Rain or Shine Mamma

There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes

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Our Outdoor Christmas Tradition

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December 2, 2014 By Linda McGurk

This time of year it always seems like it takes a little extra effort to get outside with the kids, as the days are getting shorter, darker and colder. Not only am I struggling with my own motivation, but unless there’s snow on the ground my girls aren’t always keen on playing outside either. This exact same thing happened last year, which is why I decided to start a new outdoor Christmas tradition that the whole family can have fun with through the month of December. The girls loved it, and this year they couldn’t wait to get started on it. So what’s our secret? An outdoor house for gnomes and trolls that functions a little bit like an advent calendar in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

An outdoor Christmas tradition can make it easier to get outside around the holidays. Find out how we created one and why.

As you may know, I’m from Sweden, where trolls, elves, gnomes and other supernatural creatures are an important part of the folklore, which in some cases predates Christianity. In the old agrarian society gnomes were believed to live in the barn, where they took care of the animals, did chores and acted as guardians of the farm. In the past, people used to put out a bowl of rice pudding for the farm gnome on Christmas Eve, to thank him for his hard work. The trolls, on the other hand, were mean-spirited creatures that lived in the forest.

At some point, trolls (though in a more benign, kid-friendly form) also became associated with Christmas, and to this day frequently appear in Christmas-themed children’s books, TV shows and advent calendars.

Although I came up with the idea to build a troll house last year, the girls completely took the initiative to it this year and fervently started construction already by mid-November. This year they decided on a more elaborate design including a living room, a dining area, a bedroom and an outdoor space with a miniature fire pit. To keep rain and snow out I helped them construct a roof out of sticks and leaves.

Our Outdoor Christmas Tradition. Rain or Shine Mamma

Unlike the trolls of yore, our forest critters are friendly, sociable and a little bit mischievous. They don’t watch to see who’s been naughty or nice. They only come out at night, when they eat the food the girls have put out, and sometimes leave a note or a small gift. Sometimes, a toy or Christmas ornament will go missing from the girls’ rooms, just to be found in the troll house…If we’ve had snow, the girls look for tracks or other signs of the trolls.

An outdoor Christmas tradition can make it easier to get outside around the holidays. Find out how we created one and why.

A miniature fire pit and evidence of marshmallow grilling at the troll house.

The girls have already come up with several ideas for what to feed the trolls and suggested that we put out some other things for them as well (play-doh among other things). The other day they spent well over an hour tinkering with the house, rearranging the furniture and so on. This morning, they were so eager to see if the trolls had visited that they strapped on their headlamps and went out to their little house before going to school.

Our Outdoor Christmas Tradition. Rain or Shine Mamma

Rocks have become a table and chairs for the trolls, and leaves serve as dinnerware.

Since my girls are already familiar with Swedish folklore, building a troll house came naturally to us. For you, something else may work better. If you’re into Elf on the Shelf, why not take that outdoors? Or, if you like to create fairy gardens in the summer, why not invite some holiday fairies and create a winter wonderland for them? There are many possible variations of this outdoor holiday tradition, and it can be done whether you celebrate Christmas or not. I can just about guarantee you that it is a tradition that your kids will remember for a long time to come.

Here are some other great tips for creating outdoor traditions around the holidays:

Holiday Outdoor Traditions Worthy of Making Your Own – REI

How to Celebrate an Outdoor Christmas – Active Kids Club

Celebrate 6 Outdoor Christmas Traditions – Bonfire Central

Do you have any outdoor traditions to celebrate Christmas or other holidays? If so, please share in the comments!

Outdoor Christmas traditions are a fun way to enjoy nature during the holidays. Chances are it will become one of your most cherished family holiday traditions!

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Related posts:

Nature-Themed Christmas Traditions: Building a Gnome HouseNature-Themed Christmas Traditions: Building a Gnome House How to Celebrate the Winter Solstice. Rain or Shine MammaHow to Celebrate the Winter Solstice Fourth of AdventUnplug, Unwind and Get Outside – A Relaxed Holiday Challenge! The BEST Christmas Gift Ideas for Outdoorsy Kids. The complete Christmas gift guide for the nature-loving child in your life. These fun and useful gifts will encourage your kids to get outside and stay active all year!The BEST Christmas Gift Ideas for Outdoorsy Kids + GIVEAWAY
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Filed Under: Holidays, Inspiration, Learn with Nature, Nature Activities, Parent with Nature, Play in Nature, Uncategorized 9 Comments

