As we move into November, the season of shorter days, darkness wraps around us like a glittering cloak of stars in the Northern Hemisphere. After a sweltering summer and a fall brimming with activity, I’m looking forward to more time for gathering with family and friends and introspection with slower, quieter days. The transition feels like a welcome balm for my soul.

Like a squirrel collecting their cache of acorns in preparation for the change of seasons, I’ve spent the last month collecting tea, candles, warm sweaters, cozy fall and winter activity materials, and, of course, more books. Spending more time inside also means the interior of our home can sometimes feel more cluttered. I need a somewhat tidy space for my brain to feel calm, so preparing for the upcoming cozy season means organizing spaces like our pantry, the entry closet for welcoming guests, the cabinet of dishes for entertaining, and my office closet where I store my crafts and gifts for upcoming holidays. Throughout the process, I’m letting go of items that are no longer useful. When everything has a place in our home, it helps me to put things away quickly and feel calmer, allowing me to spend the time doing something I enjoy rather than cleaning and decluttering.

Transitioning into a new season can also mean a shift in energy and emotions. Add a little holiday stress to the equation, and we can easily feel overwhelmed. Establishing practices to both ground ourselves and feel lightness when needed is vital to a healthy lifestyle in every season, but especially this time of year. When it’s windy or chilly outside, I do my best to feel grounded by drinking or eating something warm, walking out in nature and engaging all my senses, and staying close to the ground with some yoga nidra. When the heavy cabin-fever-inducing months of late winter roll around, I find myself needing less grounding and more lightness. Seeking warmth, connection, comfort, or movement helps me through each part of the season. Getting outside and soaking up the sun, letting the cold air invigorate the body and mind, and noticing nature in the fall and winter are equally important as staying cozy indoors.

Children might also experience the effects of the change of seasons. Whether they feel dysregulated due to less sleep or the hurried nature of the holidays, parents and caregivers can help children through this time by assisting them in creating their own hygge list, learning to express these feelings with emotional literacy cards, finding ways to rest and recharge, and daily check-ins to see how they are feeling.

Winter weather, where I live in Central Texas, can be a rollercoaster of cold and warm days. Drawing inspiration from people living in colder climates, I hope to bring warmth into our home and hearts by drawing from the wisdom of nature and the Danish concept of hygge. What is hygge? Hygge might look different each season, even if the feeling of hygge is the same.

Check out my collection of books on Bookshop.org for embracing hygge this season.

After reading this article on the Highly Sensitive Refuge website about the elements of hygge, I thought I’d share a few ways I plan to incorporate hygge into my home and life this season in hopes that it might spark a few ideas for this community. Meik Wiking, the author of The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living and My Hygge Home: How to Make Home Your Happy Place, shares that hygge can be found in ten different ways.

Atmosphere

When creating an atmosphere in our home, I layer elements of coziness, the way a bird builds a nest with different materials. I begin by considering the five senses using a light scent from a candle, the warm glow of a lamp or fireplace, a soft blanket, soothing music in the background, and a cup of something warm or a sweet or savory treat. Fall and winter activities can create a cozy atmosphere as well. Baking your favorite fall treat or dish might evoke a memory. Walking in nature and catching a hint of pine in the air or watching a fluttering leaf might help you feel grounded as the seasons change. Nature knows how to put on a show this time of year!

Presence

When working with my hands and focusing on the next step of a creative process, I’m fully engaged in the moment at hand. I’m keeping my hands busy this fall, determined to learn how to knit. I’m beginning with this Athens blanket kit and this Cuzco Sweater kit from We Are Knitters. Perfection is not my goal with this project, but listening to an audiobook while knitting feels like a comforting way to spend my autumn and winter evenings. Puzzling also requires presence by focusing on one thing at a time when searching for the correct puzzle piece!

Looking for a few seasonal puzzle ideas?

Pumpkin Soup puzzle

Autumn Trail puzzle

Fall Puzzle Collection from Eeboo

Winter Puzzle Collection from New York Puzzle Company

Pleasure

The element of pleasure in hygge is highly individual, but whatever brings you true joy should be a part of your hygge experience. There are moments of joy in our days if we pay attention. If steaming coffee or tea and a slice of cake brings you joy, make time for that. If slowly building furniture in your workshop makes you feel good, do that. The process is what is important.

One of the things that brings me joy is learning something that I never knew existed before that moment. Have you heard of musical streets? I hadn’t before reading about them in The Joyletter, and I love creative community projects!

