How to Make Your Home Hygge for Christmas
Christmas truly is a special time of year, it’s as close to magic as we can get as adults. My idea of a hygge Christmas is making new memories at home and enjoying quality time with family. All the while indulging the senses with all the classic holiday joys.
The cold winter weather makes us naturally want to cuddle up and partake in nostalgic holiday rituals. All it takes is a little effort and preparation to really bring the season to life in the perfect hygge setting.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Danish notion of hygge, it’s all about creating a warm and cozy winter atmosphere in your home - which ultimately leads to feelings of happiness and wellness. Instead of thinking of the winter as a drab and dreary time of year, with hygge it can become a season we look forward to.
Make Your Home Festive with Holiday Decor
Deck the halls of your house with sentimental and joyful Christmas decor. Everyone’s holiday aesthetic is unique to their own personal style. So whatever trimmings look like for you, go big with the decor. Make sure to add plenty of fresh greenery and twinkling lights to really brighten up the living room.
I personally love an eclectic Christmas decor style with a mix of modern, Scandinavian natural elements and nostalgic vintage pieces. I have a collection of antique Christmas books, ornaments, and figurines for the mantel.
Tinsel & Ornaments Adorning the Christmas Tree
Most of the time the holiday decor begins with the Christmas tree. Every year we cut down a fresh tree in Northern California’s Apple Hill. You just can’t beat the smell of fresh pine in the house.
Decorating the tree is an activity everyone can enjoy together. Make sure to set the scene with Christmas music playing and beverages such as hot chocolate, hot apple cider and eggnog.
Plan ahead and make a holiday themed charcuterie board for the family graze while working hard on decorating the tree. Add some candy canes, cookies, chocolates, biscuits and more to your Christmas snack board.
After you’re all finished decorating your Christmas tree, don’t forget the final touch - an adorable Christmas tree skirt! Ours is from Etsy and I love it!
Hang Your Christmas Stockings By the Fire
Growing up in my parent’s house, we would open our Christmas stockings first thing on the morning of Christmas Day. They would be filled to the brim with both traditional familiar items and new surprises. Every year in our stockings we’d receive lotto tickets, cutie mandarins, socks and chocolates. Etsy is the best place to find personalized Christmas stockings - you can have your family member’s names put on them!
Fill Your Home with the Scents of Christmas
There’s two ways I like to bring the familiar smells of the holiday season into the house - using essential oils and scented pine cones.
My favorite holiday essential oils scents to use are cinnamon, clove, peppermint, nutmeg, allspice, pine, fir needle and sweet orange. I love using my diffuser to fill the air with essential oil, and you can get creative by making your own holiday blends. It just takes a couple drops of the essential oils to create a light and airy aroma without become too overwhelming.
Scent is very closely tied to memory in our brains, which explains why the smells of Christmas instantly bring us back to happy holiday memories from years past. The best part is that when you fill the house with happy scents, you’re creating childhood memories that your kids will carry with them into adulthood.
Holiday Baking & Cooking
Another way to fill your home with the smells of Christmas is to make delicious and fragrant familiar foods. When the weather is chilly we crave warm comfort foods such as soups, hot drinks, fresh from the oven breads and hot casseroles.
My go-to fall and holiday recipes are Butternut Squash Soup, Bone Broth, Hot Apple Cider and Corn Bread.
A find memory I have from childhood is decorating Christmas sugar cookies with my mom. We had festive shapes like gingerbread men, ornaments and Christmas trees.
For the ambitious bakers, try building a gingerbread house. You can start construction from scratch or purchase a gingerbread house kit, either way you’ll really have fun. For families with small kiddos, you can also use graham crackers to easily build miniature gingerbread houses that they can decorate with candy.
Matching Family Christmas Pajamas
Some may find matching holiday pajamas as cheesy, while others think it’s sweet and endearing. Whatever your take on them, there’s no denying that Christmas pajamas are a holiday staple.
Adorning Christmas pajamas can be a fun and cozy way to celebrate Christmas Eve together as a family. You can also make a light-hearted and whimsical family Christmas card in a matching pajama set. If you’re into customization, you can order some really cute personalized pajamas on Etsy.
Don’t forget about your pets too - find some adorable Christmas pajamas for dogs!
Cuddled Up Reading Christmas Books
We have a large collection of Christmas books that we’ve curated over the years. Every night in December we pick a couple books to read with our daughter Scout.
The variety of Christmas tales from the storybooks gives you all kinds of perspectives on the meaning of the season - essentially there’s not just one correct way to view and experience Christmas.
For families with young children, reading books is very important for their development and helps with understanding language. Plus it’s a lot of fun!
Invest in Quality Cozy Essentials
Winter can feel long and cold without the proper gear to fill your days with warmth. Make sure you’re well stocked in the essentials such as:
This winter may be the perfect time to try out a weighted blanket too.
Christmas Countdown with an Advent Calendar
December can be a long month if you’re impatiently waiting for Christmas to arrive. A fun way to count down the days is with an advent calendar.
There’s so many fun themes available online, or you can even create your own DIY advent calendar for the kiddos (or your pets!).
Shop Advent Calendar Themes:
Chocolate advent calendars from See’s, Godiva, and Ghirardelli.
Beauty and makeup advent calendars from Sephora.
Christmas Music Playlist
Some folks prefer the old classic holiday songs, while others gravitate towards contemporary compositions. I myself prefer to have a mix of both on my playlist.
I find that the easiest way to make a playlist is on YouTube. I add about 50 songs and I’ll play it on our smart TV or in the kitchen on my laptop while cooking. There’s nothing like some Jingle Bells to get you in the holiday spirit. While you’re searching for songs for your Christmas playlist, don’t forget to add instrumentals too!
Family Christmas Movie Nights
Along with reading books as a family, we also enjoy holiday movie family movie nights. We tend to watch the same movies over and over again, but sometimes we’ll incorporate new ones.
Our top holiday movies are:
Dreaming of a White Christmas
Nothing says a warm and cozy hygge Christmas like being snuggled up inside while the snow falls outside. If you’re Californians like us, the best place in the state to experience a white snowy Christmas is in the Tahoe mountains.
We were lucky enough to witness several inches worth of fresh snow during our holiday visit to South Lake Tahoe a few years ago. In the daytime we spent hours playing outdoors in the newly fallen white powder, and then at night we cuddled up by the fire in our cabin.
See our Complete Guide to a White Christmas in South Lake Tahoe, California on the blog.
Home Spa Day
Pampering yourself might seem unrelated to the holidays, but the reality is that it can be a stressful time. Practicing self-care and relaxation are important ways to keep your spirits high during this hectic season.
For me a hot soak in the tub with bath salts and candles can really do wonders after a day of holiday social events and running errands.
