SIMPLE Scandinavian CHRISTMAS Decor I Cozy I Sustainable & Easy

Welcome to my annual holiday decorating video. Please excuse my voice, I came down with the cold but let's try to ignore that and look at the pictures. As always, I'm trying to keep things minimal and simple. I'm focusing on a few simple touches that make my apartment feel warm and festive without clutter. Decor that I'm happy to live with for over a month. I'll walk you through and show easy, budget-friendly ideas as well as some crafts that you can create in your home. Let's jump right in! I don't have a ton of decor and tend to decorate with things I'm able to recycle after the holidays, like DIY, paper ornaments, foraged decor etc. I do have one box that I keep in my storage space in the basement of my building. It holds lights, advent candle holders, some general decor and a few pieces I really love and want to keep, even if they might not make an appearance this year. My Christmas tree is also in that box. It's a skinny short tree and to make it a bit more substantial I put it in a pot which lives in the top cabinet in my bedroom the rest of the year. I've been thrifting and crafting a few things this fall and I realized that there's a bit of a theme going on. Not the most festive of colours to you, perhaps, but I do love me some neutrals and when I found these little concrete cottages in a charity shop my theme was cemented. Pun totally intended. I'm going for greys, browns and green this year. It won't be Santa's grotto but I'll happily enjoy this until Christmas and not feel overwhelmed. I'm planning to go to lots of holiday markets leading up to Christmas and know I'll get bombarded by red, gold and green for the next month anyway, so having it be minimal and simple in my apartment is the way to go for me. I was quite surprised when I learned that some people add Christmas decor to their existing decor making it sort of twice as much or more. I remove most of what I have up when I decorate for the holidays. It either goes in the holiday bin so it's right there to go back up after Christmas or in this case I keep my dried flowers and grasses in one of my kitchen cabinets. I'm replacing them with one of few new additions this year, a string light with some mistletoe-esque berries and leaves. It's battery operated, works on a timer so it goes on in the afternoon and off at night. Here in Stockholm, Sweden we only have just over seven hours of daylight right now so adding lights is essential. I got a few comments asking if I got tired of the plant I had around my window but no, it died on me this summer. I over watered it in fear of not watering it enough, having been away for weeks at a time at our summer house. Leaves started turning yellow, fell off and I tried to save some of the limbs but in the end I just decided to start over. It's a pothos and they grow back pretty quickly so it's all good. Meanwhile I can use that spot for some fairy lights. I really like this kind that doesn't have a lot of cable and bulbs. The lights are just tiny droplets on a metal wire so when the string isn't turned on it's almost invisible. Again, I keep mine on a timer so they're not lit during the day. Next light is such a Swedish classic, the paper star. I've had the white one since my son was a baby over 30 years ago. The paper star itself lasts quite a few years if you store it nicely and flat. Again, removing things in favour of Christmas. Being comfortable as I climb up and down ladders is key so today I'm wearing this soft knit set in my favourite colour to wear at home, Ray Melange from Organic Basics, the sponsor of this video. Organic Basics is a Copenhagen based brand creating underwear and everyday essentials. I love how they're really transparent about their production process and that they're members of 1% for the planet. This set made of organic, cotton and recycled polyester is so soft and I always feel a bit more put together in a set than in separates. These true tees are my absolute favourite since they fit so well. I prefer when things are on the looser side so I go up a size to large in them. Another favourite is the true heavy boxy long sleeve tee. In these I go for my regular size medium as the style is already slightly oversized. Organic Basics also make great underwear. I always prefer a bralette without back closure and they have several styles which is unusual. This organic cotton flex bralette is so smooth against the skin and I love the matching boy cut shorty pant. The recycled nylon smooth bralette and hipster are perfect for wearing under outfits where you don't want visible lines. Take the opportunity to stock up on some great basics and also check off some Christmas gifts by using my exclusive code 5BENITA to get 5% extra off your entire order at Organic Basics during the Black Friday sale. It's the best time to stock up on your favourite underwear and basics. Find the links to my favourites and discount codes in the description box below. Also adding some fairy lights to this plant. This corner by my fridge is always very dark so I popped this little battery tree that I've had for eons on that tree. Here's a little fun craft that I tried after I had some egg cartons left over after my bestie Anne and I did papier mache earlier this fall. Those little dividers look like bells to me so I cut some out and popped them on a battery string light. I feel I should add a disclaimer here. These lights don't get warm but if you worry about that don't do what I do. It was just