Nordic Secrets to Grounding Summer

In the US, we stress about not being productive enough during summer, while in Finland, the panic sets if you didn't relax enough. Here's how to turn on the vacation mode.

Jul 26, 2024

I just saw a Finnish joke on Instagram:

Finnish out-of-office: I’m in the forest for the summer. Please email back in August. American out-of-office: I’ve left the office for two hours to undergo kidney surgery but you can reach me on my cell anytime. (Many Finns take off all of July instead of vacationing in August).

This joke is actually a fact: when we were in Finland last summer, Helsinki turned onto ghost town after midsummer in late June. When I tried to buy flowers, I stopped by three different boutiques that all had similar signs at the door: “Enjoy summer. See you in August!”

On top of that, Finns take summer vacations so religiously that they feel bad if they don’t feel relaxed enough. A few of my friends’ confided in me late last June that they had not achieved that coveted, pure “vacation mode” yet where you could care less about anything else, where you 100% prioritize recharging—and they were worried about it. They planned to make immediate changes to do the rest of their summer right: less plans, more doing fun things without a specific purpose. Why? Because this recharging time before back-to-school is considered crucial for everyone’s wellbeing.

How to Do a Nordic Inspired Summer Off-Time

What’s interesting to me, as a Nordic mom in the US, is how the American non-stop work culture extends to parenting and kids’ activities as well and how being truly “off” is not celebrated much, if at all. Many parents and kids don’t slow down: school is replaced by day camps or sleep-away camps, and competitive sports, music lessons, tutoring and other extracurricular activities continue.

I had anticipated this—and even though this is against the Finnish principle of giving kids’ a vacation also from camps—we have kept our two oldest boys in a 9am-2pm outdoor summer camp all summer long. It’s a quick drive from our house and they love it: it’s the only place where they can do their favorite sports and swim with other kids. But after 2pm, we make no plans. I call this my kids’ “Nordic-inspired vacation”.

But what about me? Even though I have minimized my duties as a scheduler, organizer and chauffer, I have otherwise kept up with my regular routines even though I had promised myself I would take a proper Nordic vacation this summer, meaning time off from non-urgent things to do. Why? Because it feels really hard to let go. I feel guilty about not moving forward or being productive in a way that produces visible results. Too many things feel both urgent and important, even if my world wouldn’t collapse if I just didn’t do them—for a little while.

And, I’m not alone. When I asked on my Instagram stories if you too crave to ground, revitalize, recharge in August, countless of you responded yes.

There’s no question that this extraordinary prioritization of time off is one of the keys to the contentment in Finland, now rated the Happiest Country in the World for seventh year in a row. And, per Finnish researchers, you don’t even need the 4-6 weeks off—common length of a Nordic summer vacation: we can recharge it in an average of 8 days—if we get into the vacation mode.

5 Steps to Truly Recharging Time Off

Nordic-inspired vacation can happen at home, or on a trip, but it needs to be revitalizing and not more work than what you already take on. It’s also not a lay-by-the pool & drink a margarita kind of time-off: it’s active relaxation that truly takes your mind off of everything, makes you feel more energetic yet calm than you did, and results you feeling grounded, and ready to take on the fall. In the absence of rustic lakeside summer cottages in the forest, where the Finnish vacation mode comes easier, there are simple things we can do to protect and get the most out of our time off—even right in our backyard. Would you try the below?

1. New Phone Rules

The number one thing is to stay more present in whatever you choose to do and being interrupted less: turn off all notifications except phone calls on your phone, iPad and computer. You can even get a “phone jail” or lockable phone box, so you can break out of the habit of checking on your phone. Be conscious of when you choose to check your messages or social media, and how long you want to spend doing that and what’s worth responding; if it’s not both urgent and important, it can wait. Ask, what would I rather do? Maybe, read a book!

2. Skip the Extra Activities

Unless you love driving your kids to “extracurricular” activities and they are literally begging to do them during their summer vacation, don’t do it. It’s OK to take a break. It’s also OK to not worry about advancing beyond your grade level. Just a camp day is enough, and a few days with nothing but hanging out with you, and playing on the backyard, is amazing as well.

3. Add Nature

Nature is a quintessential part of feeling grounding—this is why many Finns head to the countryside forests and lakes where they truly cannot be reached and where they can feel like one with nature. Is there a way to add more nature to your days off? Sometimes it doesn’t need to even be further than your own backyard. For example, I’m not much of a green thumb, but with little help and advice, I planted tons of perennials into raised planters, listening to the birds, and purposefully took off the gardening gloves so I could feel the potting soil in my bare hands—it felt so good! I got my boys to help, one by one, and surprisingly they loved it too. I also started going to our little vegetable garden where my husband, the green thumb of the family, had planted potatoes, carrots, chives, butter lettuce, basil, rhubarb and more—to prepare for basic, easy-to-do meals. And, I swapped my guided meditation app to focusing on the early morning nature sounds around me instead. I also started doing more physical activities in nature.

4. Active Relaxation

Finns tend to relax by being quite physical and active—outside in nature. Alone or together with friends or family: picking berries, hiking, rowing, paddle boarding, gardening, sailing, and swimming in lakes and seaside, playing badminton, and grilling and cooking and baking. And, of course, doing the Finnish sauna as much as possible: heating up a wood-burning sauna is a job in and of itself, but a satisfying one, and the sauna ritual of getting extremely hot in steamy heat waves in the sauna, and then dipping into something cool, will make almost anyone feel like they are reborn. What is available and doable right around you that would allow you to be active in nature? This summer, I got two paddle boards, one large, one small, so I could do oceanside paddling both on my own and with one of my children, and made sure we had a few date nights with childcare coverage so my husband and I could go kayaking at sunset.

5. American Addition

In the Finnish culture, parents often pull their kids out of daycare and don’t keep them in any camps when they are off work. Why? Because kids need a vacation too. What I would add to this is that overwhelmed parents anywhere need some grown-up-only time off too, to be able to be the kind of parents they want to be during the family time-off. In the US, if extra help is financially possible, or if family, like grandparents are available to assist, mothers are more likely to take that time off. Wherever you are, give yourself a grounding mothering-free moment, doing one of the above things: you being grounded, will help your kids get there too.

What do you want to do in August, if you are able to carve some time off to ground? Here’s my wish-list, and my 8 days off starts today!

paddle board daily, with and without my boys
bake a cake topped with (vegan) cream and strawberries
golf with my big boys at sunset (their favorite thing to do)
read two books, ideally lying on a pool float
invite friends over for a ladies’ sauna night
spend time meditating while watering my new flowers
enjoying smoothie bowls for breakfast on the beach with my younges
badminton match with my entire family on the backyard

Scandi Glossary

TIME-OFF TO GROUND ONESELF = The closest definition to a Finnish vacation. To ground yourself is doing anything that helps keep you in the present and helps reorient you to the here-and-now and to reality, and feels enjoyable.

Scandi Smart

READ: Fun, interesting memoir and guide on easy outdoorsy Nordic style parenting There’s no Such Thing as Bad Weather, A Scandinavian Mom's Secrets for Raising Healthy, Resilient, and Confident Kids by Linda Åkeson McGurk

WATCH: Finnish President on Vacation

SHOP: I need to plug my absolute favorite Finnish outdoor kids’ brand Reima again, as I know you need these for your vacation time-off with your kids: UPF 50 clothing (see the tees, shorts and light hoodies!) and sandals that are secure and comfortable for kids to move like kids (jumping, running, climbing etc!). We love especially the Ratas & Bungee sandals.

x Annabella Daily