Welcome to the weekend coffee share! Can I get you a cup of coffee? Tea? Or perhaps some hot cocoa?

It’s the Christmas week. We did our main celebration on Christmas Eve, and a smaller on Christmas Day.

My daughter and I both have a minimalistic mindset. We appreciate time together and shared activities like baking, cooking, reading, and crafting together. We made several gingerbread houses, baked traditional Christmas pastries, and this year my daughter learned how to make Swedish meatballs (I was there instructing her how to do it, but she did all the work herself). I love how doing these things together creates time for conversations about any and all topic there is. It is when we do things together and our hands are busy my teenage daughter feel comfortable to talk to me about what’s on her mind. I am so grateful for these moments.

We are not big on gifts. My daughter did in fact not wish for any material items at all this Christmas, a blessing since our 55kvm/592 sqft apartment doesn’t need more stuff. (We practice one item in, one item out.) I wouldn’t say that we are hardcore minimalists, but we are mindful when it comes to material things, asking ourselves if we really need an item before purchasing. I personally love how easy our home is to keep clean, and how calm and peaceful it feels without clutter. We each have our own room, and then there’s a kitchen/living-room area where we can hang out and enjoy each others company.

My daughter only wished for activities she wanted to do on her Christmas break, and food she wanted to learn to cook. .. but I did get her some crafting material that I knew she would appreciate. I also got her a guide book about how to keep a sketch journal (you see, not hardcore minimalists ;) She loves sketching and started to read it right away, and she already tried some of the suggestions.

We are enjoying our holiday break immensely, and there’s two more weeks to go! It is by all means a stress-free holiday in our home, choosing to do the things that nourishes our souls. We’ve even seen the sun a few days!

I got a hair cut on the 23rd, no major changes, just the split ends.

How are you doing? I hope all is well in your world and that your Christmas is spent exactly the way you prefer. Thank you Natalie for hosting the weekend coffee share!

Maria

19 responses to “Weekend Coffee Share – Christmas”

  1. One in, one out works for us, too much clutter and stuff in a small apartment can be stressful!
    Snowing again here, so our dog walks are fun – Scout is a snow dog!
    Enjoy the rest of your holidays!

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    1. Yes, I agree!

      Snow sounds wonderful, we are still waiting for our snow. It is colder now and the frost makes it slightly whiter. We are expecting a big storm today, we’ll see what it brings. Enjoy the season :)

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  2. Sounds like a lovely holiday, enjoying each other’s company. No gift exchange here either, nothing needed nor wanted. A nice walk outside with the dog and a good meal, listening to the radio and reading. Perfect! Enjoy your free time this week. 👍🏼

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    1. That sounds wonderful, my cup of tea! Do you have snow on the ground? Have a wonderful rest of your weekend. Thank you so much for your kindness.

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      1. It is very cold (16F) this morning after 3″ of snowfall last night. Nice and fluffy, easy to shovel!

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        1. That sounds lovely! We don’t have any snow yet, but there’s a raging storm today. Large trees, electricity lines, and flag poles are falling. There’s a warning in my region, and the three closest region to not go outside. Many people are without power. We have power (and extra water, food etc. should it be needed), and hopefully things calms down over night.

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          1. Hope your area and home is spared. Losing power in winter is nerve-wracking! 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

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  3. Sounds like you and your daughter had a wonderful Christmas. The gingerbread house looks pretty and your calm, non-cluttered home looks great. No gift exchange in my family either. We get together, share a good meal, play board games, chat, laugh and enjoy leftovers the next day as there’s always a lot of food. Enjoy the rest of your holidays and best wishes for 2026!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you!

      That sounds like the perfect family get-together :) Enjoy the rest of this holiday season and all the best wishes for 2026!

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  4. I’m not big on material gifts either as having one new thing will mean searching for a place to place that item. Although I wouldn’t mind getting material things for myself, as long as it’s needed, that’s fine by me.

    Happy New Year. :)

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    1. That is exactly how I see it as well. Of course one should cover needs, but I believe most clutter you see in some homes comes from their ‘wants’. Have a wonderful rest of your holiday season!

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  5. The family time is so great. We played a few board games and enjoyed our time together as well. It’s lovely to hear that your daughter liked the art journal.

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Years, Maria.

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    1. It is the best! Reading your post I got the feeling that you had a wonderful Christmas with your family. The art journal was a hit, she really liked it.

      Keep enjoying the holiday season :)

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  6. You’re living a life filled with all the things that matter. It sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing a photo of your recent haircut, and the lovely shots of your tree and its shadow.

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    1. Thank you for your kind words. I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas.

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  7. I could just feel the PEACE in this post.. How wonderful.. I love that your daughter sees the value and meaning in experiences, not just material things. I also practice one in/one out when it comes to household items, books and the like. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and have a very Happy New Year!

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    1. Wonderful! That makes me happy! One in and one out really is a great and rather easy way to keep things orderly without working too hard :) Enjoy the rest of your holiday season!

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  8. We are both Minimalists, Maria! I love the clutter-free lifestyle. Your daughter sounds so sweet, I’m happy that you two have so much time and fun together. Your home is lovely, and your photo makes me smile, you are so beautiful! ❤️😊

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