Christmas Eve in Sweden

In Sweden the day that most people celebrate Christmas and open presents is Christmas Eve.   We did not have any plans and were feeling homesick so we filled our day with opening presents, walking around the city and taking pictures, and making cookies (thanks Melissa for the good idea!).

First Lucas gets to open his first Christmas present! He was much more interested in eating the paper than the presents but that is okay!  We told Annalise about her first Christmas when she was more interested in bows than presents and she said, "Now I am interested in the presents!"

Annalise gets her first lego play set!  Animals of course!

Lucas receives his first train!

Annalise helped me unwrap my favorite present, a world map!  Ray and I have decided we will always have a map on the wall wherever we live!

I got Ray a really neat photo book all about our great city!

Here is Lucas playing with his train.

Annalise made Ray a Santa Claus!

After opening presents we took a walk around the city.  Ray and I had been wanting to have some time to take pictures  so this was a great opportunity.  We thought there would be no people but we saw a lot of people!

Here I am showing off my second favorite present, new gloves to keep my hands warm from Ray. 

This is a common Christmas decoration we see.  I think it is one of Santa's elves but some Santa's look like this too in Sweden.

Annalise wanted to be in a picture!

Domkyrkan, the large cathedral in the middle of town.

Domkyrkan through the park.

Most of the store windows were decorated with some type of Christmas theme. This is the window of a tea house near the Stortorget in Lund.

Flowers still blooming on Christmas Eve!

A rose bud

This is the window to a building directly across the courtyard from the Domkyrkan. When you look at both buildings at the same time it is a total contrast in architecture and two different cultural times ... midevil meets art nouveau

We sat in the city center and ate a picnic lunch.  It was so sunny Annalise was complaining about how bright it was! That has not happened much since we arrived in Sweden.  I think it was a little Christmas gift to Ray and I because we have been missing the sunshine!

When we got home it was time to make Christmas cookies ... pepparkakors!

While we made cookies Lucas sat at the table and played with and ate flour!

He had a lot of fun!

Can we eat them yet?

No rolling pin but a glass worked just fine.

Did we mention Lucas had a lot of fun!!!!

It was pretty fun and funny to watch Lucas lick the flour off the table.

Love that baby so much!!!

Interesting fact about Sweden.  Cookie sheets are sold with your oven and slide into the grooves like oven racks.  Which means that you cannot buy regular cookie sheets.  I have looked everywhere and finally asked my Swedish friend and he explained it to me.  So we had to bake the cookies in a pan!

More presents while the cookies were baking!

Annalise helped me open my present.