Family Holiday Prep & Decor, Nordic Style

Nordics decorate for the winter, not just holidays, because it turns your home, indoors and out, into a truly magical winter wonderland for winter's shorter and darker days; here's how to do it.

It’s wild to experience living in a place where you don’t see sun for a month, where sun rises well after school starts, and sets around 3pm. That is the Nordics in November and December (and in January). That’s why you don’t just decorate for the holidays: you decorate for the winter. Winter lights often come out right after daylight savings, and with the exception of the Christmas tree, festive holiday touches are also set up both indoors and out for the whole season. And, most importantly, you don’t decorate for your neighbors, you decorate to keep you and your family in a holiday mood.

So, here’s my hygge-feeling guide to prepping for the holidays, which I suggest you start……now! I promise you, it’s a game changer. You can do it slowly and keep adding as you go to make it stress-free, and it’s also fun to do with kids.

But, before we get started, I want to sum up the steps up for you.The focus of Nordics-inspired holiday prep is to create spaces with a warm, festive feeling. Instead of going big, this is achieved by small, minimalist touches everywhere. Making the outdoors more enticing is also important, but forget about the fancy displays for the front of the house: this is more about making your front or backyard a place to play and hang out even after dark.

If you buy new things to prep and decorate for the winter this year, choose items you can use year after year—except of course the Christmas tree, that should always be real! Why? Because you need pine tree scents for the best holiday feels. And, remember, even if I’m mentioning nine things below, in the Nordics, you don’t need it all! See what makes the biggest impact for your home, and try that.

PS. If you have a temporary living situation or live in an apartment, I would use these same indoor ideas, just on a smaller scale. When I had rented a furnished apartment in Helsinki for the fall of ‘22, as soon as the darkness really hit in early November, I knew I had to do something to be able to handle it, so I quickly turned our 1200 square feet into a magic winter wonderland for the remainder of our stay there—and it actually made me enjoy even the November (which Finns at least say is simply the hardest month of the year).

1.Magical Twinkly Outdoors—with or without Fire

The number one thing you see in the Nordics after daylight savings, is that decorative lighting starts popping up all over the city centers, parks and homes. It’s easy to turn your backyard into a Nordic winter wonderland too, and besides just looking incredibly beautiful, it allows you and the kids to play outside even well after sunset.

First, forget any harsh security lights—they kill all the hygge feels. That’s not what you are looking for. You are also not looking for holiday light displays for the front of the house. Instead, think of it like creating a fairy forest of low lights.

You can achieve this by adding a few landscape lights around your yard to softly brighten a couple of trees and bushes. These types of lights are placed on the ground and shine the light upwards (I had electrician to install these, but if you have anyone handy at home, with extra time, this shouldn’t be too hard to do; we actually use these year round, but add more around the holiday season).

Next, add a few string lights, net lights or wrap lights around a few select trees and bushes. If you have a balcony, you can add string lights there, and if you have a porch without a place to hang lights, you can pop lights like these on a real or faux tree. (Just check that you have an outlet; otherwise choose battery operated lights. Also, faux trees can be toxic and typically not recyclable, so just be careful with what you choose; for faux options, get a better quality one to last you a long time).

Nothing should actually twinkle or flash however: all lights should be soft, warm lights to add to the cozy, warm holiday atmosphere.

BONUS: An outfoor firepit adds warmth and light for kids’ outdoor games—or parents’ happy hour. Light it up after the kids’ get home from school or your work day ends, and instantly turn sunset on the backyard into a special winter moment.

2. Candelabras on Windowsills

My favorite Nordic holiday decor concept are the electric candelabras on windowsills. I prefer the modern ones; they are hard to find here in the US, but Ikea (being Swedish!) has some fantastic options (this or this). They are especially cute in the children’s rooms because they double as festive night lights!

3. Forget the Elf on the Shelf; Try This Instead

While Nordic countries also have different versions of Elves watching over children to see if they behave, moving an elf to a different place daily for a month is not something Nordic parents take on. I think most parents everywhere agree that ever-changing elf locations is a lot of work, even if fun, and sometimes (often) you just forget, which makes your child doubt the whole thing. If you want to do this more stress-free, and add a beautiful holiday decor to your child’s room at the same time, get an adorable handmade elf or other animal (I love these; I have not found these in the US but Stockmann, the Finnish department store, does ship abroad tax free), and just place it next to the electric candelabra in their bedroom!

