Why Have a Hygge Party
If you could bottle up comfort, you would have hygge. If you aren’t already familiar with the term, hygge (pronounced ‘hyoo-guh’) is a Scandinavian concept that refers to the state of coziness, especially in the wintry climates familiar to northern Europeans. It’s an aesthetic you see all over Pinterest and the like: warm, oversized neutral-tone sweaters, big mugs of tea, a wood burning fire, wooly socks, and lit candles. Though, hygge is less about appearances and more about a feeling. It’s the feeling of safety, calmness and contentment.
It may seem antithetical to have a party that incorporates elements of a typically introverted, laid-back concept. But not all parties are loud and boisterous. In fact, some are simply small gatherings – that is, planned social events involving just a few good friends (or new friends). So while hygge doesn’t lend itself to more excitable events, it’s certainly worth embracing for a joyfully laid-back gathering. The purpose of this party is to get cozy and comfortable with delicious bevvies to sip and cuddly cushions to sprawl on while enjoying one another’s company. A hygge party is where you celebrate life, friends and the comforts we can all share together. If this sounds like your cup of tea, put on some snuggly PJs and read on to plan a happy hygge party!
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How to Throw a Hygge Party
1. Create a Haven of Comfort
Hygge is all about creating a comfortable space where you can easily relax and feel good. It’s less about how your place looks and more about how it feels. The easiest way to create this atmosphere is to surround your home with lots of throw pillows and blankets. If you have hard floors instead of carpet, fluffy rugs are welcoming to bare feet. Displaying houseplants also introduces an element of calm and serenity. You want to use lots of soft and natural textures so hanging wall art that’s woven or fabric is a plus. Less metal and plastic, more wood and natural fibers.
Light plenty of candles to cast a soothing, warm glow. No harsh overhead lights. The best kind of light for a hygge party is natural light, candlelight or a soft mellow light cast from fairy lights or salt lamps. And if you don’t mind a few extra dishes, serve refreshments in big ceramic mugs and bowls with rounded edges instead of paper or plasticware. This will help your guests feel more like they are eating or drinking in the comfort of their own home.
Hygge ‘décor’ is really just a style of home furnishings, so this is a chance for you to allocate some of your spending budget toward revamping your space, comfort-style. Your hygge party will simply be the new décor’s debut! Many things you can find secondhand. So while it’s easy to run up a large sum buying cozy stuff, you can just as easily get decent things from thrift or consignment shops! There’s plenty available on community sites such as Facebook marketplace, too. And if you’re crafty and can spare the time, there are ways to makeover pre-owned décor (read: burnt orange plaid pillows that look like they’re straight out of the 70s). Get some fabric and make a cover yourself, or buy the perfect cover elsewhere. Ta-da!
2. Prepare Comfort Food and Beverages
A hygge party is your opportunity to have comfort food. After all, what else is winter for? There is certainly something to be said for food that just reaches deep down and nourishes your soul. Let your party menu be just such an opportunity. And if you choose to make this a potluck, encourage others to bring comfort cooking, too! Here are some nourishing ideas for inspiration:
- Cheese fondue with bread
- Broccoli macaroni and cheese
- Hygge Macrobiotic Bowl
- Hygge Hot Cocoa treat (with brandy)
- Hot toddies, tea, or tisanes
- More hygge-inspired recipes
3. Set the Ambience with a Laid-Back Playlist
Background music is key for a party’s vibe. For a hygge party, you obviously don’t want to bump up hyper hip hop or rock. Whichever genre you choose, play tunes that are calm and pleasant. Here are some examples for a hygge soundtrack:
An alternative to music is a soundscape/ambiance video. There are so many different scenes and environments that are calming and pleasant and have thematic sound effects, such as a cozy rainy evening or Trelawney’s Divination Classroom (for Harry Potter fans, there are probably hundreds if not thousands of such videos – just search your favourite scenes and you’ll surely find something).
4. Add Pleasant Scents
We covered the sights, the flavors, and the sounds of a hygge party. Now, let’s fully immerse your guests in comfort by engaging their sense of smell. The most primitive and universal aroma that evokes a sense of comfort, warmth and cozy community is a wood-burning fire. If you happen to have a wood-burning fireplace, fire it up! The crackles and pops are also calming and satisfying to hear.
If you don’t have a wood-burning fireplace, don’t worry! There are plenty of delicious-smelling hygge-themed candles that will add an enticing aroma to your hygge party. Some even have wood wicks to provide a pleasant sound that’s slightly different but similar to that of a wood-burning fire.
- Vanilla spice hygge candle
- Wooden wick hygge candle with fireplace, spice, and toasted marshmallow
- Hygge candle with cypress, fir, pine, clove, fireside, orange peel, cinnamon, ginger
- Hygge candle with multiple scents: fireside gathering (balsam, cedar, etc.), comfort (pine, oak, vanilla, etc.), and tranquility (ginger, citrus, cardamom, etc.), to name a few
- Hygge Candle with multiple scents: Nordic nights, hot cocoa, winter, etc.
