I *love* my postman.

I *love* seeing him coming up the path, letters or parcels in hand and a determined look on his face.

Over the years the postman has delivered coffee (“This smells gorgeous, love”), wool (“It’s a massive parcel, but it doesn’t weigh anything at all, really”) and cement (“You do know you can buy cement at a DIY centre and I wouldn’t need to put my back out delivering it, don’t you?”)

Yesterday he delivered a quite tidy, light, insignificant box. Just wrapped in plastic, nothing much to look at…. but, oh, the possibilities.

Cosy Life Boxes, formerly Little Box of Crochet, and run by Amanda Bloom, have been a favourite treat at birthdays or holidays. I’m a chaotic creator, so I often want far more than I sensibly have time to do. Last winter I ordered and made the wonderful Winter’s Hug, which became my go-to warm cover up of choice on a Saturday morning. This year, sadly, the boxes are ending so I signed up for the last *ever* cosy box, a set of toadstools to crochet and use as hiding places. The boxes came, I took great pleasure in opening and exclaiming and enjoying them all. Great pleasure, because I don’t know whether I’ll find a replacement ready for me next year. I hope so: getting a kit and making it almost per instructions is such a relaxing thing. I’ll keep looking. Snail mail as useful, as beautiful and as inspiring as this needs to happen. If only so my postie can carry it up to the door, knock and say “This parcel has golden sunbeams flowing from it. I can tell it must be a real inspiration to you.”

I wish Amanda every success, joy and happiness in her new home, life and future. God knows, she deserves it. Bless her, as a beautiful lady and a grand creator. You can find her (still, at the moment) on Facebook and Instagram.

How to Hygge the British Way is my gift to the world. I don’t get paid for writing it, I’m not in it for the kudos, financial rewards, to become an influencer, work with brands or otherwise make any money from the blog. That’s why there are no ads, and any products I mention and recommend have either been gifted to me or bought by me with my everyday wages or donations from supporters. Every book I review has been bought and read by me, unless stated otherwise.

I do get a couple of pennies each time someone buys from the Amazon links on my page, as an Amazon Affiliate, but otherwise if you’d like to support me, I like to give something back in return. That’s why I write books. It always feels good if you get a book back in return for some money. You can find a full list of my books at my Author’s Page on Amazon, but especially recommended for this time of year are:

Cosy Happy Hygge: Setting up a rhythm to life and rituals to enjoy it to make for a more balanced life that handles waves and storms better. Lent is a season of rituals and resets. The book has small and easy ways to make your life flow with grace and happiness, which lead to more hygge.

Happier: Probably my most personal book, it’s the story of how I used hygge and the little things in life to help boost my happiness. I still go back and reread to remind myself what I need to do to be a happy human. And it’s always the little things.

Is it too early to think ahead? My Christmas books are always available: Have Yourself a Happy Hygge Christmas is a good place to start, on how to make the season cosier, happier. Celebrating a Contagious Christmas was written during covid year, but has useful advice on celebrating when times are hard anyway and Enjoying a Self-Care Christmas is a short e-book on keeping Christmas simpler, easier and better for you, your waistline and your budget. It even includes 25+ suggestions for self-care activities over Christmas, as simple as sipping tea, keeping a list journal or lighting a candle. Bigger is not always better for Christmas.

I’m currently working on two book projects: I have a hankering to rewrite 50 Ways to Hygge the British Way, so it’s not available at the moment, but even dearer to my heart and my next stated aim is to finish and publish my next book, Simple Plus Cosy = Hygge. It will be about homemaking and how the home we create shapes the hygge we have. Hopefully it will be finished by the end of summer/autumn/winter.

If you’d like to support me, but don’t want to buy a book, I have a Paypal.Me account as Hygge Jem. Every little helps, so even a few pence goes towards the books, goods and courses I use and recommend on the site. I’m grateful for every little bit that brings me closer to my dream of full-time writing, and I know I couldn’t still be writing if it weren’t for the support of many readers and friends out there. Thank you all for every little bit of support, emotional, physical and financial, you give me.

If you’ve enjoyed this article, don’t forget to share it or save it so others can enjoy reading, thinking about and living hygge as well.

The photo between post and promotions is by Arno Smit on Unsplash. I wish I had a garden shed like this one! I chose it because I love the colours of the windowframes, the tantalisingly inviting open door and the comfy chair within. Perfect spot for a cup of tea and a good book. And the header today is a picture of my cosy box, opened and ready to go.