Go Hygge & Get Cozy With Your Crew for Family Togetherness
How do you do cozy at your house?
Do you snuggle up with your family on the couch and watch a movie or read a book under your favorite blanket with a hot cocoa?
Do you bake apple pies and eat slices all week long with your coffee or grab some cupcakes at a local bakery and surprise your kids?
Do you huddle up by the fire with popcorn and chat or light a candle and have a pot of tea?
Do you go all-in and get on the hygge train?
No matter how you do cozy, I think it's one of the best ways to build family togetherness - especially when the weather outside starts getting a little frightful.
In my house, I'm 100% on the hygge train (even to the point that my family makes fun of me about it).
It was almost four years ago when I first heard the word "hygge" (pronounced hoo-ga). I was listening to one of the Homeschool Sisters podcasts about getting cozy while homeschooling in the winter months, and I loved everything about the idea of making things more enjoyable at home - more comfortable, safer, friendlier, happier.
Fast-forward all these years later, and here I am sitting on my couch under a snuggly blanket on a dark, windy fall morning trying to find the words to share some family togetherness inspiration with my mama friends and the concept of hygge - loosely translated as "coziness" in English - keeps coming to mind.
If you aren't familiar with the term, that's okay. If you're a fan of our Togetherness Tips, you're probably already doing hygge without realizing it (even if you don't like fads).
Hygge (pronounced hoo-ga) is "the pursuit of everyday happiness" and has become widely known as the reason why Danish people are known as the happiest people on the planet. It's also closely related to concepts of safety at home and togetherness in a lot of Scandinavian countries, which is why so many of us are paying attention to that part of the world right now.
I read The Little Book of Hygge a few weeks ago in my efforts to get ready for my family's first winter as year-round residents of Maine, and although I wasn't surprised that I absolutely loved the book, there were a few things that surprised me:
#1 - I was surprised to find so much about family togetherness in its pages.
When I started writing about family togetherness, I wasn't sure that "togetherness" was a word people still used anymore. (Actually, I wondered for a while if I had made it up.) But as it turns out, togetherness is a scientific term as well as a social one, and its importance can't be denied.
Being with other people is a key part of hygge, but as a happiness researcher, I can also testify that it might be the most important ingredient to happiness. There is broad agreement among happiness researchers and scientists that social relations are essential for people's happiness.
Meik Wiking, The Little Book of Hygge
#2 - I was surprised to find out that we can have that hygge feeling year-round.
I've always thought about coziness and the concept of hygge as something for the fall and winter months, but as it turns out, there are some very "hygge" things to do in the spring and summer, too. I especially got excited when I found out that hiking is a very hygge thing to do.
Hiking is the Easter egg of hygge, as it includes slowness, rusticity, and togetherness.
Meik Wiking, The Little Book of Hygge
#3 - I was surprised by how much comfort this concept brought me in a time of so much uncertainty.
It makes me cringe to admit that I'm one of the many people still finding the pandemic a hard thing to deal with. I've tried to lean into staying home, wearing masks in public, and being vigilant about every choice we make while keeping health in the front of our minds, but as time goes on, it's really not getting that much easier, and news of people getting sick and dying because others aren't being careful enough makes it even worse. I'm hoping for a vaccine to stop this thing, but while we wait, I draw strength from my people at home. This quote from The Little Book of Hygge made my heart leap:
Hygge is about feeling safe. Hence, hygge is an indication that you trust the ones you are with and where you are.
Meik Wiking, The Little Book of Hygge
I won't carry on here and try to give you a summary or play-by-play of the book (although I highly recommend you read it if you're interested), but what I would like to do is tell you 10 ways my family is getting cozy right now in a way that's boosting our family togetherness:
#1 - Flannel
We've got flannel sheets and flannel pajama pants, and I've got my eye on a couple of new flannel blankets I'm thinking we need. It makes us feel comfortable and snuggly - resisting the harsh, cold busyness we can so easily slip into.
#2 - Hot drinks
Another thing demanding slowness, hot drinks like tea, coffee, and cocoa are staples around here when we want to settle in and get cozy. My favorite thing to do is to make some Earl Grey tea in my favorite tea pot and put on an audiobook and just enjoy being with my family.
#3 - Warm meals
Waffles, crepes, and oats for breakfast. Paninis, quesadillas, and soups for lunch. Pasta, tacos, and pizza for dinner. These are a few of our favorite meals, and they're all warm. They all require us to be together and slow down at mealtimes. Maybe that's why they're our favorite.
#4 - Candles
Isn't it funny how lighting a candle can make a person happier and draws people into the same space? I don't know every scientific reason behind it, but I have to admit it happens, so I light candles in our house.
#5 - Blankets
After years of thinking blankets made a space look messy or too informal, I now try to put blankets in every room because I find it so inviting. It also makes it so much easier to snuggle up beside someone and read a good book if the blanket is already there instead of folded up in a closet, right?
#6 - Walks in the woods
As much as coziness can be good for family togetherness, variety makes it that much better. That might be why we love to get out of the house for a walk in the woods every day. It makes coming home and cuddling in together that much sweeter.
#7 - Baking
I was so happy to read that cake is a very hygge thing to eat. I think cakes, pies, breads, and all kinds of baked goods are great for coziness with our families. (We can work off the extra calories with extra walks in the woods, right?)
#8 - Warm colors
When the leaves change to deep reds, yellows, oranges, purples, and browns, I find myself drawn to those colors inside, too, and I bring out all of the orange and yellow blankets and pillows.
#9 - Gathering around a fire
We had our first fire of the season in our wood stove last night, and it made me all kinds of happy as I saw each member of my family come close and forget about everything else for a little while. (I even forgot the kitchen needed cleaning. When was the last time that happened?!) We also have had campfires outside all summer long and enjoyed one with friends yesterday afternoon. Both are magic for bringing people together.
#10 - Staying home
Despite the fact that we don't really have a choice right now on whether or not to stay home more (or at least we shouldn't until the virus stops), I love staying home a little more with my family. I get frazzled when I have to go out every day, and things work so much better (and make me such a happier mama) when we can stay home. Being less frazzled is definitely good for family togetherness.
I don't know what our first winter in Maine will teach my family, but I am determined that if the Scandinavians can love winter and be happy at home with their people during so much darkness and cold, I bet we can, too, and I'm leaning on coziness (yep, hygge) to help.
What are your favorite ways to get cozy with your crew?
Anything I'm missing? I'd love to add yours to my list.