Yule Lad #1 Stekkjastur

As a public-service announcement and ersatz Christmas prize to Spo-fans well over four feet I thought I would start each of the next two week’s blog entries with an introduction about one of The Yule Lads of Iceland. Iceland doesn’t have a just one jolly old elf but thirteen who show up one by one starting tonight.  They originally were hideous trolls (most well over four feet but for Stubby) who came in the night ala The Krampus to carry off the bad children but over the years they have been sugar-coated to become Iceland’s ersatz Santa Clauses. When a child leaves their shoes out, the Yule Lad de jour fills them with sweets or small prizes or gift-cards for Amazon.  They all have names right out of IKEA and they are a kinky bunch you will soon find out. I don’t know what happens to the bad children these days. Perhaps their shoes are stuffed with rotten potatoes or rude messages or Swedish fish or other horrors. 

December 12th

Stekkjastaur – Sheep Cote Clod

The first Yule Lad, Sheep-Cote Clod, comes to town on December 12th. He used to try to suckle the yews in the farmers’ sheep sheds, which was hard for him since his legs are stiff as wood. This strikes me as a rather unimpressive troll but if you own sheep and your livelihood depends on dairy I can see how he might be a pest. 

Back to me now.

Today and tomorrow I want to put up some trimmings and do some shopping for stocking stuffers. I am starting to panic for I’ve done nothing and I have little knowledge of what the niblings want for Christmas, let alone Someone. Someone is keeping mum about his wants which is driving me to distraction.  I do Halloween on my own but I want to do Christmas together. I may have to drag him kicking and screaming from The British Bake-off. If he has no interest I may have to just do things myself. I plan on stuffing his shoes with Swedish fish to get him going. 

Today I received in the post a Christmas pudding I ordered earlier this week. I feel sheepish for buying one (reference to Yule Lad #1). However a few years ago when I made one it was a lot of work and in the end Someone took one ‘no thank you’ bite and I was full from dinner and most of it went to waste. The store-bought pudding is a petite thing just right for a few spoonfuls.  I am looking forward to it. The wrapper says to serve with ‘clotted cream’ whatever that is.  Clotted creams sounds rawther unappetizing and none is to be found at Uncle Albertsons. I think we may eat ours with vanilla ice cream (no rubbish) or whipped cream. Someone likes whipped cream. Put some on something and he’s bound to eat it even Swedish fish.