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2025 original nisser by Margaret Meps Schulte.

Julenisser 2025

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This is my sixth original Nisse, and I hope you’re enjoying the silliness as much as I am! Cut around the outline and fold back the two tabs to stand them up at the edge… Julenisser 2025

Julenisse 2024

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Woo hoo!  After many years of studying Danish language and culture, I traveled to the small, happy Nordic country in September of this year. Stig and I brought back thousands of photos and priceless memories… Julenisse 2024

Meps Schulte's original 2023 Julenisse

Julenisse 2023

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WHO, ME? Meps’ 2023 Julenisse is up to no good! He’s baaaack, our small Danish friend with the pointy ears! This year’s Julenisse has decided that some books are contributing to the downfall of civil… Julenisse 2023

Julenisse 2022. ©2022 Margaret Meps Schulte, all rights reserved.

Julenisse 2022

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Jeg præsenterermin tredje åreligJulenisse! (presenting my third annual Christmas-elf) Having completed 18 months of Danish lessons, I continue to learn about the havoc these small barn creatures have wrought on Nordic families for hundreds of… Julenisse 2022

Julenisse 2021, ©2021 Margaret Meps Schulte, all rights reserved.

Julenisse 2021

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The onset of the pandemic last year inspired my unorthodox illustration of a Nisse, the mischievous elf of Danish folklore. Families of yore were expected to set out a bowl of porridge to appease these… Julenisse 2021

Julenisse 2020, ©2020 Margaret Meps Schulte, all rights reserved.

Julenisse 2020

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Julenisse: The original “Elf on the Shelf” In olden times, farmers in Denmark blamed all kinds of misfortune on a mischievous elf who lived in the barn: The Nisse. On Christmas Eve, members of the… Julenisse 2020

Donner Lake

Showering at 70 mph

I was riding the California Zephyr, an Amtrak train that goes from Chicago to Emeryville, California, when I got a song stuck in my head: “I bet there’s rich folks eatin’ in a fancy dining… Showering at 70 mph

Don’t give coffee to the bear!

Like most authors, Frank Lloyd Bear loves his coffee. Sometimes, as evidenced by this animation, he gets a little too much! via GIPHY  

Happy Chickie-Bunny Day!

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Do you know that today is a holiday? It’s Chickie-Bunny Day! This important holiday falls on the first Saturday after the first Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or after the… Happy Chickie-Bunny Day!