My favorite Julkalenders through the years
As someone who is born in 2005, I haven’t seen most of the advent calendars made by SVT. But I still remember most of those I’ve watched, so here are my favourites:
2010: Hotell Gyllene Knorren
The Rantanen family buys a countryside hotel named “Hotell Gyllene Orren” from the Grossman family. The family is struggling to keep the hotel running, as modern competition emerged nearby. Despite trying their best, guests leave after discovering an old-fashioned style and the hotel’s pig named Pyret. A journalist also checks in and checks out immediately after finding the hotel lacking in food and discovering the pig. Subsequently, she adds “KN” before “orren” on the hotel sign leading to the hotel. This new sign turns the hotel’s name into “Hotell Gyllene Knorren” (“Hotel Golden Pigtail”). This makes many guests not to check into the hotel, causing the Rantanens to try harder to attract guests.
2011: Tjuvarnas jul
The series is set in Stockholm during the 19th century. Kurre feeds entirely on stealing. He is involved in a gang of thieves led by the evil old woman Madame Bofvén. He lives alone in a loft, until a little girl named Ing-Britt (later renamed Charlie by Madame Bofvén) who is his daughter shows up outside his door. During the series, they approach each other as father and daughter, while Madame Bofvén planning to rob the big department store and the police seek diligently after the thieves. As if that were not enough the store owner seems to have an illicit secret.
2012: Mysteriet på Greveholm – Grevens återkomst
The series is a following up-story to the 1996 calendar Mysteriet på Greveholm, set 16 years later, when a new family has moved into the castle. The ghosts still remain in the castle, and they try their best to make the family stay for as long as possible because they felt very alone after the last family moved. However, due to mistakes made by both the ghosts and the family, something, or someone, more dangerous has different plans.
2013: Barna Hedenhös uppfinner julen
In the Stone Age, the Hedenhös family sees a bright star and builds a rocket to reach it. They get stranded in a black hole. In 2013, Stella wishes for a family like theirs and they crash-land in a museum. Stella befriends them, and they learn about modern life. The Hedenhös’ help Stella and her family appreciate their loved ones. They return to their time and “invent” Christmas.
2018: Storm på Lugna gatan
The Storm family move to Järnkroken Village and face challenges, including a poorly conditioned house, different neighbors with unique lifestyles and Lussan’s plans to demolish the old railway station. Lussan covets winning the annual Christmas Fight, which would give her authority over the railway station’s conversion into a museum. However, the children discover that Lussan is secretly cheating and intends to build a large concrete car park named Lussan Tower. Meanwhile, they uncover Eskil’s secret model landscape of Järnkroken, including their farm. They realize how crucial it is to stop Lussan’s plan and win the competition. For unknown reasons, Lussan is willing to do anything to win.
2019: Panik i tomteverkstan
The Santa Claus family in the North Pole needs to work together to reverse the trend of fewer and fewer children believing in Santa Claus, despite more than 200 years of gift giving. The magical world of Light’s lantern is dimly lit and Santa is depressed.
2020: Mirakel
In a laboratory in Sweden before Christmas 2020, the scientists Anna-Carin Davidsson-Colt and Vilgot develop an artificial black hole to be used as an energy source. The black hole is accidentally released and ends up in the rafters of an HVB home where the orphan Mira lives. Mira is soon to be adopted, but does not want to be separated from her friend Galad.
Exactly 100 years earlier (in 1920) and in the same building, then a mansion, the upper-class girl Rakel Colt is getting ready to be photographed with her family. Mira and Rakel both stumble upon the black hole and are involuntarily pulled in by it, switching bodies and time periods.
2021: En hederlig jul med Knyckertz
Eleven-year-old Ture Knyckertz wants a normal, honest Christmas, which is difficult when your family are thieves. His father, Bove, has said that “as long as a child gets enough love, crime will take care of itself”. Ture’s little sister Kriminellen is already a master thief and has learnt lots of thieving tricks, while Ture feels he doesn’t fit in with the family.
2023: Trolltider – legenden om Bergatrollet
According to legend, long ago the mighty Bergatroll ruled the North, but together the four peoples – trolls, fairies, witches and humans – managed to put him to sleep with the help of a magical amber stone. But one day a human finds the stone and breaks the magic that keeps the troll asleep. Twelve-year-old Saga and Love, a human and a troll, join forces to stop the Bergatroll from waking up and taking over the world again.
3 thoughts on “My favorite Julkalenders through the years”
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