Full of CHRISTMAS COZINESS
In the middle of Småland in Sweden is a so-called "soldier’s croft" dated back to the 1700s. This croft is called "Engaholm". A croft was a small house on a plot of land which was awarded to loyal soldiers. By giving the soldier a croft and enabling him to make a living through farming, the king made sure that the soldier was always fit for fight. This soldier lived in the croft "Engaholm" along with his wife and no less than seven children! Today, the house functions as a summer home for three generations of the Frederiksen family.
In this house, you enjoy the peace and quiet without internet and television. Here, in the middle of the forest, the family heats up the stove, prepares delicious food, relaxes in slippers and lambskin, drinks hot chocolate, lights candles and goes for a walk to the lake or hunts for mushrooms in the forest. This area offers lots of wonderful countryside coffeehouses and nice flea markets. Helle and her family love to celebrate Christmas here. The house is so wonderfully primitive. It’s been furnished with flea markets finds, the walls have been covered in fine, Swedish wallpaper, and the wood stove is also an original, Swedish model.
Here you can definitely feel the good, simple life that really makes you slowdown. You’ve got to collect firewood in the forest before you can make a fire and let the heat spread on a cold winter morning. That’s so charming. When decorating for Christmas, the family always uses natural materials which they find just outside the door. They bring in Christmas trees in various sizes and place them in buckets and jugs. They also cut off lots of branches and twigs which they hang or lay throughout the house – perhaps combined with one or two apples and a couple of candles. That’s all it takes to create a wonderful C