Comments

  1. 76sunflowers says

    December 2, 2014 at 2:58 pm

    This looks wonderful! Elf on the shelf is sneaking into the UK – it kind of freaks me out! Much prefer the sound of garden trolls playing with play doh. Great roof there as well 🙂

    Reply
    • Linda McGurk says

      December 2, 2014 at 9:40 pm

      Haha, yeah, I find Elf on the Shelf slightly creepy as well! Not sure if it’s made it to Sweden yet, most American traditions eventually do…

      Reply
  2. Karen Ung says

    December 2, 2014 at 9:45 pm

    I LOVE this! My girls would too as they liked the trolls in Frozen. : ) Our troll house would have to be a snow shelter, but can you imagine how cute that would be?! Totally trying this! Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Linda McGurk says

      December 3, 2014 at 11:05 am

      Yay! And I love the trolls in Frozen – much cuter than the Scandinavian originals, lol…

      Reply
  3. Carla G. says

    December 3, 2014 at 11:16 am

    How fun! Love it! We did a Christmas scavenger hunt the other day!
    http://insideoutsidemichiana.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-natural-christmas-scavenger-hunt.html

    Reply
    • Linda McGurk says

      December 6, 2014 at 10:43 pm

      I saw that! I just love reading about all these outdoor Christmas traditions and getting inspired.

      Reply
  4. Kierna says

    December 4, 2014 at 2:42 pm

    Great tradition to have, i have a soft spot for Trolls too & managed to bring 4 back from Norway & 1 from Sweden! I really like how your tradition involves being outdoors too & loved the marshmallow photo on your page today.

    Reply
    • Linda McGurk says

      December 6, 2014 at 10:49 pm

      Thanks for reading, Kierna. I was so pleased with myself for coming up with the marshmallow idea, but when the girls got home an hour later they were already gone! Unfortunately I think a squirrel might have gotten to them first…

      Reply
  5. Coombe Mill says

    December 8, 2014 at 5:42 am

    I love this idea, it’s great that the girls are so keen to build a troll house. This could really work as a fairy house too in case some kids don’t like trolls. I love the dining table and chairs, and all the little additions, it looks really cute. Thanks for linking up with Country Kids.

    Reply

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A school in Sydney bans the children from using the playground before school, saying the decision was made to "support positive classroom behaviour and learning." But did anybody bother to actually look into the research on the benefits of outdoor play, both in terms of children's ability to focus and their academic performance...? The parents aren't happy about the decision and I understand why. ... See MoreSee Less

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Linda Åkeson McGurk
There are a lot of good things about tech, but exc There are a lot of good things about tech, but excessive screen time is taking a toll on children’s physical and mental health today. Many apps and games have built-in mechanisms designed to make them highly addictive and children are even more susceptible to them than adults, since their brains are not fully developed🧠Screens are so ubiquitous in our lives today that it takes conscious effort to balance them with experiences IRL. 

For the past few years, our family has experimented with screen free or screen reduced Sundays. I’m not going to pretend that it’s easy. But if the goal is to increase quality family time outdoors and encourage the kind of creativity that arises from a healthy dose of boredom, it does work🌳

Some other tips to foster a healthy screen time culture in your family are:

✅ Learn how to use the parent controls on your kids’ devices and set age-appropriate limits.

✅ Have certain times or spaces that are always screen free, for example around the dinner table, in the bedrooms and so on, and be sure to be consistent. 

✅ Create a buy-in for the kids by letting them help plan screen free activities for the whole family.

What’s your biggest obstacle when it comes to keeping screen time under control?
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That about sums it up, doesn’t it?☺️ This qu That about sums it up, doesn’t it?☺️ This quote is from Meet the Wild, a new picture book by Lindsay Kellar-Madsen of @the.madsen.littles. Inspired by the outdoor learning and play culture in Scandinavia, Lindsay wrote the book to invite children to explore nature all year round, regardless of the weather. 
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Do you have any stories of getting in over your head to share?😃
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Summer is high season for TICKS…🕷 (I know tha Summer is high season for TICKS…🕷 (I know that’s a spider emoji, but you get the idea😅) 

A lot of people freak out at the sight of these blood suckers and understandably so, considering the diseases they can harbor. But they too are a part of nature and if we want to keep venturing outside during the warmer months (I definitely do and I suspect you do too) we must come to terms with them.

