Top tips for a hygge home from Folies of Stansted

Sally and Lucy Lewis, from Folies of Stansted, give their top tips for a hygge home this winter.

Hygge (pronounced ‘hue guh’) is the Danish word that sums up the ultimate in comfort, cosiness and wellbeing.

It is a long tradition in Scandinavia to celebrate throughout November and December by embracing/hugging (hygge) and enjoying the darker evenings and colder nights.

There are lots of ways you can embrace the traditions of hygge in your own home this winter.

Keep things simple and throw out the high heels and party dresses for cosy slippers, snuggly clothes and warm lighting.

If you have a hearth or a little alcove in your home, fill it with candles for an exquisite and radiant sense of a home fire. St Eval’s candle Christmas scents such as inspiritus, orange and cinnamon and winter thyme will be sure to create the hygge atmosphere that everyone craves during the cold months.

Invite your friends round for a workshop at home or to an event held elsewhere. Wreath making, gingerbread making and homemade crafts, to name a few, are some of the favourites to create mental wellbeing, a sense of community and to get you into the Christmas spirit.

Here are some easy steps to make a beautiful natural wreath for your door:

• Use moss wired onto a ring to make a soft and damp base to tie your foliage.

• Collect lots of different evergreen foliage to create a variety of colour and texture.

• Make small bundles of your foliage to make mini bouquets in a fan-like shape.

• Wire the bundles onto the mossed ring.

• If you like a bit of bling, add any glitzy bits and little baubles or even homemade dried orange slices onto your wreath.

• Hang your beautiful creation on your door.

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a heart-warming drink such as mulled wine or the more traditional Scandinavian drink glogg, packed with cinnamon, cardamom and ginger. Get ready for your entire home to be infused with the scent of Christmas! A great recipe can be found at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1448-swedish-mulled-wine-glogg.

Finally, if you are buying a Christmas tree perhaps think about buying the most sought-after, Rolls Royce of Christmas trees by luxuriating in a Nordmann non-drop.

The cold climates in Scandinavia are the ultimate for growing the most amazing trees as the severe frosts make the trees shut down for winter and help to set the needles, hence they are known as non-drop trees.

We hope by providing these tips that you are on your way to having the utmost happy hygge holiday.

Find out more about Folies at www.foliesofstansted.com.