The Tradition of the Straw Goat

One of our most popular holiday items, year after year, is the straw “julbocken” (yule goat.) Not too much of a surprise, considering the Scandinavian heritage of our area. But why? Where did the tradition of a Yule goat come from?

The origins may go back to as far as the times of great Norse gods.  Thor’s chariot was pulled by a team of goats, and pre-Christian Yule celebrations often involved the slaughter of a goat. Throughout the ages, goats have served a number of roles: from scaring children and demanding gifts at Christmas, to an invisible presence checking to make sure the Yule preparations were done correctly.

Present-day julbocken are usually ornaments or decorations made of straw, traditionally tied with red ribbon.  A popular prank used to be to hide a goat in the home of a house or neighbor, who then would pass it on in the same fashion.  Goats were also left on porches, usually with a funny or naughty rhyme. Sometimes they are placed under the tree to guard the gifts.

One tradition that I’ve come to love reading about is the huge julbocken built by the city of Gavle, a seaside city on Sweden’s Eastern side. Starting in 1966, an enormous version has been built in the town square. Approximately every other year, the goat is burned by arsonists. (Starting in 1988 it was possible to place bets in England on when the goat would be burned.) In 1996, webcams were installed and now you can watch the construction of the goat, from anywhere in the world!

For more information about the Gavle goat, check out the Wikipedia article, or visit the official website of the Gavle Goat.

How will the julbocken join your holiday traditions?

Tips for a Safe Halloween!

Halloween brings crisp weather, tasty treats, and a chance to show your ghoulish best! Here are some tips to make your Halloween celebrations fun and safe this year!

Before You Go:

• Make sure everyone is well-fed and ready to collect that candy! (Full tummies may prevent eating treats before home inspection.)

• Inspect costumes for fit and mobility, and make sure your little monster can see well enough to navigate in the dark.

• Is your ninja a master of stealth in your living room? Make sure to add some reflective tape and/or lit accessories to make sure your trick-or-treater is visible to others.

• Is there such a thing as too many accessories? Make sure your child has a hand for their treat sack/pail, and a hand free for any accidental trips or spills (or maybe a flash light!) (Also consider: do I want to end up carrying that for blocks and blocks?)

With so many fun light options (flashlights, glowsticks, or
these fun and rechargeable friends) there's no reason
for your child to get lost in the dark this year!

While You’re Out:

• Travel in a group, and always with adult supervision.

• Keep to well-lit sidewalks, don’t cut through yards, and only approach homes with their porch/front lights on.

• Obey all traffic signals, and make sure to cross at intersections! (Drivers are expecting ghosts and goblins, but prefer to not encounter them darting out from between parked cars.)

• Save all candy and treats to be eaten at home, after they’ve been inspected by an adult.

When You’re Home Again:

• Inspect all candy, removing choking hazards for the little ones and watching for signs of tampering. (At this point, my dad would also remove all Snickers bars and my mom would get anything with coconut.)

...at this point recommendations can be made about rationing the treats, but we leave that to you to decide!  (My siblings and I were always allowed to keep everything and eat it as we pleased.  However, my parents would also pay us by the pound for any candy we decided to sell to them. Clever.)

Find more hints at these websites: 

Halloween Safety

FDA - "Lucky 13"

CDC - Halloween Safety

Easy and Beautiful Entertaining

The holiday season is fast approaching!  Family and friends, cooking and eating together. The highlight of any entertaining situation is, of course, the company you keep.  But sometimes you want to take it up a notch – make the experience something really special. You aren’t miraculously given more time to prepare, so it’s time to work smarter, not harder.  Here are some simple and beautiful solutions to make your holiday table top-notch this season.

Talk about a name that makes sense:
SMARTA serving dish goes from oven to
table in a snap.

Double-Duty! Choose bakeware that can double as a beautiful serving piece.  Taking something straight from the oven to the table cuts down on preparation time, and also assures your dish will be hot and ready for the guests to dig in!



Cakes, cupcakes, candies... ARV BROLLOP
cake stand displays them all beautifully.



Put dessert on display! A pre-prepared dessert can double as table decor, and also gives your guest a glimpse of delicious tastes to come.



GOTTIS serving bowl, available in
two sizes, dresses up any occasion.
Fill with potpurri, lake stones, or a
delicious dessert!



Put your pantry to work! Fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts, in a lovely dish or container, can make a beautiful centerpiece for your celebration.  Plus, once everyone’s gone home it’s quick to put away.  No special purchases necessary.

Let your menu be a treat for the eyes as well as the tongue! Nothing wows like a table full of attractive, delicious looking treats. Don’t distract from your hard work with extra frills – let the food do the talking!

Inspiration is everywhere! 
Check out these websites for more great entertaining ideas:

• Hostess with the Mostess

• Sparkling Ink
• Martha Stewart

• Food Network

The Never Ending List #9

IKEA tries to get the best possible return from every tree trunk.  The NORDEN table has been available at IKEA stores since the late 1990s and was revolutionary when it was launched.  It was the first time that furniture had been made from the knotty crown of the birch tree. Previously this wood was either burnt as firewood or ground as part of chipboard production. Today the whole trunk is used in the production process, and there are a number of products in the NORDEN family.

