Good vibes only!
Create a warm welcome

Once upon a time…

Yes, what I’m about to tell you, have a bit of a fairytale feel to it, so curl up and get ready for a sweet little story.?

Here we go.

Once upon a time… I lived way up north in Finland. It was the coziest and smallest little village with mostly old, charming wooden houses.

One winter Friday night I was on my way home, walking through the small narrow streets.

It was cold. It was dark. It was snowy.

(If you have never experienced snow and what it sounds like when you walk on it on a crisp cold day, here’s a little sample of it, and yes, that’s me walking – exciting, huh?!?)

 

ANYHOW.
(gosh, this story seems to take its time!)

All of a sudden I noticed something that every house had. It was the simplest but sweetest thing I’ve seen – and such a great way to create a warm welcoming atmosphere.

I stopped, looked and smiled – and then slowly, slowly strolled through this magical evening and beautiful winter wonderland.

Hello, friend – have a nice evening

By the entrance of every house, I repeat; E V E R Y house was – a lantern with a lit candle.

I know, I know, it may not sound like a revolutionary thing – and it’s not. But I can’t tell you the magic it created!

Some of them were hanging from a hook on the wall. Others were standing on the doorstep and some were hanging in a tree.

But the thing was that you saw it when you passed by, so the whole street was like a string of pearls with warm, inviting light.

And even if I wasn’t invited to every place (I would have loved to, though!), I FELT invited and it really spread such friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

It turned out that this was something that happened every Friday night – to celebrate the weekend.

I told this story to some friends while having coffee, and they both went like “oh, why haven’t I thought of that?!?”. Next Friday, I got a pic from both of them, having put out their Friday lanterns by their entrance. And now, we send each other Happy Friday pics with our lit lanterns.

I just love when something so simple makes such big difference!

Go spread some light and create some magic

You can totally do this even if you live in an apartment, just put it outside your door. And even if you’re not expecting anyone, or can’t see it yourself while being indoors.

Just knowing that you’re spreading some light (both literarily and figuratively) will make you feel it yourself too. Promise.

So, go find yourself some kind of lantern and get to it. And yeah, of course, you can do this anytime or any day when you feel like being the good fairy and create some good vibes. And snow is not required either.☺️

And oh, one last thing…

…shhhh (I’m whispering now) – it’s common knowledge that Santa Claus lives in Finland, right?

And I just want to tell you, on that magic night, I think I saw a little white bearded guy in a red suit, sneaking around… But I’m not sure. Maybe it was him, scouting the hoods and preparing for the next round with the sleigh. Or maybe he was just enjoying all the wonderful lanterns – like I did. Who knows? On a magical night, anything is possible.

Over to you!

Share away, and tell me in the comments below:

• What is your best trick to create a warm welcome by your entrance?

SAFETY FIRST! I know you’re a smart cookie, but I guess I should insert something like this: make super sure your lantern doesn’t stand close to something that can catch fire – that would make for a TOO warm welcome! You can use faux lights to be safe. The light, the atmosphere, and the good vibes will be the same.

Thanks for reading!
And thanks for leaving your comment and thoughts in English
– doing that will allow more of us to be able to read it.
?

Photo by David Pentek on Unsplash