Us Scandinavans know a thing or two about conquering dark and cold winter days! You too can embrace the Scandi philosophy of Friluftsliv (pronounced FREE LOOFTS LIV) which translates as “open-air living”... whatever the temperature outside!

The winters in Sweden are notoriously harsh and long, but with the right clothes, and a little imagination, we still enjoy the great outdoors whatever the weather. After all, we invented the saying “there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing”.

Simply spending time with nature will give you a boost to mental and physical wellbeing and help you through a winter lockdown.

It doesn’t mean taking up extreme outdoor sports or wild adventures; it’s OK to take a gentler approach for example the kids will love: 

 

A Hotdog BBQ

  • Disposable BBQ
  • Lighter
  • Big bottle of water for extinguishing and cooling or a bucket if you’re near to a water source
  • Tough disposable bags to carry waste home  
  • Hotdogs/whatever you want to eat
  • Tongues or long fork
  • Bread buns/wraps
  • Ketchup/dressing
  • Napkins/wetwipes

 

Campfire Stick Bread 

  • Fire Pit or Fire Basket
  • Long Sticks – willow or bamboo are good
  • Dough (500g self raising flour, pinch salt, apx 400ml water)  
  • Let the kids make a sausage shape using the dough and wind it around a sturdy stick 
  • Cook carefully over the fire pit 
  • Twizzling your stick round and round for about 5 minutes

Not only will the firepit keep you warm, but we find there is something magical about staring at flames to help clear your mind. 

 

Make a Bird Feeder to do some bird watching

  •  A peanut butter bird feeder is easy to make
  • You need toilet roll (no paper on it), peanut butter and bird seed
  • Spread peanut butter on the roll with a spoon
  • Place bird seed on a plate and roll the peanut butter over it
  • Once covered, place over a tree branch
  • Hide behind a tree or bushes and see how many birds you spot!

 

Don’t forget to dress in layers to keep the weather at bay!

  • Layer 1) Merino wool
  • Layer  2) Fleece
  • Layer  3) Waterproofs

 

Back Home

After spending a long time outside, with the mind cleared and refreshed, there is nothing better than coming home to a warm cosy house and making a hot beverage. Don’t forget to light candles at home as light is a great mood enhancer, consider adding some temporary strong lights around the house to bring a bit of light to the darkness this winter.

 

These little things goes a long way to keeping a positive state of mind