To read more about IKEA and their commitment to sustainable forest management, visit here.

To read more about our Never Ending List, click here.

Making the Most of Your Media Storage

The simplest decision to make when considering a storage solution for your television and media is probably whether you’d like an open solution or a closed solution.

With sliding doors, you choose what is open to view! Also, sliding doors are a

great space-saver if your don’t have a lot of room to work with.

If you have an extensive DVD, CD, video game, etc. collection and want to show it off: open is probably the way you’ll want to go.  If you’re looking for a solution that will look clean and uncluttered, and will allow you to store a variety of things, you may be more interested in a closed solution.

A flexible media storage system lets you use every available space –

from awkward corners to over the door!

In either case, make sure to find a unit that is flexible.  If you want to be able to store everything from LPs to books to CDs: a unit with adjustable shelves will help you make the best use out of the space that you have.  A system with a variety of different types of shelves and inserts allows your storage unit to flex and change with your tastes and collections. A system offering solid and glass doors, both hinged and sliding will allow your unit to keep clutter under wraps, but also let you choose to use some spaces for display.

The living room is just for that: living! Flexible storage keeps clutter at bay and

Lets the whole family share the space.

If you have children, keep their games and movies within their reach in a cabinet or drawer near the bottom of the unit.  (Closed storage can provide a great place for puzzles, books and toys as well!)

Bonus Tip!

Don’t underestimate the power of cable management!  In an era of video game systems, DVD players, sound systems, and cable boxes – you may have a mile of cable tucked behind your television!  Keeping the cords and cables bound and labelled doesn’t just make the area visually restful, it can reduce the headache of any future moves or reorganization.

Crib and Crib Bedding Safety

At IKEA, we know that children are the Most Important People in the world.  Keeping them safe and happy is the Most Important Job in the World.  To help parents keep their children safe, the Consumer Products Safety Comission has issued guidelines for cribs and bedding for children under 12 months of age:

Crib Safety Tips from the Consumer Products Safety Commission

For infants less than 12 months of age, follow these practices to reduce the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) and prevent suffocation:

• Place baby on his/her back in a crib with a firm, tight-fitting mattress.

• Do not put pillows, quilts, comforters, sheepskins, pillow-like bumper pads or pillow-like stuffed toys in the crib.

• Consider using a sleeper instead of a blanket.

• If you do use a blanket, place baby with feet to foot of the crib. Tuck a thin blanket around the crib mattress, covering baby only as high as his/her chest.

• Use only a fitted bottom sheet made specifically for crib use.



Keep cribs clear of additional textiles while baby
is sleeping. A single fitted sheet on a tight-
fitting mattress is the best bedding combination.



Check Your Crib for Safety

• A Your mattress should be firm and tight-fitting so baby can't get caught in gaps.

• No missing, loose, broken or improperly installed screws, brackets, or other hardware on the crib or mattress support.

• Cribs that are assembled wrong, have missing, loose or broken hardware or broken slats can result in entrapment or suffocation deaths. 

• No more than 2 3/8 inches (about the width of a soda can) between the crib slats so a baby's body can't fit through the slats; no missing or cracked slats.

• No corner posts over 1/16 inch high so a baby's clothing cannot catch.

• No cutouts in the headboard or foot board so a baby's head can't get trapped.

For mesh-sided cribs and playpens, look for:

• Mesh less than ¼ inch in size, smaller than the tiny buttons on a baby's clothing.

• Mesh with no tears, holes or loose threads that could entangle a baby.

• Mesh securely attached to the top rail and floor plate.

• Top rail cover with no tears or holes.

• If staples are used, they are not missing, loose or exposed.

Soft Bedding May Be Hazardous To Babies

To prevent infant deaths due to soft bedding, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development are revising their recommendations on safe bedding practices when putting infants down to sleep. Here are the revised recommendations to follow for infants under 12 months:

Safe Bedding Practices For Infants

· Place baby on his/her back on a firm tight-fitting mattress in a crib that meets current safety standards.

· Remove pillows, quilts, comforters, sheepskins, pillow-like stuffed toys, and other soft products from the crib.

· Consider using a sleeper or other sleep clothing as an alternative to blankets, with no other covering.

· If using a blanket, put baby with feet at the foot of the crib. Tuck a thin blanket around the crib mattress, reaching only as far as the baby’s chest.

· Make sure your baby’s head remains uncovered during sleep.

· Do not place baby on a waterbed, sofa, soft mattress, pillow, or other soft surface.

Placing babies to sleep on their backs instead of their stomachs has been associated with a dramatic decrease in deaths from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Babies have been found dead on their stomachs with their faces, noses, and mouths covered by soft bedding, such as pillows, quilts, comforters and sheepskins. However, some babies have been found dead with their heads covered by soft bedding even while sleeping on their backs.

For more tops about preparing for your baby's arrival, or making their sleeping space a safe one, visit our Baby Knowledge site.

Furnish with Rugs!

Whether they are bought or passed down from past generations, rugs add comfort and safety to your home. They can accent your furniture, or be their own statement.  Decorating with rugs is an easy way to personalize your space and also make it more pleasant. 