4. Starry Bedrooms

To make kids’ rooms even more festive, try adding indoor string lights in one place-around a canopy bed, around a curtain rod, a larger indoor plant, or even a desk. Or, if there is no place to hang them, you could place them along a wall, on the floor, or try a small-size faux LED light “fairy tree” or birch tree (not a faux Christmas tree). These decorative touches would also look great in your own bedroom or home office. But again, remember, no flashing lights. The idea is for this to feel like you have stars in your room.

5. Keep it Green

Ultimately you want to feel like you are in winter wonderland forest, so this is the time to add more greenery indoors. If you have a staircase with a banister that you can wrap a simple garland around, do that: it will look amazing, especially with soft lights that you can set on a timer to turn on every afternoon. But, keep the garlands simple and don’t buy ones with anything but the lights on them (or add the lights to them).

You can also or alternatively place pine branches onto tabletops, and add a few lights around them. It also looks festive to add simple tree branches like pine onto your flower vases.

If you crave for more forest-y scents too, you could add forest or pine street scents into a diffuser (I love Swedish Forest by Forrester John), and definitely get soy or coconut candles (not wax with natural tree-scented essential oils.

For more floral scents, try popular Nordic holiday flowers like hyacinths. Poinsettias are also common, if you want to add a flash of red to the greenery.

6. Lightly Decorated Tree

Nordic Christmas trees are part of the overall household decor for the winter: the tree is never a maximalist standout, but beautiful in its minimalism. For a Nordic-style tree, choose a neutral palette, stick to two colors and don’t hide the tree behind the decorations. You want a lot of the tree to show. The tree decor also doesn’t have to look perfect, like out of a Nordic-design blog: regular families let the kids decorate the tree as they wish!

For a Nordic-style family tree, you can also add a touch of whimsy. I love a few neutrally colored soft animal or holiday creature ornaments (check these out for inspiration).

The tree skirts should also be simply stylish: even a burlap will do, but whatever you choose, try to match it to the tone of the ornaments and keep it simply stylish.

7. Blankets, Tablecloths & Candles

Winter calls for soft textures everywhere, and an easy way to change the look is to add Ikea’s faux sheep skin over chairs, or by the bed, add faux fur blankets over outdoor chairs by the fire pit or living room sofa, and placing any kind of neutral-colored, soft blanket on sitting surfaces.

Nothing also gives the kitchen a better holiday upgrade than a linen tablecloth (so easy to wash stains off!), and festive candle holders for both tapered candles, and votives (Iittala are of course has my favorites and I have been collecting them for a while).

8. Advent Calendar

Nordic families honestly keep advent calendars simple and low-cost. But if you don’t want a grocery-store calendar with low-level chocolates, I love a reusable calendar that can be hung up on the wall and I have a Danish one we have used for ten years (similar ones here). One little chocolate candy in each pocket for each child (oat milk chocolate or milk chocolate) never gets old for them or for me (so simple to do).

9.Easy on the Wreaths

Instead of focusing the holiday decor on wreaths on outside of the windows, leave that last—they won’t actually help increase your time outside, or add soft light. They are more for the neighbor. Nordics tend to always have one on the front door. They also look pretty on windows, but only put them on a few.

Instead, try lit stars on the inside of the windows, Scandi-style! Ikea has great inspiration images for their hanging star lampshares, and they don’t break the bank. The stars are wonderful for windows that don’t get covered with curtains.

In Nordic design, less is always more!

PS. Woolen Socks

Everyone also of course needs large, indoor-only woolen socks to keep their feet warm and cozy.

*NEW* Your best holiday tips!

Instead of Read, Watch & Shop section, Scandi Class is showcasing your tips for the perfect Nordic-inspired holiday! Add your tips or questions in the comments below!

From my Instagram, American Mom Sarah living in Finland:

PS. Want to share this with parent friends who want to add more twinkle to their winter?

Scandi Glossary

NORDIC HOLIDAY PREP & DECOR = achieving greater results with reduced effort or resources! Choose what makes the biggest difference for you, and just do that.

x Annabella Daily