Yesterday I set out our plans to have a family night every week, with Friday Night being properly restored as Movie Night. We’re all adults now, so it’s quite possible that we can watch absolutely any movie in the world and talk about it. The week before last we watched Chinatown with Jack Nicholson, chosen by my Husband. Last week we watched The Whale because my second child said we *had to* watch it. It was heartbreaking, but really held us all and led to interesting discussions on how different approaches to transitioning stage plays to screen can be. The Whale has one set, no external scenes and the action is so claustrophobic because of that. That reminds me, I should make them watch A Man for All Seasons, another play to screen conversion, and let them compare the difference.

But I know that people will want to know what films are yet to come: I’m typing up a list, slowly, but I do have it written in my planner. I want a typed version to keep in the living room, and to store on my digital planner system (Evernote: I like the idea I can have so many notebooks at once on the go) so I will eventually have the whole list to cut and paste but, for now, here are the photos of the list.

I had a list of films I wanted to watch anyway, but I’ve collated a few more lists: classic movies, movies everyone should watch before they die, top cult classics and the ilk. We’re looking out for them in our DVD collection (we have a few), on our streaming services, as cheap DVDs in charity shops or on Amazon or just as and when they get put on TV. We have a couple already ready for watching. This next Friday is L A Confidential, a movie that Peter and I have watched but the Next Generation hadn’t. It will be fun to compare the 1997 take on seedy 30s detective with Jack Nicholson’s J J Gittes.

What movies would you say were ‘must watch’? And which movies are a ‘once seen never forgotten’ experience for you? Looking back over my list, I can see I might need a Saturday Afternoon Cosy Moment list as well!

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 a photo I took in Amsterdam. Every day at about 4pm we stopped sightseeing and found a Brown Bar, small pubs in the city that sell a wider range of beer than we see in most bars here. A small beer each, a view through the window or just people watching. It was a real chance to slow down. My only issue now is how to capture that feeling without the beer in this country. Coffee? Afternoon tea? Home or coffee shop? I’ll find a way.