There is such a wide variety of sizes, colors, patterns, functions and materials it may seem overwhelming to make a choice.  The first consideration should always be to make sure your choice is what you like.  Find a rug that fits your personality and tastes, and it will be a good choice.  Of course, there are some other things to consider.  Different rugs have different advantages and are suitable in different rooms.  Do you need a rug that is hard-wearing and easy to keep clean (flat-woven), or are you looking for something that is soft, warm and cozy (pile rugs)?

The entrance to your home is a great place for a rug.  Not only will it greet you after a long day, or invite visitors in – it will help keep your home cleaner! Natural materials are the best foor door mats because they are durable and easy to shake out.  Polypropylene and cotton flat-woven rugs are also a good choice.  Rugs in entryways and hallways should be durable, easy to clean, and also moisture resistant.  Steer toward darker colors because they take so much abuse from traffic and outdoor grime, in hard-wearing materials like sisal, wool or synthetics.

The living room is an area where you can really let out all the stops with rugs.  The rugs you choose should be your style, but also be able to stand up to wear and tear, all day, every day.  Use them to differentiate different areas of the room, such as the sofa/TV area and the reading corner. The advantage of a large rug that has room for an entire seating group, is that it give the impression of cosiness.  A smaller rug can tuck just under sofa and arm chairs, and tie the grouping together with your coffee table.

When you’re getting out of bed in the morning, it’s nice to have a soft pile rug to put your feet on.  Nothing is worst than a cold, bare floor.  If you want to contribute to a calm, serene feeling in your bedroom, consider rugs in neutral tones and modest patterns.  For a child’s rooms, flat-woven cotton rugs are a great choice because they are hard-wearing and also easy to clean.  Spark their imagination with bold colors and patterns!  For safety, look for rugs with a latex backing, or purchase an anti-slip underlay. Keep playtime fun and safe!

In the kitchen, a rug in front of the kitchen sink adds comfort during prep time and clean-up.  Flat-woven rugs are most practical for the kitchen and around eating areas.  Many flat-woven rugs are reversible, giving you an alternate look and a second side when stains are stubborn.  Dining chairs are also easier to move on a flat-woven rug, rather than a high-pile one.  If you’re looking for the right size rug for under your dining table, remember that you need enough room for chairs when they are pushed out: add at least 24” to your dining table size.

Our best advice is still: go with what you like.  There are a wealth of styles, sizes, and materials out there so all you need to do is let your imagination and creativity roam.  Can’t choose between two?  Switching out rugs is a quick and easy way to refresh a room – why not buy both?

Search and view hundreds of rugs on our website.  An easy place to start your search for the perfect rug!

Celebrating Forests for People

The UN has declared 2011 at the International Year of Forests.  Organizations around the world have been hosting events celebrating the Year, and opening up dialogues about the sustainable management of forests.

Learn more about the UN’s International Year of Forests here.

At IKEA, we are working with American Forests in the month of October to plant trees across the United States.  When you visit your local IKEA, you will be invited at check-out to donate $1 to the effort.  Contributions at your local IKEA will be funnelled to projects in your surrounding area, letting you contribute to the “greening of your own back yard.”

In Minnesota, the Global ReLeaf Project currently in progress is the Spruce Salvage Restoration Project in Chippewa National Forest.  Read about it, and other American Forest ReLeaf projects in the state here.

At IKEA we believe in the power of trees.  They are the "green machines" cleaning our air and water, and stabilizing our soil.  Start the greeing of your neighborhood today!

The Importance of Light

In a country where the winter months are long, cold, and dark - lighting plays an essential part in everyday life.  The peoples of Scandinavia embrace light in any form available, and have integrated it into every aspect of daily life, throughout the calendar year.

If you speak to someone living near the equator, they probably describe every effort to avoid daylight and express a preference to artificial lighting that’s along the cooler end of the spectrum.  As you distance yourself from the equator, however, daylight is welcomed as dear friend.  Architecture features large windows, especially along southern exposures.  (In Scandinavian countries, the most successful restaurants are often on the northern side of the street – large windows take full advantage of any sunlight available.)

Lighting in Sweden is warm and diffused.  Candles and candlelight are everywhere. Traditions take full advantage of daylight in the summer (Maypole, Crayfish Fests) and indoor warmth in the winter (Santa Lucia, Christmas.)

Looking to celebrate the Swedish way this winter?  Here are some tips!

A candle in every window. 
Candle-lit windows welcome family and
friends home, and promise a warm and
welcoming interior.

Light it up!
Candles add a warm and cozy glow
to every space.  Battery operated versions
are a safe alternative for homes
with young children and pets.

Decorate with Nature!
Pine boughs, straw, and light bring the outdoors
indoors and serve as a promise of warmer
weather and new growth to come.



Santa Lucia - Bringer of Light
The eldest daughter of the home awakens her
family with warm drinks and traditional rolls.
"Star Boys" accompany, singing traditional songs.



Learn more about how to Celebrate the Swedish Way at Sweden.se:

http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Lifestyle/Traditions/Celebrating-the-Swedish-way/