Ever wondered how to add more hygge to your life at Christmas? As the festive season approaches, there’s no better time to embrace creating that warm, cosy feeling that makes your home a sanctuary for friends and family from the cold outside. Rooted in Danish tradition, Christmas hygge is all about creating a space filled with comfort, joy, and the simple pleasures of life with your guests. And if you don’t have a chance to pop over to Copenhagen to immerse yourself in the festivities, here are ten easy ways to bring some Danish hygge into your home this season.
Bex failing to take a selfie in Tivoli with a reluctant teenage son 🙂
1. Soft Lighting with Candlelight and Twinkling Lights
One of the simplest and most effective ways to create a cosy atmosphere is through lighting. In true Scandinavian style, replace harsh overhead lights with the warm glow of candles and soft white string lights. Place candles around your home—on windowsills, coffee tables, and even in the bathroom. You can use beeswax candles, window arches or make your own traditional advent candles to give that authentic touch; our Norska candles only use the finest planet wax, cotton wicks and pure essential oils with no nasty artificial fragrances! And once you’ve chosen your beautiful candle, learn how to look after it here!
2. Natural Christmas Decorations
Incorporate nature into your décor by using traditional Scandinavian elements like pine cones, branches, dried oranges, and wooden ornaments. Consider making your own garlands from greenery or crafting handmade decorations with your family—an activity that not only adds to the Christmas spirit but also makes beautiful, eco-friendly decorations. These natural materials bring the outdoors in, creating a peaceful and harmonious space; get the kids out searching for twigs and have a go at our beautiful silver birch wreath!
To dry orange slices for your home-made wreath, preheat the oven to a low temperature of about 120 degrees, then cut the oranges into slices about a centimetre thick.
Gently pat dry with kitchen paper and place them on a wire rack over a baking tray, before popping them in the oven for about three hours until they are dry. Keep an eye on them and turn occasionally to stop any scorching, as they can catch quite easily.
Thinner slices will obviously dry more quickly, so might need taking out before the thicker ones.
Bex’s home-made door wreath
3. Cosy Textures Everywhere
Layer your home with soft, thick textures that invite everyone to snuggle up. Think woolen blankets, chunky knit throws, and fluffy cushions in warm, muted tones.
Bex’s not-very-tidy-sitting room (note the stack of about 14 blankets 🙂 )
Hygge is all about comfort, so make sure there are plenty of inviting spaces for your guests to curl up in. Place a sheepskin rug by the fireplace or drape a knitted blanket over your favorite reading chair for that extra touch of cosiness; and if you fancy making your own textiles from upcycled fabrics, we have got really easy projects for a duvet cover Christmas rag wreath and Christmas rag tinsel too!
4. Bring in the Scent of Christmas
One of the hallmarks of a hyggelig Christmas is the smell of the season, so infuse your home with the scents of cinnamon, cloves, and oranges. You can simmer a pot of mulled wine or hot cider with these spices, or use scented candles to fill your home with festive aromas. A bowl of fresh pine branches, dried fruit, and spices can also act as a natural air freshener; we like to leave satsuma and orange peel on the woodburner to get rid of the smell of teenagers :).
If you’re planning to do some pine-coney crafts September and October is the best time to collect them. The morning after a wet and windy night is ideal, then you’ve got plenty of time to dry them out… leave it to December and chances are they’ll all have been mangled by squirrels 🌲😀
If you’re worried about creepy crawlies, either soak them in a 50/50 solution of water and white vinegar for a couple of hours or if you’ve got masses, pop them in the oven at 95 degrees for an hour or so (keep checking them!). Once they’re dry you can add a few drops of pine essential oil to make them smell lovely.
