Winter is often a difficult time for many people. Beginning with October, life gets exponentially busier as the final quarter of the year includes many holiday commitments. Then in November comes the time change and darkness arrives earlier and earlier every day until late December. Quarter four culminates in potentially feeling pulled in many directions with work, family, and friend expectations around the holidays. Not to mention the societal demands to reinvent yourself with the arrival of a “New Year, New You”. By January 1st, of the new year, we can be left reeling from the last three months of routine disruption, special events, and expectations.
After three months of endless festivities, we enter quarter one of the new year. We are welcomed by a season of cold darkness, often accompanied by wintry precipitation and a colorless outdoor landscape. This is often a time when one’s mood can falter. For years I hated winter for all of the aforementioned reasons. I faced each winter with dread and resistance, counting the days until spring. And then I learned about the Danish concept of hygge(pronounced hoo-gah). Hygge is the Danish word that translates to something akin to “coziness” in English. It is a practice that can be executed throughout the year, but I have found it especially helpful for not only enduring, but savoring the winter months. Hygge prioritizes a slower pace, with people you love, in a comfortable atmosphere. The following are some of my favorite ways to center coziness and connection in the winter months. Embodying a hygge mindset has changed the way I think about and interact with winter, and now it’s a time of year I look forward to because coziness is my favorite state of being.
- Light: Incorporating light into my daily routine has made a huge difference during winter for me. In the room I spend the most time in at home, I make sure to have fairy lights outlining the room, and they are on at all times. I also make sure to have lamps with warm light that emanates from them. I do not prefer bright, overhead lighting, but lamps and fairy lights create an ethereal atmosphere that lends itself to coziness. I also make a point to light candles when I’m home. I prefer candles that smell like vanilla, cinnamon, or pumpkin in the winter months, and the flickering glow is so warm and inviting. Finally, after several years of practicing hygge in the winter, and recognizing its benefits, I received an electric fireplace as a gift last year. Now, I am able to wake up early and sit in the glow of a (faux) fireplace, which is just about as cozy as it gets. Consider how you could incorporate light into your home and lifestyle to create a cozy atmosphere.
- Softness: I also find soft fabric textures to be increasingly inviting during cold months. One way that I do this includes having a special blanket in my favorite color that is soft, cozy, and big enough to cover me from head to toe. Another way I do this is to wear my favorite soft, oversized sweatpants whenever I am able to. The pants move with my body and keep me warm all winter. Next, I make sure to put on thick, warm, soft socks upon waking up in the morning. I keep these beside my bed, so my feet don’t have to touch the cold hardwood floorswithout a soft layer of warmth between them. Finally, last year, I purchased some knock-off Uggs slip-on clogs. These unassuming brown shoes are fur-lined, warm, soft, and welcoming for my cold feet during the winter months. And not only that, but they are easy to kick off whenever I want to get under my fuzzy blanket. Textures can evoke lots of feelings. I find softness to be the most comforting. Think about what textures bring you comfort and joy and get as much of that texture as you can.
- Company: The winter months are naturally accompanied by more indoor time. As a result, it may be possible to spend more time with loved ones in the cozy environment you have created. The people I live with are my favorite people on earth, and so spending time with them in my hygge-ified environment is about as good as it gets. We like to watch favorite movies and sports teams, play games, especially Yahtzee, and bake our favorite treats. I also enjoy having friends and extended family visit during this time and sharing the coziness with others. Playing thought-provoking games like We’re Not Really Strangers can foster connection and closeness that mirrors the coziness of the environment. Finally, I engage in my favorite hobbies with the people I love, this includes walking outside (even when it’s cold), creating collages, journaling, and reading. Engaging in your favorite hobbies, side-by-side, is extra special in a warmly lit, room, while being covered in your favorite textures. Who would you like to spend the winter months with?
I hope this post has given you some ideas for how to enhance the winter months into a time that is less dreadful and more meaningful. You may never love winter, but creating hygge at every turn may make it somewhat more bearable. Spring will be here before you know it!