Blog

Hygge is all about embracing the simple moments in life with such warmth and comfort. Winter time offers us the perfect opportunity to make some seasonal changes to our home to create a calming and warm atmosphere. Getting that hygge feeling in our home is especially important when Christmas time can at times feel quite busy and chaotic with so much going on.

Here are my top tips for bringing some hygge into your home at this time of year.

Consider lighting

Turn off the overhead lights and instead be more creative with the way you light up your spaces inside. Go for lamps on tables, the warm flicker of a candle dancing , light the fire or adda string of fairy lights to jam jars to give  twinkle of magic. 

Some of the things that I loved seeing in Scandinavia were the lanterns filled with fairy lights on a porch creating a warm welcome to visitors. Or the paper stars hung in the windows to light the way on a dark night. It it snows you could even have a go at making some snow lant...

TEACHER – HOME EDUCATION SETTING

After the birth of our son, I decided to leave my role as a junior teacher to be a full-time mum. Here began my wonderful journey into the world of early years - fascinating! It was during this time that I discovered the importance of open-ended play and the learning environment. Our home quickly transformed to provide beautiful spaces to play, explore and learn in this new way. Eager to learn more, I was led to the ‘Hygge in the Early Years Accreditation’. A fascination with the Danish lifestyle soon developed and both my husband and I began reading books and incorporating more hygge into our own lives. Based on this new-found knowledge, we decided to home educate our little boy, at least during his early years. The ‘Hygge in the Early Years Accreditation’ has been invaluable in helping me create a beautiful environment in which our son can explore and develop.

Below are some highlights of my journey.

BALANCE - I really enjoyed the first module and ...

“You cannot buy the right atmosphere or a sense of togetherness. You cannot hygge if you are in a hurry or stressed out, and the art of creating intimacy cannot be bought by anything but time, interest and engagement in the people around you.”
― Meik Wiking

 We can all feel more hygge when it's the holidays or the weekend and we're having some time away from our busy schedule. But how do we actually achieve that calm hygge feeling in the middle of our busy working week? 

The Danes are very good at making sure they don't just rush through life on auto pilot but actually purposely live their life. After all, life is meant to be lived to the fullest and we don't want to put off the best moments of our life for another time. We must take the approach of doing these things today! 

The Danes like to make every day feel special and wonderful by doing something that lights them up. You won't find them saving their 'best' dinner plates for a special occasion, only seeing their favourite peopl...

Avoid Burnout with Hygge

As I spoke about in yesterday’s video hygge is all about pausing and taking the time to savour the simple moments in life. For Danes this way of living is the secret to having a good quality of life.

Here in the U. K  11.7 million. working days are lost to stress, depression or anxiety. Working in education is tough and I know myself I have suffered from exhaustion and burnout. In fact it was during these hardest times that I discovered hygge while travelling around Scandinavia. I noticed that the pace of life was so much slower (yet everything was still achieved..if not even better)

Here are some ways to avoid burnout; 

1. As we spoke about yesterday Hygge is being able to let yourself actually enjoy life, Living for each day and not just saving all of your best moments in life for the future. Don’t put your happiness on hold thinking when the pandemic is over I will be happy, when it’s the weekend I will light my favourite candle (light it today!) Or waste
...

I have been a childminder for the last 6 years and over that time, my setting has had gradual enhancement. I have always had a calm and neutral decor and quite a laid-back approach in my setting and in my teaching. I had the mindset and personality for the Hygge way, I just lacked the knowledge as to where and how to progress with it and how to ingrain it into the fabric of my setting and teaching.

Before I started this course, I was guilty of setting up activities in search of a finished product. I wanted something physical to show parents what we had achieved that day. I felt if I didn’t have something to show parents, I would think they haven’t achieved anything. I recently had a light bulb moment when I received a photo and message from a parent whose child had been with me for around 4 months. The photo showed her child playing at a playgroup. The message read “Thank you for being the reason my son will now go off to play, rather than being clung to my leg!”

It was a moment ...