calling out for me to try. My absolute favourite Christmas decor is this angel that I found in a charity shop a year or two ago. I love her expression but also she has the hairstyle of my dreams. Dark straight bob with a fringe. Completely unattainable for someone with Scandinavian fine hair that has a frizzy mind of its own. She wears it so well though. Nothing screams holidays are coming like the first amaryllis of the season. Some moss to cover the plastic nursery pot and she's good to go. On a recent walk I came across some twigs with cones on the ground and twisted one into a little wreath. I added the cones from the other twig to my little wreath with hot glue and added ribbon with a bow. Brown ribbon is a bit of a theme this year and I added some to this straw wreath that I got from an attic clear out at my friend Sanna's last year. Since I moved here three years ago I've struggled with what colour works with my blue door and now I know brown for sure. To hang the wreath I keep a nail on the inside of the door, feed the ribbon over, hook it on the nail and pop the ends back over the door again. I mentioned our papier-mâché craft earlier and some of you have been waiting for the reveal of how my bowl turned out. It took way longer to dry than I expected so it didn't make it into the earlier video but here it is. I'm really surprised at how sturdy it is considering it's just egg carton, water and some flour. Perfect for nuts and stuff. The next thing is nothing new, dried oranges, except these are not oranges. Using small citruses is way more effective if you ask me. I use satsumas and the thin rind is so much nicer than that of an orange in my humble opinion. Also slicing them super thin means they dry so quickly. I don't use the oven, I've had too many brown slices for that. I put mine on the radiator, turning them over a few times over a few days. Moving over to the coffee table. A faux hyacinth replaces dried grasses and the annual calendar candle replaces the battery one. Speaking of candles, the advent candle holder got its four candles awaiting advent first this Sunday. I also switched out my regular light for a paper tree. I love how it stores flat the rest of the year. My disco ball got switched over to my metal mistletoe. This year I changed the ribbon to brown to give it a new look. Ok, I'm clearly into wreaths this year and this is one I found at Söstrene Grene. I love how simple it is and again, some brown ribbon works perfectly. I love the simple cardboard and satin combo. I also love my grand dog sidekick. Saga in the house! Ok, we're closing in on the tree. Let's make some ornaments. I like to make my tree ornaments every year. This summer at a local event near our summer house I bought this skein of flax for next to nothing. I wasn't sure what to do with it but it's such a beautiful traditional material so I decided I would figure it out and I did. Tassels! Making tassels is not rocket science so I'll just whiz through this. For the flax ones that were already in a bunch I could just add a loop and tie it together. Cute! I did also want to make some with yarn. I'm sure you've made these in kindergarten. But you just circle a piece of cardboard with yarn until you like the thickness. Then you add a hanging loop. I used fishing line which I love the look of but you could make it easier on yourself and actually see what you're doing by adding thread or simply more of the yarn. Then you cut the bottom part open and tie it together at the top. Hey presto, another tassel! And then some. The dried citruses were ready so I just cut some floral wires, bent them into S shapes and stuck them through the slices. Pop the tree into the base and spread its wings. I used the same type of string light on the tree as by the kitchen window and here you can see those little droplets. To fill up the base and cover the unsightly foam cord contraption I made I just used some brown tissue paper. I had some of the little egg carton pieces left over and I thought I'd make some bells for the tree. This isn't to everyone's taste but I really enjoy coming up with these crafts and this one would be so fun to make with kids. Have them paint and add embellishments. You pretty much just thread a bead through double ribbon and thread that through the eggy cone. Use a stopper like the little clothes peg so the string will stay in place, add another bead inside and tie a knot. Easy peasy. The only decor I added to my bedroom is a satin ribbon. This on the other hand is not decor but I'm excited for my advent calendar. It's pretty enough to treat as decor though. L'Occitane is a French brand that I've been interested in trying out more from and an advent calendar is a great and fun way to do that. I always look for numbers 1, 21 and 24. My balcony just off the bedroom also got a mini makeover. The pumpkins got replaced by some pine branches. I started out with a candle still inside the lantern but it felt too much like a grave display so I switched to fairy lights and some pine clippings to hide the battery pack. Time for a Glögg break. Glögg is our traditional malt wine. We add almonds and raisins and have a Lucia bun to go with. And that's how I decorated for Christmas this year. Like I said, it's not Santa's grotto, more like fairy central and I like it. Don't forget to check out Organic Basics and get an extra 5% off during the Black Friday sale. You'll find links and discount codes in the description box. Thanks so much for watching, I'll see you in the next one. Hej då!