10 Ways to Create a Cozy Christmas Home

Learn 10 ways to create a cozy Christmas home this Holiday season to make your family and guests feel warm and welcome.

Thanks to Tracey Jazmin for the gorgeous photos featured here.

I'm continuing to love the concept of hygge - it's a Danish word that roughly means "coziness of the soul". It's about an experience and an atmosphere of being cozy and content, and surrounding yourself with people you love. You can read more about hygge in one of my favourite books on the topic: The Little Book of Hygge. I also have a cute little free printable all about hygge that I send to you when you sign up for my newsletter, so make sure to do that right here!

I think there are a few simple things you can do to make your home feel more cozy and welcoming during the Christmas season and invite that feeling of warmth and contentment into your gatherings. Let me share my favourite ways to create a cozy Christmas home with you today!

1: Bring the Outside In

Adding natural elements to your decor like pine cones, antler sheds, tree clippings and twigs is a wonderful and inexpensive way to make your home feel rustic and warm. I love to add simple evergreen branches and pine cones to our Christmas displays to give them fullness and life on a budget.

2: Add a Ton of Twinkle Lights

I don't think you can ever have enough twinkle lights or fairy lights in your home for the Holidays, and I even love them after Christmas too when it's cold and dreary outside. Tiny lights everywhere make your home feel magical and soft, and there's nothing quite like turning all the overhead lights off and enjoying the lights from the Christmas tree and twinkly vignettes during a chilly winter evening.

3: Layer Up

When it comes to the colder winter months, adding more layers to your decor with extra blankets, pillows and rugs is a great way to not only make your home feel physically warmer, but visually warmer as well. I love the look of rugs layered on top of each other, or additional pillows and throws on sofas and chairs. 

4: Keep Warm Drinks at Hand

Try adding a little hot chocolate or coffee station on a surface in your home to be able to serve warm drinks at any time of day. This is a treat for not only guests that come to your home over the Holidays, but for your family after a chilly day at work or school. I have a delicious pumpkin spice chai tea latte recipe right here that makes for a delicious winter beverage!

5: Create a Conversation Area

I realize not everyone loves this look, but I ADORE a cozy seating arrangement with sofas and chairs close together in a room. I think creating an intimate conversation area by leaving less space between pieces feels warm and cozy, and helps encourage conversation. Our living room furniture is grouped in the center of our space, and I think it makes for a truly inviting atmosphere for our family and for guests.

6: Light a Fire

While LED twinkle lights can provide a warm feeling without a flame, there's certainly nothing like a true fire to create a cozy feeling. Light a fire in your fireplace if you have one (I love the soothing sound of a crackling fireplace!), or light a grouping of candles in a safe spot in your home to provide a similar effect. Speaking of cozy fires, I've put up a 2 hour long crackling fireplace video with calming jazz music on my YouTube channel for you to enjoy this Christmas season! Click here to watch it.

7: Pile on the Textures

No matter your colour scheme - neutrals or brights - you can create a cozy feeling in your home this season by using lots of textures in your decor. I went with a more neutral decor theme for my Christmas living room this year because of our new colourful sofa, but tried to add lots of textures to keep everything feeling warm. Look for a variety of textures in pillows, drapes, furniture, accessories and blankets like faux fur, velvet, fringe, distressed wood, and faux leather.

8: Don't Forget Music

The right music can create the perfect mood in your home, especially during the holidays. I love to use my Google Home and cast calming Christmas music from my Google Play music stations to my Home to add a festive atmosphere to our space. Some of my favourite Google music stations for Christmas are Today's Christmas Voices, Peaceful Christmas Pop, and Jazz Christmas. 

9: Add all the Greenery

Similar to adding in different natural elements, including a lot of greenery (real or faux) into your home decor over the holidays is a wonderful way to make it feel lush and welcoming. Keep your houseplants in the mix like I did this Christmas season, and then add layers of green garlands on several surfaces in your home. I've added a garland on our mantel, and even wrapped our light fixture in a faux spruce and eucalyptus garland.

10: Personalize It

Adding little things that give your home personality and charm is a great way to make people feel at home in your space. Leave out some crafts you're working on like a knitting or embroidery project, add monograms or names to your stockings, or an interesting item on your coffee table to invite conversation and let your guests know a little more about you & your family.

Watch my YouTube video on 10 ways to make your home feel Christmas cozy:

Enjoy this calming Christmas fireplace music featuring 2 hours of instrumental jazz & easy listening with crackling sounds from my very own fireplace:

Let me know down in the comments below what you think of these 10 tips to make your home feel cozy at Christmas! Do you have any suggestions you want to add? Happy Christmas planning!