Jennifer Hagler
Our mini interview today is with the amazingly talented Katerina Dima from Only Deco Love who lives in Norway and blogs about Scandinavian interiors and design. Her photos are uniquely crip, clean and filled with light. As an adult she moved form her home in Greece to Norway and embraced the Scandinavian way of celebrating the season. She also shares the 5 top items on her wishlist!
It is funny, I have so many great Christmas memories but when I am asked for the fondest one,I am finding myself only looking at my childhood. In Greece Christmas is not as big as in Scandinavian countries, at least my family didn’t celebrate it as much. There is a tree , there are lights and there are cookies baking in the kitchen, but I knew early on there was no Santa, and our gifts as children were handed out maybe even days earlier, usually clothes etc . However I remember so clearly one night, someone coming into my room, carefully and gently lifting my hand and placing a watch on my wrist. I was only half awake, I didn’t think much of it,I dozed off immediately. But next day I woke up and to my surprise there it was, the watch I had dreamt of! Even though I know now it was my dad, due to being so young, due to being half awake, to this day, it feels like it was a fairy that came in my room. Really it still feels like magic, and that watch, my very first watch, became my favourite thing for years to come.
After moving to Norway, where Christmas is such a big celebration, I have picked up quite a few new traditions that I enjoy quite a lot. One of my favourites by far, is after Christmas dinner, sitting around the tree and one by one opening presents. Then enjoying coffee and chocolate with cakes while watching old Christmas movies. Then next day, Christmas breakfast usually includes Norwegian sour cream porridge (rømmegrøt), more movies and board games. I have always looked forward to Christmas in Norway, and it is probably these warm traditions that I have gladly adopted that make it so.
While I love Christmas time with family and all the old and new traditions, the best part of Christmas for me is the time leading up to Christmas. Already Oslo now is filled with Christmas decorations, the streets are festive, the snow is falling, there is music playing,the Christmas markets and villages are opening up. Christmas scents that already filling the rooms from flowers to cookies, Amaryllis, paper whites, peppermint.. Walking on a snowy road, coming home to crackling fire and Glogg ( traditional mullet wine, usually very sweet, filled with cinnamon bark, raisins and dried fruits and nuts). If there is a reason I am sad New Year comes, it is because I have to wait another 10 months again before the Pre Christmas cheer is back.
Catch up with the rest of the series Deborah and I have created here and here!
