Tomten - Sweden's Santa

Tomten. He may not be the same Santa that I grew up with in the United States, but he's Sweden's main man during the Christmas holidays.

And it's become a tradition for our family to visit the Tomten at NK department store every year. Partly because I know that he always has time for my kids to visit with him. There are no paid photographers that need to be paid to talk with Tomten. No long waiting lines to visit Tomten. Barely another child in sight. What? Don't the Swedes know the power of this guy? He's the one that brings the presents at Christmas!

Two years ago Tomten explained to our 8-year old son exactly where the Legos were built at his workshop. He gave directions down the hallways, and when to turn right or turn left. The look on K's face was priceless. He listened. Really listened.

This year Tomten sat ever so patiently while Mia showed him every single page in the toy catalog that had a Barbie, Monster High doll, or any other variety of the endless stream of toys that she chooses on a daily basis now.

All the while, the family paparazzi (that's me) snaps unlimited shots to capture those special moments with Tomten. No extra charge.

The visit always ends with a stroll outside to look at the department store's Christmas windows. At this time of year it really doesn't matter what time of day we go to see the windows...it's dark after 3pm and anything before that is dusk. The lights and music combine to create just the right kind of festive spirit, and because we've already been in to visit Tomten, we resist the urge of being drawn back in to the commercialism lurking behind those holiday window displays.

Well what do you know? The Americans and Swedes have something in common after all - Christmas shopping madness.

Until next time...
Mike

A Weekend Abroad in Denmark

I'm not sure if you can really call it 'abroad' when a weekend trip to Copenhagen (Denmark) is only a 3-hour drive from our town in Sweden. That's where we went this past weekend to enjoy a nice helping of good-'ol-home-style Halloween-ing, along with the characteristically wonderful sights and sounds of Copenhagen.

You see, Halloween hasn't hit big yet here in Sweden. It's coming, but slowly. I work hard to keep this American tradition alive for my kids - and that has included everything from arranging big Halloween parties with the local American Women's Club to dropping letters in every single one of my neighbor's mailboxes explaining 1) the Halloween holiday, 2) when our kids would be knocking on their doors for trick-or-treating, and 3) why it's important to have candy ready and waiting.

I saw that Tivoli in Copenhagen was having a Halloween theme - and thanks to Groupon we got a hotel smack in the city center for super cheap. It was meant to be, so off we went. First day - Tivoli amusement park, built in 1843 and located right in the center of Copenhagen.

Well, we were traveling with 2 small children, after all. Not all moments are happy moments - as witnessed in the shot above...even in an amusement park!  But then there are the moments like this one below, where all of the world's problems melt away with a little cotton candy!

Two of my favorite photos from the trip did not come from our own camera, but from the camera on the Tivoli rides. You know, the ones where you usually have this funky freaked out look on your face? But this time was different, and we had to get these photos for the fun memories they will preserve. First, I don't think we could get Kai's hair to stand up like that if we used a full can of hairspray. And then the look on Mia's face is one of genuine fear and fun combined!

So, while I wasn't blogging or checking emails or pinning on Pinterest, I was having a great family weekend 'abroad'.

Watch for more great images from Copenhagen, coming soon.

Until next time...
Mike

Sweden's National Day

Today is Sweden's National Day, so I found it most appropriate that I would choose this day to publish my first post for The Accidental Swede.