From Iceland — Þvörusleikir Shares Top 5 Holiday Uses For Wooden Spoons

Þvörusleikir Shares Top 5 Holiday Uses For Wooden Spoons

Published December 15, 2014

Nanna Árnadóttir
Photo by
K-Fai Steele

The holiday season is a crazy time and a lot of us have problems keeping up with all the things we need to get done in time for Christmas. This year, the fourth Yule Lad, Þvörusleikir (Spoon Licker) shares his Top 5 seasonal uses for wooden spoons.

1. Discipline Your Kids With It

One way you can use a wooden spoon during the holiday season is to discipline your children with it! You may not know this about us Yule Lads, but we used to be a lot tougher on kids. In fact we were downright scary and parents used our impending arrival before Christmas as a way to threaten their children into behaving.

The fact is over the years we’ve mellowed out a lot and so have parents. Kids are for the most part pretty well behaved these days but if one steps out of line, maybe give them a little smack with a wooden spoon, tell them Þvörusleikir says hi.

2. Put A Ribbon On It

The wooden spoon is a design that has stood the test of time. Over the last few centuries I have come down from the mountains and every year I am astounded by the technological developments and the progress we’ve made as a nation. But you know what hasn’t changed? Wooden Spoons, because they are already perfect.

Consider putting ribbons on them. And snap! You’ve got a holiday decoration, something to hang on the tree!

3. A Gift For That Someone Who Has Everything

We all have someone in our lives that’s hard to shop for. We wrestle with what to give them, loitering in scented candle aisles and rummaging through the discount DVD bins.

Wooden spoons are not only an inexpensive gift option but you can really never have too many. You could get a comically large wooden spoon to hang on the wall (I saw it on Pinterest, it’s a thing) or a smaller wooden spoon to stir organic fair trade coffee in vintage cups. Put a string on it so people can wear them as a tie!

4. Use It To Hack Your Kitchen

People look at a wooden spoon and think, ‘hey, I can use this to stir things.’ That’s true, but people overlook other uses for wooden spoons that might come in handy.
Are you boiling something on the stove and need some ventilation? Wedge the wooden spoon between the pot and the lid – Blam! Lid ventilation.

Does your sneaky Christmas Cat like to get into the cupboards and scavenge for dry goods and food stuffs? Thread your wooden spoon through the cabinet handles – Blam! Cat Security System.

Need someone to scratch your back? No you don’t, because you have a spoon you can do that with.

5. Leave Some For Me!

Maybe consider being a little lazy on the dishwashing front this month. My favourite part of the year is coming into town at Christmas and tasting what people have been cooking by sneaking into their kitchens at night and licking their spoons.

Pay it forward this season, be kind to your nice neighbourhood troll.

If you or your family would like to meet Þvörusleikir, he will be making his annual visit to the National Museum of Iceland at 11 am today.

The Yulevine Calendar

Day 1: Stekkjastaur Turns Down Össur Prosthetic

Day 2: Giljagaur Doesn’t Understand How Monopolies Work, Still Has Opinions

Day 3: Stúfur Considering Legally Changing His Name

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