The Day Before Christmas Eve

– When Christmas Is Allowed to Be Calm

The day before Christmas Eve, I woke up to a quiet snowfall and a Christmas that already felt complete. This is a text about slowing down before Christmas, about presence, friendship, creativity – and about why Christmas does not need to be perfect to be real.
For me, the day before Christmas Eve is not about waiting in stress, but a still place where Christmas has already arrived.

Read this post in Swedish ->Dagen före dopparedagen

The Day Before Christmas Eve

Yes, here we are again.
The day before Christmas Eve.

Today I woke up early, as usual. I made my coffee, fed the cat, and was about to sit down on the sofa to drink the freshly brewed coffee. Then I looked outside – and something felt strange on the patio.

I moved closer. Still couldn’t quite see what it was.
Opened the door.

And there it was. A white fluff.
Dreamlike. Quiet.

I looked toward the streetlight and saw the white drifting down.
It was snowing.

The day before the day – and the snow fell.
They said on TV that there would be no white Christmas for us, but here it is white. The snow drifts down and gives this Christmas a new atmosphere. That magical feeling you can’t plan your way into.

The snow that fell the day before Christmas Eve – a stillness that could not be planned.

The presents have been ready for a long time. Only a few knitted socks remain to be wrapped. The food has been bought in stages, well in advance. No stress lives here.

Yesterday, when my husband drove past Torp, he said it was packed with people.
Here at home, we can just sit and enjoy.

The whole family – except my husband, who is working today. The rest of us can enjoy the day and simply wait for Christmas Eve.

Yesterday I made some Christmas sweets. Just because I could.
A little marzipan with a splash of cognac, rolled in melted chocolate. Today I’ll make a few with whisky and roll them in melted nougat.

When my husband gets home, he will make dinner.
I have it very good.

I have everything I could wish for: a loving husband, a family – and a life in a slow rhythm, where time feels abundant.
Maybe it is the day before Christmas Eve that carries the truest tone of Christmas.

Friendship and Presence the Day Before Christmas Eve

Yesterday my friend came by. I had thought that I would go to her today with my gift, but that didn’t happen – because she, as always, thought of it first.

We had bought almost the same thing, as we often do. From the same little stall. Things meant to be drunk slowly and enjoyed.

She received a cup for her warm drink – a really good tea she loves.
I received fragrant coffee and roasted almonds.

One year, my gift was to invite her to lunch. That same year, she had something similar planned for me. Whether that day ever happened, I don’t know – I think we both forgot about it.

But that’s how it is sometimes.

It’s not always the gift itself that matters.
It’s the movement between us. Thinking in the same direction, at the same time.

When a Story Is Ready to Meet the World

She also brought the manuscript for The Winged Horse. She had read through it and marked a few places in the margins where I could make changes. Her suggestions are good. After the holidays, it will be revised, finalized, and sent to a publishing house.

Good heavens.
I’ve written another book. And I’m going to publish it.

The Winged Horse at Dusk is nearing completion.

My friend said she thought the story was beautiful. That it brought calm. She believed it could help many children understand their feelings – a book to work with while reading it. Perhaps not for large groups of children, but for smaller settings, where one can pause in the chapters and continue working with them.

There is pride living in my body now.
There is the feeling that I have created something meaningful.

To experience that time again – the time before a book release. A wonderful time. A nervous time. But also a time when I feel:
this is me again. And again.

Now only the final details remain. Then the little story will be sent out into the world – The Winged Horse at Dusk and the Seven Hills.

For me, this is big.

Christmas Will Come Anyway – Thoughts the Day Before Christmas Eve

Oh. I hadn’t planned to write this.

I had intended to write a shorter text. One that conveyed the feeling of slowing down. That Christmas will come even if you’re not ready. That Christmas Eve arrives even if everything is not perfect and in order.

No one becomes happier because you are exhausted and worn out.
Least of all you.

Christmas comes anyway.
Even if it doesn’t smell of freshly baked bread.
Even if it isn’t newly cleaned and perfect.

Because Christmas is not about being perfect.
It’s about being together.
And sometimes – not even that.

Sometimes Christmas is simply days of calm.

On the day before Christmas Eve, I am reminded that it is often the simple things that last the longest.

Christmas Belongs to the Children

One thing, however, does not belong to Christmas: alcohol.
Christmas is a children’s holiday. And no matter how little or how much adults believe it shows, children notice. When alcohol takes up space, something changes. It can settle as a stomach ache, as worry, as feelings they don’t yet have words for.

There is a difference between a flavor in a sweet and intoxication that takes over.
Children feel that difference, even when adults forget.

Christmas does not need intoxication.
It needs safety.

Growing Up with Alcohol or Other Substances in the Family

Only in Swedish

Questions for You as a Reader

What does the day before Christmas Eve look like for you this year?
What is allowed to remain unfinished without anything falling apart?
What do you need for Christmas to feel safe – for you and for the children around you?

AHA – Between the Lines

This text is not really about Christmas.
It’s about trust.
Trust that enough is enough. That relationships are not measured in perfect plans. That creativity, friendship, and calm are allowed space – even when the world around us speeds up.

Reflection – The Day Before Christmas Eve

Yesterday has already come to rest in history.
Tomorrow waits further ahead.
But right now – here, in the snow, in the scent of coffee, in the stillness –
this is where life is happening.

Carina Ikonen Nilsson

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The Day Before Christmas Eve