Like, literally. This post goes out on Tuesday 27th August, the day after the last summer bank holiday… last bank holiday, indeed, until Christmas! (except for the Scots, with St Andrew’s Day. Sensible people chose a winter saint to celebrate). For many of us, the holidays (dictated by family and school) are behind us. A lucky few *cough* like me *cough* have a week or more booked in September, when golden sun is still possible but the days are cool enough to tour without expiring.

But generally the world has a back-to-the-grindstone feel. The silly season in news and politics should have finished. I am not responsible for the fact that most of our news and politics seems to aim to make that silly season last all year. It would be funny, except it really impacts ordinary life. However, in September it abandons any attempt to be humorous and becomes deadly serious again. Thank God.

The traffic on the roads will rise again. My easy commute home will change times, from the easy, empty 3 o clock to a slower but better than the school rush 4.30. The supermarkets will be flooded with Halloween masks, skeletons, and (in little corners) Christmas cards and chocolates for the Prepared.

And in the UK that’s about it. We no longer live in a seasonal world, so I can’t anticipate the first squashes gathering on supermarket shelves, or eagerly await a new crop of Cox’s Orange Pippins, tart and sharp. Supermarkets seem, for the most part, to ignore any idea that fruit, veg, food, has seasons. There will still be salad, increasingly anaemic, until the snow falls. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries. We can live in a permanent state of summer. And that is not a good idea.

That’s why La Rentree, for the French and in a much less stylish way for the rest of the world, is a good idea. As one website put it: “La Rentrée is more than just a return to school or work; it’s a celebration of new beginnings, learning, and personal growth. It’s a time when the French embrace the changing seasons and the opportunities that come with them. Whether it’s a student embarking on a new academic year, an adult returning to work with renewed vigor, or a cultural enthusiast enjoying the vibrant arts scene, La Rentrée is a cultural tradition that embodies the spirit of progress and renewal in France.”

Everyone has a re-entry into life. The long summer vac is over: time to buckle down, embrace the changing season and make like a cool French citizen. I’m embracing the idea fully this year, and this is how:

• I’ve set up my planner for the rest of the year (my personal Filofax Malden, if anyone else is a planner nerd) and marked in, in pencil or pen, the dates I already know about.
• I treated myself to a few new bits of stationery. The French La rentree stationery list can be immense, and I have so much of what I needed already. I got a new four-colour pen, but my big investment was in coloured pastel pencils and some ingres paper. I had a set when I was in senior school, and they were my favourite medium. I have plans to keep creating art, and these play a big part.
• I have already listed my choice of books for Autumn reading. I’m narrowing down any other books or courses I want to do, perhaps something art-based, or a new language course. I’ve been learning German on Duolingo and loving it, but I need to get more serious to make better progress.
• My house has had a refresh. I had a good clear out, I’m clearing the garage of all the excess of twenty years hoarding and my cleaning basket has had a few upgrades. September is a good time for me to re-establish those household routines that I let slip over the summer months.
• I’ve washed, ironed and set up my autumn to winter wardrobe already. Part of my massive cull was to clear space so that I don’t have a wardrobe ‘in storage’ and another one ‘on display’. Especially in changeable English weather, it makes sense to have easily changed layers to wear: a short sleeved top and a slinky cardigan, with scarf for extra style or warmth. I could, if necessary, pull on a woollen jumper or a vest top. They’re both there ready. Even my shoes have been cleaned, cleared or I’m waiting for replacements.
• My home binder has a list of Autumn dishes. We’re in a cross-over month, when summer favourites are still on the menu but the warmer, longer, slower dishes of pork, chicken and beef are beginning to appear. Menu planning gradually changes this month as I try to eat the seasonal produce rather than cling to summer food.
• And Church starts a new season now. Courses begin for the first time or begin again, my Wednesday Evenings will once again pass in a haze of books, art and music, and the Church’s calendar slides through the Sundays of Ordinary Time pausing only for Harvest Festival and All Saints until it starts anew with Advent. I’m helping to run a new course at Church, Being With, devised by St Martins in the Field. It’s a bit woolly, perhaps, a bit ‘there are no wrong answers’, but I’m hopeful it will be a way for people to spend time being with God, themselves and others.

There’s my La Rentree plans. Do you find this season an invitation to realign to re-enter everyday life? Or are you clinging desperately to summer and fighting off the new start that September offers, sometimes even stronger than Spring. Make your plans in Autumn, fulminate on them over Winter, come out strong putting them into action come Spring and enjoy the fruits of your labour come Summer. I’d love to know what you make of La Rentree: has its time come for you? Let me know below.

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 2025.

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 Laurentiu Iordache on Unsplash. Summer brings poppies, and a glorious sun that eventually has to set.