Exploring Hygge: 5 Ways to Make Comfort Your Friend

It’s the season of many of my friends posting about how dark it is getting…and how cold.  It feels different to me this year though.  After 2 years of us being away from one another for a long time, the world feels like we are starting to embrace the spirit of “Hygge” (pronounced hoo-gah, so I say it in my head wrong all the time).

Around the world, we all have been searching for what the Danish found years ago…but I want to explore the origins for just a minute.  In old Norwegian, it meant something like well-being, and it appeared as early as the 18th century, but you know, we are just embracing it now.

I think for years we all scheduled as much in, did as much as possible and forgot about the home being the heart of the family…until hmm.  Last year.  Not everyone will agree as I know many embraced this long before, but I know that many of us found ourselves learning new crafts, honing new skills, and even working remotely for the first time ever during 2020.

The simple comforts of home have long been taken advantage of.  Things like canning vegetables, baking from scratch, game night and more so it’s time to take a look at how we can make comfort our friend once more.

5 Ways to Make Comfort Your Friend:

1. Sit around a fire, your table, anywhere with friends and family, and be present.  All phones are away unless you go grab to take a photo at the end of the night.  You are enjoying the experience of company.  The warmth, stories, the fun of the evening.  You can even make something like a craft together, but you are all in.  Not somewhere else in your mind.  Time slips away and you relax.  If you wonder what to talk about, check this out right here.
2. Light beeswax candles.  I read that the Danish like to use all natural scents, and that beeswax is best so I did a little digging and found these tealights for you to check out.  AS someone who loves candles, I think I might need some unscented ones because I have a tendency to light lots of candles and go through them quickly so I really like this idea.  Just light the candles, relax, and bask in the warm glow of the flickering light.
3. Let them eat…cake and treats.  I have gluten-free cookies I bake, but Hygge is all about indulging in the good things in life.  That doesn’t mean going overboard, but that comfort can be found in saying yes, and NOT feeling guilty about saying yes my friends.  Make the cake, take most to a friend’s house, but definitely have a bite too.  Enjoy the process of baking.  If that isn’t for you, try some decadent cocoa or sipping chocolate, my new favorite thing!  I honestly have the exact chocolate I linked if you are wondering.   I have to be careful with lots of things due to autoimmune, so I said no to many things for a very long time.  This is something I say yes to as often as possible.
4. Get outside!  I was reading about the Danish and their lifestyle.  They trust people and are relaxed enough to go for walks and then pop into the village with a baby in the pram and leave the baby sleeping as they go up to a counter to order.  They trust people and love outdoors.  They don’t worry about people doing the wrong thing, they help others.  I really like that.  They believe balance is key in everything.  So if you are enjoying your decadent cake, but have added in some outdoors time, there is balance.  Don’t forget to layer your wool socks on your cold day trips.
5. Turn off the phone and read.  You have your candles lit, your wool socks on, your fire or your sipping chocolate made, it’s time to relax and really get into the spirit of Hygge.  Put messages on mute.  Enjoy your evenings.  Just relax. I put together 24 journal prompts around comfort, the holidays and more and just added it to my shop so you can think about starting your own practice of comfort.  You can check it out here and even gift it to friend.  All e-books are available in Kindle form as well.

I think I am going to like adding more of this to my list this year.  I hope you enjoyed reading this and maybe add a few Hygge practices to your day as well.

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