If you want to know more about tick prevention, I just wrote a pretty detailed post about it on my blog. Head over to rainorshinemamma.com to learn and share this post with others who worry about ticks!👌🏻
________________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #friluftsliv #ticks #tickprevention
I missed a meeting Sunday night😬 An informal me I missed a meeting Sunday night😬 An informal meeting, yes, but still…I take pride in being dependable and prompt, and I hate to be flakey. 

I’d like to think that it was because I got distracted when my daughter called from my mom’s house and said she was running a fever, but in reality I got sidetracked well before that. Weekends are my time to zone out from schedules, emails and social media, and spend more time outside, especially this time of the year. 

So I missed a meeting. But I gained a quiet paddle through pastel waters as the sun slowly descended below the spruces on the horizon. An hour to myself to just be one with the lake, the light and the promise of the summer that still lies ahead☀️
__________________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #sup #standuppaddle #sweden #sweden_photolovers #sweden_images
This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations @wiet This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations @wietinghannah, you’re our winner!🎊

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Have you heard the term "ecohappiness"? If not, this is your chance to learn more! 

Author Sandi Schwartz and I have teamed up to give away a copy of her book "Finding Ecohappiness," an inspirational manifesto and practical guidebook for families to get outside and enjoy nature together. Packed with ideas for outdoor activities like animal yoga, forest bathing, sit spotting, float therapy and nature art, this book is definitely one to add to your collection📕 

How to enter👇🏼
✅ Like and save this post
✅ Follow @rainorshinemamma and @getecohappiness 
✅ Comment by completing this sentence: "To me, being in nature is..."

This giveaway closes on June 4 and a winner will be selected shortly after that. You must be 18 and live in the US or Canada to enter. This giveaway is not associated with or sponsored by Instagram. 

Good luck!🙌🏽

#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #ecohappiness #findingecohappiness #naturebooks #goodreads #naturelovers #ecotherapy #getkidsoutside
Having scientific reasons and explanations for doi Having scientific reasons and explanations for doing things is good and there are any number of ways free climbing benefits our physical and mental health. But sometimes you’ve just got to trust your guts, feel all the feelings and enjoy the joyride🙌🏻🌳

What makes you feel joy in nature?
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I’m not going to lie - there are times when my c I’m not going to lie - there are times when my children’s dawdling drives me nuts. Like when they take 45 minutes to finish breakfast even though we’re running late . But I also envy their ability to be completely unhurried and present in the moment, and I realize that it’s a quality that I need to protect🐌

As parents, we need to make space for our children to play, get bored, dawdle, wander, wonder, create, sleep in, be wild and free and watch the clouds go by. Let them be where they are and not push them to achieve arbitrary milestones or condition them to think that a packed calendar is the key to success and happiness.

As always, Ginny of @1000hoursoutside is on point🙌🏻
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Did you know that camping for as little as two nig Did you know that camping for as little as two nights straight can help you reset your circadian rhythms and improve your sleep for several weeks afterwards? That's because the natural light helps the body regulate melatonin, a hormone that tells the body when it's time to get up and go, and when it's time to rest and recuperate🌗 

My melatonin levels weren't top of mind when @jeanetteosterman and I started our challenge to sleep outside at least once a month for a year. But I must say, I rarely sleep as soundly and feel as energetic as I do when I sleep under the skies.

Have you ever tried sleeping in a camping hammock? I bought my first one a few years ago and I ❤️ it!
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Raise your hand if you have a teen or tween and fe Raise your hand if you have a teen or tween and feel like you're constantly negotiating/fighting/fretting over your child's screen time👋🏼 

Well, you're not alone😰 

Since 2011, when mobile internet had its breakthrough, teens' and tweens' screen time has increased dramatically. At the same time, physical activity has decreased significantly. The WHO recommends that teenagers get at least one hour of physical activity every day, but in reality 85% of the girls and 78% of the boys globally don't meet the target.

Making outdoor activity a normal part of your daily routine can help  your tween or teen get the exercise and fresh air they need  and lay the foundation for lifelong healthy habits. I'm the first to admit that it isn't easy, but then again, nobody said parenting would be a cakewalk🤪

Hang in there and check out a few of the strategies that help me balance screen time with 'green time'. Do you have any tips to share?
______________________
#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #parenting #parentingteens #parentingtweens #getoutside
“I’m not thrilled about looking older. But wha “I’m not thrilled about looking older. But what unsettles me the most about the 40s is the implication that I’m now a grown-up myself.”
- Pamela Druckerman

Forty-four laps around the sun today and I still find that the passing of time is one of life’s greatest mysteries.
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