Long before I even heard of the concept of Hygge (pronounced HOO-gah, Hygge is the Danish practice of creating a cozy home, enjoying simple pleasures with a focus on well-being), I was obsessed with those very things. I could hardly believe it when I heard about Hygge, it sounds just like me! I love creating ambiance through cozy homes and daily rituals. I think I would feel right at home in Denmark.

My yearly home goals always focus on the desire for greater well-being and comfort in our home. It’s hard to put into words how relieved I am to be nearing the end of this remodeling year. Remodeling is fun, but it’s not the coziest time. While I will still have a list a mile long of projects I want to get to (don’t we all?), I’m so looking forward to a new season.

I can’t help but just be very excited about how close we are to fully enjoy and sharing the comforts we’ve been creating here.The thing is, though, I find that if you aren’t intentional about embracing coziness and comfort in the winter as a gift of the season, it’s often easy to just not put it into practice. You have to be intentional about creating the kind of home you want.It’s tempting to just feel a little depressed that Christmas is over and spring feels like such a long time away. Or perhaps we start to feel frustrated with the discomfort of the colder weather (depending on where we live!) instead of just focusing on the blessings of creating a cozy winter house. Maybe we mindlessly scroll Facebook in the evening rather than mindfully curling up with a good book and a furry throw blanket.

Blast! We can so easily miss opportunities for coziness. Rather than the added ambiance of a crackling fire or candles or twinkling lights that we might have really enjoyed at Christmas time, we sit in a dark dreary space lit only by a television set or computer screen.

We’ll talk more about the art and rituals of creating a cozy winter home in January

But why wait until January?Let’s start now. Keep turning on the Christmas lights. Curl up by the fire. Set down your phone, get in your coziest jammies and nestle in closer together with your family.