YOUR OWN WINTER WONDERLAND
HOW TO MAGIC UP
We think of winter as a time for staying indoors, cosying up around the fire, watching classic movies and playing board games. But it’s also the season of snow flurries, evergreens, icicles and Christmas trees. Here are some easy ways to turn your house into a woodland wonderland, to bring the outdoors in, so that you can find the calming joy of nature in your own home this winter...
Go green with decorations
Spend time decorating your home not with the usual plastic or metallic decorations, but trinkets from the natural world.
A Christmas tree can be beautifully adorned with fir cones and acorns — painted first, if you prefer. Use ivy and mistletoe to make wreaths and mantelpiece decorations.
Fruit can also be pretty — I like a kumquat and red ribbon wreath. Even putting a sprig of holly in a glass vase makes a simple, yet stunning, addition to a table. If possible, go to a sustainable Christmas tree farm and bring home a rooted fir, which can be replanted and used again.
You’ll be starting a green festive family tradition.
Find a feel-good focal point
If your home has a working fireplace, build the perfect log fire by using sticks foraged from the woods (and well dried), rather than relying on shop-bought logs.
Or find other outdoor treasures to make a woody focal point — load up on pine cones and leaves for a foresty, feel-good display on a diningroom table or bookshelf. These can be painted red and gold for a whimsical feel, or left bare for a natural look.
Make your own snowglobe
Create a mini nature scene in a large glass bowl using fake snow, bird ornaments and real twigs, pine cones and leaves. For a splash of colour, add the deep red of pomegranates or that stocking favourite, a tangerine. Be creative: look around outside and see what you could use and draw upon. You could even try recreating an outdoor space you know and love — such as your own garden or the local park. Or try filling glass bowls with cranberries and carefully balancing tealights on top of them for a warm, natural ruby glow.
It’s all in the detail
Focusing on small details from the natural world enables our brains to take a break from work worries and think more creatively. So keep plants on your desk, treat yourself to a bunch of flowers for your bedside, keep plants in your bathroom — these little nods to nature boost general happiness and change our mental gears.
House plants to boost happiness
Gardening doesn’t have to take place outside — horticultural habits really are therapeutic, and the same benefits can be found indoors.growing and nurturing plants from cuttings and creating new life inspires mindfulness as well as contentment.
Spider plants and succulents flourish all year round; or make the most of the winter sun and turn a bright windowsill into an indoor herb or tomato garden.
P.s even pictures of nature are calming
Research shows that just looking at pictures of nature reduces mental fatigue and increases positive thinking. So switch your phone’s locked screen or laptop screensaver images to your favourite photograph of nature, frame pictures or artworks of beauty spots, or even try a naturethemed colouring book.
Just looking at a green scene decreases the stress-related hormones cortisol and adrenaline, helping to calm us down. Which is exactly what we need at Christmas.
Research shows that just looking at pictures of nature reduces mental fatigue and increases positive thinking. So switch your phone’s locked screen or laptop screensaver images to your favourite photograph