A slower way to count down to Christmas
In Denmark, advent is one of the most hygge times of the year. Families light a candle each evening, gather around an advent wreath on Sundays and enjoy the build-up to Christmas slowly. A hygge advent calendar isn’t about chocolate. It’s about a small moment of calm each day in December.
As this lovely piece on advent in Denmark describes, the short, dark days are exactly why these traditions matter. Here are 10 hygge advent calendar ideas to try this year.
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10 hygge advent calendar ideas
1. A Danish calendar candle
The kalenderlys is a tall candle marked with the numbers 1 to 24. Each evening you burn it down to the next day’s number. It’s the simplest and most hygge advent calendar of all, and it gives you a few quiet minutes of candlelight every night. Find a numbered advent candle (affiliate link).
2. An advent wreath for the four Sundays
The Danish adventskrans holds four candles, one lit each Sunday of advent. Make your own with fir branches, moss and white candles, or start with a simple advent candle holder (affiliate link). Sunday evenings become a little celebration.
3. A refillable wooden advent calendar
A wooden refillable advent calendar (affiliate link) becomes part of your family’s Christmas for years. Fill the drawers with small things: a chocolate, a note, a sprig of rosemary or a tealight.
4. A hygge moments calendar
Instead of a treat, open a small cosy activity each day: drink hot chocolate by candlelight, ring a friend, take a winter walk. My 100 Days of Hygge Habits card deck is perfect for this. Pull one card a day through December, and you’ll have plenty left for the new year.
5. A Danish gift calendar on Sundays
Many Danish families give a small present on each advent Sunday rather than every day. It’s less pressure and more special. Think wool socks, a new mug, a book or a hand-knitted headband.
6. A book advent calendar
Wrap a book for each Sunday, or 24 short picture books for little ones, and read together each evening by lamplight. Second-hand and library books work beautifully. My list of the best hygge books has ideas for grown-ups.
7. A tea or hot chocolate advent calendar
A different warm drink each day turns the countdown into a daily pause. A tea advent calendar (affiliate link) makes a lovely gift too.
Your 15-minute hygge moment: Have a proper cup of tea, sat down, no multitasking.
8. A knitting advent calendar
For knitters, a yarn advent calendar gives you a little making each day. Hobbii’s Moments of Hygge advent calendar for knitters is inspired by the Scandinavian art of cosiness. Fifteen minutes of knitting each evening is a wonderful way to wind down.
9. Sew your own fabric advent calendar
If you sew, Lewis & Irene’s Hygge Christmas advent calendar panel is a printed cotton panel you make up into pockets. Sewing it in November is a hygge project in itself, and it comes out every year after.
10. A family advent of togetherness
Some of the best advent calendars are made of time together: a weekly reflection, a candlelit meal or a walk to see the lights. The Advent and Hygge family resource from Salt Project offers a reflection for each week, and Hygge in the Early Years has gentle advent ideas for young children.
Make December slower
Whichever hygge advent calendar you choose, the magic is in the daily pause. One candle, one card or one cup of tea, enjoyed slowly, can change how the whole of December feels. For more ideas for the season, read Winter Hygge: Cosy Rituals for the Darkest Months.
Your 15-minute hygge moment: Light a candle and name what you are grateful for.
More cosy reads: Hygge Christmas: 12 cosy ways to slow down this December, 15 hygge gift ideas and 10 cosy making projects for handmade advent treats.
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