There’s really nothing I love more than being cozy. It’s a word I use frequently in everyday life to describe the way certain things feel to me: slow walks with a close friend, the freedom of a wireless bra, and the feeling of luxuriating in bed on the weekend. Hygge is the Danish word for the feeling of coziness, but it encompasses so much more than that.
Hygge is making beds, watering plants, or laying a fire. Hygge is a sense that we deserve to belong in our setting. As we belong, we make it our own, and in doing so, dwell in it. Hygge is a feeling that most of us know but can’t quite define.
“Although not tied to a particular setting, hygge is strongly associated with our sense of home – both the pleasure of being in a safe and welcoming environment and the serenity of being at home within ourselves.”
– Louisa Thomsen Brits
Life can be stressful, so it’s important to take time for self-care. Even the smallest action that comforts us and speaks to our hearts is part of the vocabulary of hygge.
– H O W T O H Y G G E –
- Don’t rush through dinnertime and instead savor the meal-making process. Pour a glass of wine, chop with purpose, and eat the meal slowly.
- Before settling into your next Netflix marathon, fluff those pillows, light a few yummy candles, and tuck into your coziest slippers.
- If you arrive early to the bar, order a friend’s preferred drink so it’s ready as soon as they get there.
- Provide a basket of unisex house slippers for your guests to slip on when they visit your home.
- Instead of automatically turning on the TV when you arrive home from work, put on your favorite tunes or records and relax with a book.
- Take a warm bath or shower, shave your legs, change your sheets and climb into bed early.
- Have a spa day at home, using products you already own like masks, bubble bath, and lotions.
- Call up an old friend for a long-overdue phone chat.
- Allow yourself to sleep in on a morning when you don’t have any pressing appointments.
- Take a cake into the office and invite others to stop long enough to enjoy a slice with a cup of coffee or tea.
- See an afternoon movie with your main squeeze and hold hands in the warm, dark theater.
- Slip a hot water bottle between cold sheets on chilly nights.
- Buy yourself a fresh bouquet of flowers to display on your bedside table.
- Spend time in nature near flowing water, allowing it to envelop your senses.
- Stop into your favorite coffee shop on your commute home for a hot beverage to enjoy on your journey.