Musical Roads 5 Places Where Streets Sing

Equality

When we feel sleepy and have extra tasks on our list this time of year, sharing the load with others can be helpful. Could you combine two elements of hygge and gather a few friends to make holiday gifts, wrap gifts, prepare pies or cookies, or indulge in an emotional release with plenty of laughter with friends? Sharing what we have, both our talents and our resources, with our community will help others enjoy a little hygge this season.

Gratitude

One of the most stressful parts of the holidays for me is always the retail effect. I don’t love shopping to begin with (garden nurseries, Etsy, and independent bookstores being the exception!), so when the holidays roll around, the added crowds, holiday music on repeat, and pressure to spend are overwhelming to my nervous system.

I’ve decided to treat November as a mostly no-spend month. You might think this is the worst time to take a break from spending. Sure, I’ll miss out on all the sales for Black Friday (which has pretty much turned into the whole month of November of sales), but it can be easy to think everything is a needed expense or such a good deal that we must get it right away. We aren’t as resourceful or creative when we automatically add something to a cart to make our lives easier.

This year, I plan to make gifts from our garden, pot up bulbs, and make soup or treats for busy families. Working with my hands is grounding and will allow me to keep things slow and give to others simultaneously.

If you’re already feeling overwhelmed in your inbox or your actual mailbox, unsubscribe to all the holiday sale emails and opt out of catalogs (you can do this through Paper Karma, an app I use and love).

If you appreciate a slightly minimal home, you might enjoy watching the One In One Out Video on Sketchy Advice. In the video, Ben also talks about the book Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman which is getting added to my TBR list. If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know I love the YNAB videos with Ben and Hannah from Heard it From Hannah.

Harmony

Harmonious time for me feels like all the pieces of my life are working together, and I feel a flow of creativity. The truth is that for most of us, modern life feels like the opposite of harmony. However, we can notice moments of harmony during the day and call on our five senses to help ground us when life is turbulent.

Comfort

This is one element that I feel confident in incorporating every day. Fall makes me feel surrounded by comfort. I take breaks more often to rest and fuel myself with nourishing soup, slow-cooked meals, and lots and lots of tea. I also take yoga nidra “naps” as needed.

Truce

Stress can bring out the worst in all of us. Making a concerted effort to let divisive topics rest, find common ground, and listen to each other by being more present can help make peace with our friends and loved ones. Calling a truce does not mean that those matters are not important to us or that we should not continue to advocate for the topics we are passionate about, it just means that we are finding small moments, holidays, seasons, or events to pause for the sake of peace. If we don’t take opportunities to experience peace and reverence for people who think differently than we do, we won’t be able to see why peace is such a valuable experience and practice in humanity.

I found the most recent podcast episode for the Tortoise helpful in describing what many of us are feeling during this tumultuous time in the world. (Among other topics in the episode, they reference an Australian referendum called “The Voice.” Here is more information on that historic referendum.)

Togetherness

Building stronger relationships with family, friends, and our community means gathering, checking in, and supporting each other despite the hard times and dark nights. Last month, we had the opportunity to enjoy two outdoor music festivals, and it reminded me why some events in life are better enjoyed in shared company, especially outside. An energy builds when people dance, sing, and clap along to music under the bright blue sky or the moon's glow. When the nights are cool, huddled up listening to artists share their life stories through song under the stars makes you feel connected in a meaningful way. Songwriting is just embodied poetry.

I’ve linked each musician to their Spotify page if you want to check them out.

Austin City Limits Festival

My favorites: The Tesky Brothers, Lil Simz, Alanis Morissette, Maggie Rogersand, of course, the Austin Silent Disco!

I saw my first Alanis Morissette show in Austin in 1996, so needless to say it was a pretty amazing experience to see her again all these years later! She has such a powerful voice and message for her fans!

Dripping Springs Songwriters Festival

My favorites: Whitney Monge, Ray Prim (an Austinite!), Ben Gage, Robby Hecht, Zach Berkman, and Abigayle Kompst

With cooler weather arriving, I hope that my family will be taking more hikes, bike rides, and hunkering down at least one evening a week to watch a show together (America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston is a family favorite). We also have several community events to attend this season, where we’ll be able to celebrate the art created in books, public spaces, farms, and gardens.

Shelter

Shelter is where you can find comfort, nourishment, a break from the storm of life, the stress of the holidays, and a harsh environment. My shelter and refuge can be found in my home, my relationships with family and friends, my garden, and my little office filled with books.

Thinking of a hygge addition to your home or life this season? In the comments section, share your plans to integrate hygge using any of the elements below. I look forward to hearing all the ways this community plans to get cozy at home and out in nature.

Enjoy your weekend, and don’t forget to share your fall and winter hygge list with us! See you next week for a post on healing and wellness gardens for Gardening Seasons.