Five ways to enjoy you and your families fritid//:free time
The concept behind Anorakki is the Scandinavian term, Fritid. Fritid is your free time, your in-between time to spend with your family, friends or taking some much-needed time to yourself. Here are five ways to enjoy Fritid with your family. How do you spend your fritid with your family? We would love to hear from you and please share your pictures.
- Have a Scandinavian summer picnic with berry goodness
One of our favourite things to do is combine fresh air, food and family. A picnic is the perfect way to do this.
Scandinavians love to eat berries - in drinks, jam, on their own or baked into a delicious pastry. We often make recipes, that are handed down through generations, to take to the picnics to share and enjoy.
Growing up in Norway, we would pick most of our berries in the forest. Once a year, when the strawberries were red and juicy, we would go to the farm and pick them. This tradition continues today with my children in Australia.
Ingredients for a Scandinavian berry picnic:
- Plenty of fresh berries
- Fresh Norwegian strawberry jam with a touch of coconut sugar
- Homemade lemonade with raspberry ice cubes
- Farmers bread (whole grain)
- Norwegian cheese block and a Scandinavian cheese cutter (if you love cheese, you need one of these - Ikea has them)
- Your anorak jacket to make sure you can enjoy the picnic, no matter the weather
- Enjoy an outside hygge experience = [hoo-ge]
Hygge is part of the Scandinavians core. It describes an atmosphere that is warm and inviting. My ideal outdoor hygge is in the Australian bush on a winter’s night. There would be candles around, an open fire, a snuggly rug wrapped around me and a warm drink in my hand. Next to me is one of my family and we are enjoying each others company.
- A play/ game/ Lek for the whole family
Lek (Norwegian for play or game) is for the whole family, we love spending time playing different games and we create so many memories. One game we love playing is Kubb (a game where you have wooden batons and you try to knock over wooden blocks). 17 November is a public holiday in Norway, where we celebrate Independence Day, all the family comes together and plays Kubb. Its a much anticipated annual occasion for all generations of the family.
- Take time in nature and make a masterpiece
Growing up in a small town in Norway, we didn’t have many formal activities and were on a tight budget, so ‘naturen’ (Norwegian for nature) became our playground. Getting outside in nature offered so many activities, from collecting treasures that had fallen on the ground to create our own art, stick huts we could hide in, to jumping in puddles.
We collected our treasures - sticks, stones, leaves and flowers, which we put in the front pocket of our anorak jacket to keep safe. We would then get glue, scissors, old cloths for fabric and use some imagination to make everything from mini farms with stick animals to houses.
- Enjoy a long weekend breakfast
Scandinavians love filling a table with food like smoked fish, scrambled eggs, pates, fresh vegetables, homemade jams and fresh bread to name a few. We spend hours sitting at the table eating and talking, it is a slow start to the day but you can catch up on your week, talk through challenges and share time and food with family and friends.