Frost settles on the garden, the days are chilly, and the days are still short. Winter is here in its full glory. In the past I was not a huge fan of the cold weather months, and couldn’t wait for spring to bring warmer weather and longer days. But the Danish concept of hygge greatly helped shift my perspective on the colder, darker months of the year. Homestead hygge has made us appreciate grey skies, quieter moments indoors, and finding an element of celebration where there was once resignation and dread.
Now we prepare our cottage house for the shift to more time spent indoors. Bring out the candles, throw some fuzzy blankets on the couch, pull out the puzzles, and make sure we have plenty of coffee and tea in the cupboard. Having a few things in place makes us feel more like hobbits than cabin fever inmates. Hygge has been a great guide in our endeavour to celebrate the season of winter and I hope sharing how we adopted this mindset will shift your perspective on these cold weeks ahead as well.
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What is hygge?
If the Danish term is unfamiliar to you, hygge (pronounced hue-guh) is a quality or state of being that is cozy, content, comfortable, and convivial. If you want to go deeper into the Danish culture of hygge, I’d recommend The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking and Hygge by Marie Tourell Soderberg for more details. Here I’ll be sharing a few of our favorite ways to add some homestead hygge into our winter lives, but hygge is highly adaptable and is easily tailored to your own personal preferences. It’s not expensive and often costs not a dime. Hygge is more a choice to create small moments of pleasure and celebrate the little things in life.
Why try hygge this year?
Creating an ambiance of homestead hygge may be needed now more than ever as we stay closer to our hearths and homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social distancing during the holiday season. We are all having to find new ways to celebrate the small moments when we cannot be surrounded by family and friends for our traditional Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years gatherings. Increasing the cozy, comfort, and contentment that can be found in our homes during these unusual times will go a long way in helping our mental well-being in a trying year.
How we homestead hygge
1. Candles
While a classic way to hygge, it’s amazing what two simple taper candles on the table can do to make family dinners feel special when the world is so dark outside. We also have a rustic lantern that adds a flickering warmth in our living room as we wind down in the evening. We find that limiting bright lights helps our bodies naturally wind down in the evenings and prepare us for a good night’s rest, which is key when Farmer Nathan is up before the sun!
2. Turn off the overhead lights
While hygge isn’t entirely ambiance, it can definitely be cultivated by it. Set the stage with the lighting that creates a sense of coziness for you. We have a strand of patio lights that hang in our dining room and a strand of warm white Christmas lights that drape around our living room. If we want to read, a small lamp provides just a little extra light without detracting from the warm glow.
3. Embrace the fuzzy
Find what makes you comfortable, warm, and snug. Shop your house for items that speak coziness to you and your family. Curl up with a fuzzy blanket on the couch. Wrap your toes in warm socks. Snuggle up in a cozy sweater. Cuddle with you kitty or doggie. Because my husband and I are on the tall side, we found some soft oversized throw blankets that don’t leave our toes out in the cold that we pull out nearly every evening.
4. Warm beverages (+ treats!)
Nothing like a cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate to evoke a feeling of contentment. We have a copper kettle ready on the stove to fill our mugs with a warm cuppa. This past year we invested in some beautiful mugs made by a potter neighbor to add to the hygge vibe. To go along with those beverages, we love to pair them with a freshly-baked cookie, biscuit, or, our personal favorite, a bowl of popcorn.
5. Conversation and Connection
You’ve set the ambiance and have a steaming cup of tea, the final piece for homestead hygge is connection. The long evenings are the perfect time to reconnect with your family and friends. Laugh and play. Pull out a favorite board game. Put a puzzle together. Read aloud a book. Share goals and hopes. Farmer Nathan and I often have our best conversations curled up on the couch in the winter. The frigid air is long forgotten outdoors as we dream about the future.
Hope this has inspired you to add some hygge to your homestead this winter. What are some of your favorite ways to make your home cozy and snug in the cool dark months of the year?