5. Bake Traditional Christmas Treats and Edible Gifts
Nothing says Christmas like the smell of freshly baked goodies coming from the kitchen. In Scandinavian homes, baking is a treasured part of the holiday season. Try making traditional Christmas treats like Danish brunkager Christmas cookies or kanelsnegler with our easy traditional overnight cinnamon rolls recipe. The act of baking is a hyggelig activity in itself, and the delicious treats are perfect for sharing with loved ones; check out our Scandinavian cookie stamps, cutters and accessories here! We love to batch make edible gifts too, from home-made festive liqueur to romkugler rum balls, havregyrnskugler chocolate oat balls, and marzipan chocolates. 
6 Indulge in some traditional Danish Christmas dishes
No hyggelig festive season is complete without savoring traditional Christmas Danish dishes. Danish Christmas meals are hearty and full of flavor, bringing families together over the dining table. One of the most iconic favourites is flæskesteg, a delicious roast pork recipe with crispy crackling, which is often served with caramelized potatoes and red cabbage.
To start your meal on a festive note, you might want to prepare gravlax (cured salmon), a Scandinavian favorite during the holidays. Check out our Danish open sandwiches topping ideas for your smorgasbord!
Another beloved dish is risalamande, a creamy rice pudding with chopped almonds, often served with warm cherry sauce as a festive dessert. It’s a fun tradition to hide a whole almond in the dish, and whoever finds it wins a prize. 
7. Focus on Togetherness
Hygge is all about connecting with loved ones. Plan simple, cosy gatherings with family and friends where the focus is on spending quality time together. It doesn’t need to be a huge effort; host a casual Christmas movie night (we love Elf, of course!), invite friends over for a homemade dinner, or gather around the table for dice games. It’s these moments of shared joy that make Christmas feel truly special; and if you really want to shake things up, have a quiz night with some gløgg or our famous hot chocolate recipe. Find our fabulous Scandinavian Christmas Quiz here, designed for all the family (with some truly dreadful questions 😀 ).
8. Keep the Christmas Tree Simple
In Scandinavian tradition, less is more when it comes to decorating the Christmas tree. Opt for a minimalist approach, using simple white lights and a few cherished ornaments; Danes often decorate their tree with a few real white candles, before dancing around it singing songs on Christmas Eve (this was my dad’s worst part of the festivities during which he would always hide in the kitchen!). You can also make it a family tradition to create new handmade decorations each year. The tree doesn’t have to be overly ornate to feel festive, but we do love a selection of nisser (Danish Christmas pixies) on ours, along with lots of red and white!
9. Incorporate Scandinavian Holiday Traditions and Crafts
Why not embrace some Scandinavian Christmas traditions? Light an advent candle every morning in December with breakfast, or follow the Danish custom of decorating with little paper hearts. You could also forcibly instigate a craft evening (the teenagers will be thrilled) and incorporate Danish crafts like papirklip, where you create intricate paper cutouts to hang on the tree or around the house or make beautiful woven paper stars. We also have designed free traditional kravlenisser (Danish paper elves) for you to print out and colour in with the kids! Traditional games, such as playing pakkeleg—a fun Danish gift exchange game—can also bring joy and a valid reason for a good old-fashioned Christmas arguement (no need to mention that mop and bucket somebody bought you for Christmas last year!).
10. Visit a Christmas market
A Christmas visit to Tivoli is my annual treat; here at Hyggestyle we start planning Christmas in January, so by November I am SO ready for a plate of aebleskiver and a handful of er, hot nuts in Nyhavn with friends, plus a wander round all the little wooden huts that spring up over the city, selling everything from glass baubles to earmuffs. My top tip for anyone thinking of attending a Christmas market literally anywhere in Europe is to get there at about 3pm! Yes, you might be a bit early but at least you’ll be able to park and there won’t be such a massive queue at the food stalls 🙂
At the heart of hygge is the joy of being with others. Christmas is the perfect time to focus on togetherness, whether it’s sharing meals, playing games, or simply enjoying each other’s company. Hygge is about creating memories with the people who matter most, and Christmas is a time to celebrate those connections. From all the elves and gnomes at Hyggestyle, we wish you the most joyful of festive seasons!
