Swedish Gifts
Viking Treasures carries an assortment of products imported from Sweden. Stop in today to find the perfect Swedish gift.
Our Swedish products feature a wide variety of items including Swedish crystal from Mats Jonasson, Lindshammar, and Nybro or beautiful Swedish linens from several Swedish companies including Ekelund, ‘The Linen of Kings’ and master weavers since 1692.
No Swedish home is complete without a dala horse and we have quite a few to choose from. The dala or dalecarlian horse (dalahäst) originated in the Dalarna region of Sweden. The dads working in the clock factories there would bring home the scrap wood from the clock making to carve wooden toys for their children. They carved animals that would have been around their homes: chickens, horses, pigs, etc. The horses were by far the favorite. Most were left unpainted, but some were given a simple coat of paint. The earliest references to the sale of the horses are from the year 1623 when they were included on some tinker’s wagons for sale into other areas of Sweden. In the mid-1880’s Stickå-Erik Hansson introduced the kurbits style of painting for use on the hand-carved horses. This is still the most popular pattern used to paint the dala horse. The dala horse continues to be hand-carved and hand-painted today. Each and every one is a unique piece of craftsmanship. The dalahäst is one of Sweden’s most beloved symbols. Come into Viking Treasures to find a traditional wooden dala horse, or one made of crystal.
We also have Dala horse jewelry, ornaments, cookie cutters, linens, pot holders, Välkommen signs and garden flags, napkins, napkin holders, trays, trivets and cutting boards.
Every Swedish household has a collection of jultomten (the Christmas elf) that most set out only at Christmastime. But tomter are around your home everyday. Tomter (the house elves) are gentle folk that live nearby in your barn or attic. They are friends to all animals and were environmentalists before the word was invented. They can be very mischievous especially if you forget about them or do not believe in them. Remember to set out a dish of julgröt (Christmas rice porridge) for them at Christmas and treat your pets kindly and you shouldn't have any trouble with the tomter at your house. If you’d like to add a tomte or tomtegubbe (an old man elf) figure to your own collection, we have a wide assortment to choose from.
We carry a wide range of American-made, Swedish inspired, tile-trivets and ceramics. We carry the Var så god Swedish Flower pattern by Berggren Trayner that includes the verse, “Kaffetåren den bästa är av alla jordiska drycker” (A drop of coffee is the best of all earth’s drinks) on a mug and on the coffeepot. Carl Larsson’s paintings adorn tea infusers with matching napkins and several sizes of melamine serving trays.
If you’re baking Swedish cookies for Christmas or special events, you’re going to need a pepparkakor cookie cutter, rosette iron, sandbakkelse tins or almond cake pan and maybe a new Swedish cookbook or two. And speaking of food, we have: Vanialla Sugar, Cinnamon Sugar, Lars Own Swedish ginger snaps, Anna’s cookies, Lars Own Swedish pearl sugar, Lars Own yellow peas (gula ärtor). We also have Lars Own and Felix lingonberries and Hafi cloudberry (multebär) preserves as well as Nordic Sweets polka mints, soft raspberries and Swedish Forest Berries. If it’s winter you’ll need to warm yourself with a bit of glögg. We seasonally carry Saturnus glögg concentrate mix and also Grandpa Lundquist’s glögg spice mix to make your own glögg from scratch. (Note: all of our glögg products are non-alcoholic. You will need to add your own wine and/or other hard liquors).
For the Swedish Christmas home we carry the traditional Swedish-style electric candoliers. A candolier is a pyramid of either 5 or 7 (electric) candles that are placed in each window to welcome the warmth of the Christmas season. We also carry their replacement bulbs (23volt or 17volt; yes, it makes a difference). Sankta Lucia (Saint Lucia) is Sweden’s symbol of light and hope. Her saint’s day is celebrated on December 13th. The eldest daughter, wearing a gown of white and a crown of candles, serves the family lussekatter (lucia buns made with saffron) and coffee while her brothers and sisters help her sing the song Santa Lucia. Viking Treasures carries Lucia crowns, and various choices of Lucia figurines including her attendants and star boy (stjärngosse) figures.
There are more Swedish items to choose from than can be listed, from calendars, Christmas cards, Christmas linens, the Christmas goat (julbocken), Midsummer maypoles to batik prints, mugs, flags, windsocks, decals, key chains, lapel pins… a never ending list of choices.
Come in to Viking Treasures to find that unique Swedish gift and learn more about Swedish culture and history.
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