Life Styled: 30 Ways to Hygge
Life Styled: 30 Ways to Hygge
Image via The Entertaining House
Perhaps best described as the Danish version of Slow Living, Hygge (pronounced hoo-gah or heh-gah) is even more so. It's not just about slowing down, but embracing the ordinary and making it ordinary. It's about turning those things we do without much thought, like making our morning cups of coffee or tea. It's not just about making your morning beverage but taking a moment or two to enjoy it slowly as the day begins, perhaps as you watch the sun rise over the hill in the distance. I touched base on the concept briefly in Life Styled :: the Hygge home, but now I want to explore it more in depth. I want to learn to embrace the Hygge lifestyle myself. With all the uncertainty, chaos and worry that constantly swirls all around is, I am eager to learn and share all there is about this inviting, calming Danish way of living. Mostly, what I am learning is that Hygge is a feeling. And now, perhaps more than ever, we need to embrace a peaceful, more relaxed way of living. We need now, perhaps more than ever, to take some time to appreciate the beauty all around us and to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. The more I learn about this Scandinavian philosophy, the more I see that I do practice it myself to a certain degree and I have shared my quest for "slow living" or "slow and simple" over the years, but hygge takes it that one important step further - finding the beauty in the ordinary day. It is something, indeed we all should do.
Life Styled: 30 Ways to Hygge
Image via Rent Lever
Hygge, a way of living is a sense of comfort, togetherness and well-being. It's a feeling of being home, of being safe. It's a feeling one can have alone, wrapped up in blankets, on a couch in front of a blazing fire, sipping hot cocoa and losing oneself in a movie, or it could be the feeling one has surrounded by a group of loved ones at the dinner table, laughing, telling stories, eating warm, comforting food.
Life Styled: 30 Ways to Hygge
Image via WBUR
As described in The Little Book of Hygge it "is the sensation you get when you’re cuddled up on a sofa, in cozy socks under a soft throw, during a storm. It’s that feeling when you’re sharing comfort food and easy conversation with loved ones at a candlelit table. It is the warmth of morning light shining just right on a crisp blue-sky day."
Below are some simple things you can do to embrace the Nordic lifestyle
- Sit down and take a break
- Lose yourself in a book
- Listen to some of your favorite old music
- Crawl into something more comfortable. (Oversized sweatshirts, big wooly sweaters, long-Johns, bathrobes, flannel pajamas and yoga pants are all hygge!)
- Unplug - Turn off the phones
- Dim the lights and light some candles
- Build a fire
- Make a pot of soup
- Enjoy a cappuccino slowly
- Play some card or board games
- Give into craving. (Chocolate cake is definitely hygge!)
- Enjoy the moment for what it is
- Sew, knit, do some embroidery
- Write a letter
- Organize a pot luck with your closest friends
- Bake a cake
- Eat a bowl of ice cream
- Go for a long walk - bundle up
- Go snowshoeing
- Go cross-country skiing
- Have a campfire
- Light up that fire pit
- Roast marshmallows and make s'mores
- Invite friends over for mulled wine and dessert
- Host a game night
- Have a raclette a fondue party
- Make a paella and invite the neighbors over
- Take a long luxurious soak in the bath with a good book and a glass of wine
- Binge on the Netflix series you've been meaning to watch
- Start an Inspiration board or an inspiration book
Life Styled: 30 Ways to Hygge
Image via Tumbler
So you see hygge is really a means of creating a warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life either alone or surrounded by friends. It's a way to embrace the long, cold, dark days of winter.
So hygge is a winter thing? No! The Danes hygge in the summertime too! They just do it differently. Summer hygge includes picnics in the park, enjoying barbeques with friends, outdoor concerts, street festivals and long bike rides.
More than anything Hygge is a philosophy and a mind-set. It is ab understanding the importance of simplicity - taking time to unwind and slow down.
If you want to learn more about this way of living, check out the sidebar to the right for some best-selling books on Hygge.