- Nordic Hygge Candle (eucalyptus, lavender, pine, rosemary, cedar)
- Hygge candle with multiple scents (cinnamon sugar donut, apple maple bourbon, etc.)
- Hygge candle (plum, mandarin, cinnamon, vanilla, wood)
- Hygge candle (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, orange, ginger)
5. Plan Hygge Party Activities
Hygge party activities will not overstimulate you. They will not require fast movements or getting up out of your seat multiple times, or raising your voice, or performing. Basically, you won’t have to do anything that remotely takes you out of your comfort zone!
One such activity is colouring. Provide each guest with an adult colouring book and plenty of pretty markers or coloured pencils. In fact, there is even a Hygge Happy Coloring Book! Another satisfying and calm activity is doing a jigsaw puzzle. This shop has a variety of cute puzzles – from library cats to quaint cityscapes and so many other fun and creative scenes.
You could opt to do any sort of crafts depending on who you invite and what sorts of things they like to do, but the basis of hygge party activities are that they are laid back enough to do mindlessly. In other words, they’re sort of meditative so that you can do them while easily carrying on a conversation at the same time. You won’t be distracted by one or the other. This is great when you just want to relax and talk to friends with no real agenda, all while doing something with your hands!
6. Establish Guest Participation
A fun way to have guests participate in your hygge party is to have everyone dress for the occasion. This isn’t necessarily a pajama party, but simply an invitation to wear whatever they find most comfortable – whether that’s a pair of PJs or yoga pants and a hoodie. Maybe they will go bougie and wear a designer tracksuit. Or maybe they’ll wear their old sports team sweatshirt from high school (yes, I still have mine. I can’t donate it because I think it’s weird for a stranger to wear something with my name on it). Anything goes, so long as it’s comfy!
Have everyone go shoeless, as shoes neither lend themselves to comfort nor do they allow guests the pleasure of padding around in soft, squishy socks. Something you could provide to make this more inviting is to provide a pair of soft, cozy socks to each guest. (And they thought they were done receiving ridiculous socks for Christmas!) You could even get them in silly patterns and have each guest choose a pair from a basket. It’s like they’re getting socks for a trampoline park, except they aren’t grippy (and you have disappointingly non-bouncy floors).
Checklist of Stuff You Need
This is a list of the physical things you need for this party:
- Items to create a haven of comfort: pillows, cushions, blankets, rugs, candles, houseplants, etc.
- Delicious comfort foods and hot bevvies
- Music/soundscape to play
- Wood for your fireplace or delightfully-scented candles
- Colouring books and markers/coloured pencils, jigsaw puzzle, or any other calm activity supplies
- Cozy winter socks to provide to guests when they arrive and remove their shoes
Checklist of Preparations for Your Hygge Party
1. First, establish that your efforts aren’t in vain by confirming that people can come on any chosen date:
- Choose party date/time, and preferably alternative date(s) as well
- Choose guest list and establish minimum number of guests you’d like (to make it worth your effort). Honestly, you could just invite your best friend and call it a party of two! Or even if you want to have a refreshing day to yourself to rest, heal or simply rejuvenate, you could do a mini-version of a hygge party and make it a party of one – the ultimate ‘me’ time!
- Six weeks out, confirm guests’ interest in the party and availability on chosen party date(s)
- If your preferred minimum number of guests confirm interest and availability, have them secure calendar date for your comfy, cheerful hygge party!
2. Then, proceed with the fun planning!
- Schedule time on your calendar for each step of party prep (securing and/or making food/drinks, etc.)
- Create invitations with all of the details and send them out 4 weeks before the party
- Order any items you may want to make your space cozier 3 weeks out (so they arrive in time to put up).
- Shop (in physical stores) for any such décor items that you didn’t order online, as well as for non-perishable food/drink ingredients
- In your planned time slots, acquire perishable food/drinks early enough in advance to prepare in time
- In your planned time slots, set up/decorate with any of the items you got for your space (here’s the fun part!)
- In your planned time slots, prepare food/drinks (depending on how long things keep)
3. Day of Party (in your amply planned time slot):
- Complete any last-minute food/drink prep that’s too fresh to do any earlier
- Set out your chosen bowls, mugs, and other soft-edged/ceramic serveware
- Prepare ambience (audio/visual, candles/scents)
- Get dressed in your comfiest outfit
- Once everything’s ready, meditate or do your preferred self-care to get in a good head space if you aren’t already. Naturally, your hygge party is as much for you as it is for your friends. So if you are stressed or overwhelmed for any given reason due to circumstances outside your control, take some time to focus on yourself, clear your mind, and do you. You want to be relaxed, centered and happy. Your guests will pick up on your contagiously good vibe and feed off of it as well – everybody’s best interest!
A hygge party is pure pleasure. If you would like more ideas for small gatherings, also check out a jazz and jigsaw puzzle party or a cocktails and coloring party!