Way, way back in 2021 I wrote about my advent journalling box that I painted. You can read that first post here: My Advent Journalling Box. I did another post with December Journalling Prompts and a final post last year about my Ambition for a Simple Intentional Christmas.

Well, the box is back.

I got it down from the top of the display cabinet where it spends the non-Christmas part of the year, dusted it off and set about filling it with the stuff I need.

Yes, I still have Turkish Delight thins as my advent chocolate of choice. I have to have After Eight mints as well so that my Husband, who would never do anything as silly as have an Advent box of his own, can have a chocolate a day, too.

I have a new notebook this year: A Clever Fox dotted journal. These notebooks are cheaper than a Leuchtturm, have decent, thick white dotted paper as well and come with a built in pen holder, thus saving even more money on a Leuchtturm which always needs a pen holder sticking on. I use a grey one for my daily planning, have a new rose gold one to start as my commonplace book for 2025, and this red one will work as my advent notebook for writing in, sticking pictures in or generally keeping my Christmas thoughts contained.

And I will be working again through Jen Carrington’s Your Wholehearted Year mini book. I haven’t done these journalling and reflective prompts for a few years now, but I did appreciate them fully the year I did, although I tried to squeeze them into Romjul which is always a mistake. This year I’ll take the full month of December and January to work through them, and claim Christmastide until February 2nd as used to be the tradition. I’m keeping that in my cosy basket, though, along with my daily journal.

For my spiritual side, I’m working through The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping The Full Love Story of Christmas by Ann Voskamp. It takes the geneology of Jesus and the stories of his ancestors as used in a Jesse Tree and traces the patterns of God and Jesus’ gifts to us through them. The website had downloadable papercut decorations that match the front page of each entry, so I’ve downloaded, printed off and cut them out. They’re in my Advent box envelopes ready to open every day.

And my creative/crafty side this year will be fed by an Advent Embroidery Kit from the Crafty Kit Company. It’s a set of twelve little designs in embroidery hoops that are barely 3 inches across, so I’m hoping each one will take barely a night to do. They fit very nicely into a spare tin next to the box, so easy access as well.

I have a week full of Christmas events coming up in December. Everything is crammed into the space of eight full days, but once that’s over I’m free to spend evenings reading, contemplating and writing. I hope to exit 2024 a lot more clear headed than I started.

How about you: what are your advent plans this year? Do you have your own advent calendar? How do you mark the countdown?

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.

IMy 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 Alisa Anton on Unsplash. I like the pause it seems to hint at: the person, who has stepped out of the shot for a moment, has their book ready to read and hot chocolate on the point of perfection: they’ve lit their candle, and settled down to enjoy a fresh breeze before the autumn winds turn sharp and sarcastic. They just need… what? Their pen? A blank page to write a loved one a letter? Socks, or a throw? I love photos that drag you into making up a story.