DC, the WWII Memorial. Dad took a trip with HONOR Flight in his wheel chair in 2010. 

Thanks to all who serve and their families too. 

With only two more weeks to Thanksgiving, I'm fluffing the house. We live so informally in the Summer, it's nice to get out some lovely things, pull the slip covers off the furniture and change the table cloths. I'm low key on decorating as my home is already made for Fall. Deep sage green walls in the living room, woods the color of rust  and a carpet that has every color of a wild field of grasses and leaves in Fall.

I used leaves on a rust silk runner. I pulled out some brass and silver (not yet polished for serving, filled everything with leaves, potpourri, and a few small pumpkins.

I'll be serving snacks, beverages, and dessert from this buffet, so I try and keep it simple this year. 

And easy to move around.

I found this velvet owl in a thrift store last season and he just hooted his way into my basket. He's handmade and decked out in luxurious fabrics and ribbons. Huge brass buttons are his eyes.

The carafe and four glasses were a wedding present from 1968. I will fill it with a tawny port for Thanksgiving and after dinner.

The velveteen pumpkin is replaced with a live one, rescued from the freezing porch.

The arrangement is just a green leaves arrangement I move around the house. I love the ivy is all matte/dusty and full of tiny tendrils---I tucked colored leaves and a pumpkin stem and it's perfect for simple setting. Small white pumpkins fill in and set off another silver tray.

My gilded coffeepot was a gift from a friend, and I just love all the hand-painting on it.  More silver and an old cake plate set off more leaves, potpourri and the few dried hydrangeas.

Candles with auto timers in them, are used in our dark evenings. I have two flame electric candles lighting up the buffet behind the glass and candlesticks. 

This all makes a safe warm glow.

I had to bring my pumpkins in from outside, since it was 20 degrees or so last night. 

I've rescued the plants and the witch scarves have disappeared. We have snow forecast for the weekend, so everything will look different next week.

We've had sunshine with this cold weather.

My faux foliage will survive, with the dried gourds. But this is par for this strange year of crazy weather. You can see, the leaves haven't really changed,

 so they will probably fall after the frost, still green.

The front table is still ready, and the chenille pumpkin is still napping on the spinning wheel. 

Lots of windows, dusting, cabinets to clean---still to go this week. 

But I smell something baking...what could it be? 

Next post maybe. 

Thanks always for visiting. 

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.

 Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

I will be sharing at these fine Parties!

Share Your Style
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Sandi