This year at midsummer many friends from Germany came to visit us in sweden. For all of them it was the first time in Sweden, in the swedish countryside and of course to live with us. But also friends from Sweden and neighbours came over to celebrate with us Midsommar.

Midsommar-Preparations before the arrival of the guests

The preparations started months before – besides a rough plan of what to do on the day, I also put a lot of thought into the food. On the one hand, it should be easy to prepare and on the other hand, it should be typically Swedish. Anyway, all the food for the party was prepared the day before. I deliberately chose the recipes so that a lot can be prepared or even served cold.

Then there was the whole bed arrangement in the house itself. We had 8 guests in the house from Thursday to Saturday. That was actually the maximum number so far and it was not supposed to be more (unfortunately we only have one shower bath….).

Champagne reception – Food & Drinks

• Champagne with small drops of homemade elderflower syrup
• Cold water with fresh mint & lemons
• Non-alcoholic rhubarb wine

• Cheese waffles with caviar
• Sandwich DIY Kit with homemade cooked cheese

Midsommer-Dinner buffet & drinks

• Beer
• White Sangria (We use only white wine & prosecco with lots of fruits)
• Cold water with fresh mint & lemons

• Salmon cucumbers
• Devilled eggs
• Baked potatoes with parmesan cream
• Baked salmon with dill & lemon
• Three different types of pickled herring (chives, mustard, whisky)
• Strawberry cake with mazarin base (Lantliv magazine)
• Västerbotten Pie (LevaBo magazine)

Thanks to the help of our guests, everything went smoothly and on the day of the party no one had to stand in the kitchen for more than 5 minutes! Thank you again at this point 🙂

Traditional Midsommar afternoon in the village church

After everyone had arrived at our house, we set off together to the village church (about 2km away). Most of us walked there. The church organised a great party with dancing around the Midsommar mast (in which almost only our German friends took part). A small coffee time and the possibility to see the beautiful church from inside.

On the way home we collected lots of flowers to make hair wreaths.

Champagne reception and hair wreath tying

Once home, we served the champagne and snacks. Then the big hair wreath tying began. You really shouldn’t support it, it’s not as easy as you first think. A few of them had made really great wreaths! The majority had rather wild variations…Afterwards there was a little photo shoot for everyone with the polaroid camera as a souvenir. Some stuck their picture in the guest book, which was really sweet!

Dinner, Party & Swimming

Thanks to the great weather (30 degrees plus) we sat on the terrace the whole evening. After dinner, we played two rounds of Viking chess (kubb), then sacked out after strawberry cake with strawberry & peppermint liqueur. Around 2am, a small group went to the lake. The water was actually a bit fresh, but it was a lot of fun. The actual 5-minute walk from the lake back to us took almost half an hour for us drunks. When we arrived back in the garden, it was as bright as day… And we all fell into bed.

And so we celebrated into Midsommar – with lots of fun, incredible weather, delicious food & cool drinks.

I think it’s a bit of a shame that the highlight of the summer is now behind us. July has been very varied so far and can’t decide whether it should be warm or wet or both (?). But the cooling down after the hot midsummer weather is good at the same time.

At home, peace has returned and we started the next construction sites. Soon the family will come to visit and so August will also be completely filled.

In the last few days I’ve been thinking about how absurd it is that you live in the house as a couple 80% of the time. But during the holidays, all the family members & friends come to visit and then all the rooms are so handy. This year I also had to buy quite a lot of bed linen and duvets, as we had a lot of need with the flat in Stockholm. For summer guests we are fully equipped now, but for winter there is still a severe shortage…. But in the end, these are solvable situations.

I’m working on two new posts about our construction sites – stay tuned & until next time!

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