Scan Magazine

By Bronte Blomhoj

Ho ho ho, finally, it’s that time of year where you can get away with wearing patterned jumpers, silly hats and sport a red hooter and still expect to be taken seriously.

December is the time to be jolly – as well as being the opportunist’s season: a month of eternal fluttering from party to party and kissing pretty people under strategically hung mistletoe. Most of us have at some point partaken in activities during the silly season that we have all regretted later on, whether it was dancing the crazy chicken dance with your boss, photocopying your bumon the office copier or telling the management accountant fromfloor three that you are, in fact, in love with her (and then watch her face beam with that “I’m your new stalker” look). Bring it on. Whatever your preferred way of celebrating the joyful season, you could do worse than accepting an invitation to a Scandinavian Mulled Wine party – or better known as a Glögg party.

Glögg is the Scandinavian word formulled wine. To those of you unfamiliar with the concept, it is a drink usually made with red wine, sugar and spices – heated up and served warm during the cold winter months. Back in the olden days, wine had habit of going bad quite quickly and by heating it and adding spices, it became drinkable again. Across Europe, there are many different types of warmwine drinks, from Glühwein in Germany to Izvar in Moldova – and Glögg in the Nordic countries. In Scandinavia, the finished drink often has flaked almonds and raisins added, which sets it apart frommost other ‘vin chauds’ around the globe.

Scandinavians love nothing more than a Mulled Wine event, which is a potential party disguised as a calm cosy evening. Sometimes, you don’t really know if you’re in for a relaxed hour of chit-chat or set for an evening of boogie-woogie until you have assessed themood on the day. There is a chance you’ll be on your way an hour later, having nibbled on a few ginger biscuits and been polite to Benny’s mother

There is an equal possibility that you might find it is one of the more evolving get-togethers where you end up dancing the salsa with a lamp post on the streets of Copenhagen at four a.m., your only memory from the evening being that Benny’s mother is rather fit. It is potentially disastrous tomisjudge themood, so bide your time.

So as to avoid misjudging any moods and ending up in a sticky situation, you could choose to host your own mulled wine party and potentially avoid Benny’s mum altogether.

To host a true Scandinavian Glögg Party you’ll need the following:

• Mulled wine

• Ginger biscuits

• Some other form of food – in Sweden this would usually mean Lussebullar (saffron buns) and in Denmark little pan fried doughnuts called Aebleskiver. We suggest you go all fancy and serve rye bread canapés to give the event a truly cosmopolitan Scandi feel.

• Some nice candles to create atmosphere (lit, preferably)

• A bunch of friends

• Snow (optional. Rain and darkness will do if in London).

Ginger biscuits must be served with the glögg, or else the party will be deemed illegal by the laws of the Yuletide Police in Scandinavia (and at some point, it’s likely that handsome blonde people will arrest you and put you in a little cell whilst forcing you to listen to Basshunter all day). So deep-rooted are the traditions that nobody ever dares to break them. The Scandinavian ginger biscuits are thin, crispy “pepparkakor” or “brunkager” – now, luckily, readily available in the UK, meaning less need for baking and Basshunter.

As you greet your guests withmulled wine and biscuits, it is good formto offer something else food-like to help your guests fromgetting tipsy early on. What could be nicer than keeping the Scandinavian theme with canapés: mini-open sandwiches that can be eaten whilst mingling around the livingroom. From smoked salmon to pate and meatballs, these canapés can be as complicated or as easy as you choose to make them, but all can bemade in advance, allowing you plenty of time to play the social butterfly, as well as finding time to wink at Benny’smum(if indeed you dare to invite her after that incident last year).

Add extra spice to the event by revealing you own the entire back catalogue of ABBA and proceed to turn the volume to full for all the world to enjoy it with you, Scandi style.

God Jul to you all,

Bronte