When I look back at Christmas past, it strikes me that I do a lot of my Christmassing through the medium of films and books. I may never experience deep snow, but I know what it’s like because I read the Little House Books. I have never spent Christmas being held hostage by a mad German terrorist, but Die Hard has shown me that it’s possible to live through that and still be able to say Merry Christmas at the end. I love films and books, so it’s perhaps not surprising that I have been impacted by them in several ways.

Today’s self care advice can all be sorted if you just watch The Holiday. I can save a lot of writing if you just get to the part with Mill House, where the brother lives, and fast forward to the tent. That’s what you need. A proper hygge nook.

I could move in to either of the UK homes in that film, I seriously could. Okay, so a full blown tent may not be possible, at least not while you have the tree in the living room. Bear it in mind for a mid-January snow day or rainy Sunday. There is great comfort to be found in building a tent.

For now, let’s scale back our hygge nook ambitions.

Do you have a comfy chair where you mostly sit? Let’s make that into a seasonal hygge nook, then.

Make sure it’s in the right place, good view of the TV and Christmas tree, or completely away from them. That’s your personal choice. It needs to be comfy, so concentrate for a while on getting the right mix of cushions and throws to make sitting there a snuggly experience.

Check the lighting is good enough to craft by and soft enough to sleep by. It will need a table for a cup of tea/coffee/mulled wine, and space to put your plate of biscuits. Actually, make that a small tin of biscuits, never more than 4 or 5 at a time, replenished daily.

Have a small bag or basket that you can carry around with you and put the necessaries of a calm life in it:  hand cream, Bach’s Flower Rescue, a couple of teabags, a small bar of emergency chocolate for when you feel overwhelmed and close to tears (it is impossible to cry and suck chocolate at the same time), a magazine or two, or perhaps a book. Nothing home-based or  functional, just escapist reading. A good murder mystery, perhaps, or childhood favourite.

Now’s the hard part. Make use of your little Hygge Nook. Take a break from life and Christmas now and again just to sip your tea and nibble your speculoos. Write, colour, draw. Time off is never wasted if it lets you recharge your batteries and come back full powered.

And… if you really, really have to have the tent and no other hygge nook will do… Huffpost have the answer. Enjoy!

Tents aren’t just for Christmas, they’re good in summer as well.

Like I said in my How to Hygge Your Summer book, available from Amazon along with my other books.

50 Ways to Hygge the British Way  is available in Paperback and Kindle version and so is How to Hygge Your Summer, again in Paperback and Kindle form, from Amazon.

Have Yourself a Happy Hygge Christmas was released in September 2017 and is available again in paperback and ebook version.

If you purchase through the links on this page, I get a couple of pence extra per copy, and if you’ve already read them and enjoyed them, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. I have a Goodreads Author’s Page!

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****How to Hygge the British Way Blog isn’t monetised. I have taken the decision that I want to remain neutral and not to promote things just because. I will only ever review items that I have bought myself, or that I think will help to promote hygge in a busy life. To do this, I need support. Even just the price of a coffee adds up to a book over time, and it means I can stay independent. Would you help? Please consider clicking through to paypal.me/HyggeJem and leaving even a small amount. I’d be very grateful. Thank you.***