delighting in december

cinnamon pinecones, functional freeze, elven diets, and the life of a christmas jewess

hello sweet ones,

i write to you from my duvet fort, as per usual. this particular one includes: a furry white blanket (reminiscent of baby polar bear fur) a plush doughy comforter, and many, many, soft pillows. i feel as if i am semi floating, balancing on a snowy cloud. our faux fireplace is crackling softly in the background, the air is freshly spritzed with my DIY candy cane scented space clearing aromatherapy ritual room spray (recipe coming this month!)

tonights whimsical to do list includes: baking jew cookies (more on this below) setting up our new ceramic sparkly ice rink scene - complete with tiny art deco elves, *snow* a paper tree forest, and a jolly red cheeked santa- sipping adaptogenic hot cocoa and introducing mike to my third favorite christmas movie of all time: bridget jones diary.

coziness is my full time job currently, my top priority. it feels as if i am recovering from a lifetime of freeze, frozen emotions, denial thick as ice. i am gently thawing, cautiously starting to feel. surrounding my inner child with safety, sensory delight, and soft cozy spaces feels like the ultimate elixir, far more important than any juice cleanse or 10 step get healed/whole quick scheme.

speaking of the inner child, my inner five year old bby jewess lil girly would be so beyond delighted to see me now. over the moon to know that i live in the elven land of the far north, where the politically correct *happy holidays* is replaced by many irreverent merry christmases. where elaborate celebrations commence on the first of december and continue all month long- dark frosty nights filled with time honored & cherished rituals and seemingly endless jolly cheer. christmas is for everyone as far as these cherubic flaxen haired creatures are concerned.

gone are the days of glumly gazing out of my bedroom window, wishing our heeby home had just a bit of red and white hued holiday cheer. love me a latke, a jelly filled donut, a dreidel, blue and white string lights, chocolate candy coins, singing around the eight winged candelabra, an abundant octad of small, tasteful, symbolic present filled nights, but deep in my bones, i have always been a chanukkah goy.

and honestly what harm? pine soap scented sheets, vanilla bean infused cookies, merry little markets, steamy mugs of cocoa, candlelit evenings, classic movies, snow angels and sleds and reindeer and the universal celebration of light: these are bits of wonder we all deserve.

things of delight

in my mug & kitchen: libations and healthy-ish treats

peppermint cacao tea- i love a dessert-y, non caffeinated after dinner tea. this autumn past it was in a vanilla chai rooibos with foamy cashew milk. in december, this tea, infused with spearmint (magic for skin clarity), peppermint, and cacao nibs, feels more wintry. i love it with a splash of whole milk or some classic nutpod, alongside my little blood sugar balancing dessert plate of blueberries, something grain free and baked, almond butter, and a cold piece of dark chocolate.

danish christmas cookies: there seem to be around one million variations of the danish christmas cookie. my hubby’s favorite is one jødekage or, almost unbelievably, the jew cake. jødekager are little cinnamon sugar sprinkled butter cookies (originally made by jewish bakers in copenhagen). they are adorned with almond slivers. i will be whipping up a batch of these while listening to jingles later this evening. our ancestors on both sides will smile.

soup for breakfast: all cold weather season long i have started my days with warmth: hot tea first thing in the morning (peppermint) followed by a bowl of hot soup. it is a TCM thing. this morning i sipped on a green goddess ambrosia of blended leeks, kale, spinach, celery, parsley, and of course baby potatoes and cashew cream for the most luxurious mouthfeel. hugs in mugs.

an elven diet: the scandinavian diet feels alarmingly elf like. *we elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup*. here in the far north, the main food groups seem to consist of: sugary baked goods, sugar infused hot spiced wine, potatoes, sugar coated potatoes, and evening bowls of milky rice porridge sprinkled with, you guessed it, sugar. like, i could literally never.

however, if you are one of these rare magical fae beings (or a ray peat enthusiast i suppose) you can subsist mostly on sweet nothingness and thrive. as a pcos healing girly i support my own elf’s childlike glee/ traditions while making sure our treats are also nourishing: mushrooms in our mugs of cocoa, almond flour in our butter cookies, fiber, protein, and healthy fats alongside ample bowls of starchy confectionary delights.

home is a wonderland:

our home feels like two children having an eternal slumber party. i love communing with my inner child, the part that can’t believe her luck, the part that is spilling over with enthusiasm and joy and boundless excitement. i love reminding her- this is our home, we can do whatever we want!

yesterday eve, two inner children made hot cocoa and walked to the corner store. they filled their baskets with ornaments and decorations, then walked home with rosy cheeks and nearly frostbitten noses. they played jazzy christmas tunes and made their dream winter wonderland scene. every day it gets a little bit brighter, a bit more festive.

scent: clementines pierced with cloves, DIY peppermint room spray, mulled spiced wine bubbling on the stovetop, a basketful of foraged wintry forest gems, evergreen needles, holly, homemade cinnamon pinecones, nut milk eggnog, fried things, freshly baked sugar cookies, seasonal candles.

sounds: crackly jazzy records, classic christmas jingles, grand pianos at sparkly hotel lobbies, buzzing holiday markets, swoosh-y ice rinks in copenhagen’s royal square, roaring fireplaces, wooden wicked candles, soft silence, giggles of glee at the first snow.

scene: lights lights lights: wood burning stoves, one million long red tapers, waking up on dark chilly mornings to a kitchen warmly lit by fairy string lights, pouring a big mug of tea, lighting every single candle. suddenly feeling okay.

cozy content: tis the season for ample viewing pleasures. i have loved revisiting the classics: love actually, the holiday, elf ( i share a likeness, personality wise, with buddy the elf, i feel), bridget jones diary, the grinch, etc. as well as our old friend the julekalender- a nineties danish advent show with daily episodes, all in danglish. my favorite holiday show, the norwegian home for christmas (hjem til jul) is so perfect, it will make you drop the *no good romcoms since the early aughts* discourse and cozy up with your duvet for a delicious day long binge. new season airs this week!

wellness-y charms- lotions, potions, and healing magic <3

hibernation season: i have been writing and speaking about this all year, but 2025 has been the year of the snake, the year of shedding. releasing things & patterns that no longer serve, breaking free of shackle-like programming. getting back to our purest, truest, most authentic energies, expressions, embodiments.

at some point during this clearing process, i realized how much how much of my “self care” was really self harm. my carefully regimented routines -merely wellness masochism™ in disguise. forcing myself to wake at dawn, to robotically rinse & repeat practices and potions that served me in summertime but did not translate to softer, slower, more inward focused seasons of the year & of life.

this is the time of wintering, slowing down, connecting to cozy hibernation. sleeping in, snuggling up, indulging in restorative movement, this is the medicine. daydreaming over visualisation, soft cozy asmr over guided meditation, aligned rot days over self care to do lists, nurturing inner child bath time over multi-stepped everything showers.

soft girl skincare: touching my face lovingly, using a gua sha tool intuitively (instead of methodically counting every stroke), applying gentle heat instead of ice rolling, nourishing my skin with simple, moisturizing products and practices, this is soft girl skincare. what once felt like a dreadful second job, infused with self loathing, now feels like an evening anchor, a moment to be sensual, slow, sweet. my current skincare is comprised solely of budget finds from little shops in town and a few favorite things brought home from NY: rose hydrosols, thermal water mist, castor oil for lashes, raspberry seed oil for cheekbones, and a danish drugstore vitamin e salve applied all over.

thank you for being here & for basking in delights with me this december.

with so much love,

x michal