Have yourself a VERY hygge Christmas

That’s Danish for ‘cosy’ – and it’s this year’s hottest home trend. So here’s all Santa needs to knøw

IT IS the hottest new trend – the Danish art of hygge. Pronounced ‘hoo-ga’, it is defined as the art of cosy living, the savouring of life’s simplest pleasures.

This year, a record 132 titles relating to hygge are being sold by Amazon, with Meik Wiking’s The Little Book Of Hygge at No14 in the bestsellers list – ahead of J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts screenplay and the latest thriller by Lee Child.

Why the big fuss? The Danes are annually crowned the world’s happiest nation – despite eye-watering taxes – so perhaps we could all benefit from a generous dose of hygge in our lives as we head into the dark depths of another British winter.

So here’s our guide to having a happy hygge Christmas…

TWINKLE, TWINKLE

WHEN the dark nights draw in, the Danes don’t resort to Strictly Come Dancing, but rather seek solace in candlelight and conversation. And the lower the lighting, the greater the hygge. So whatever you do, don’t turn on an overhead light.

You’ll need armfuls of candles and tealights to create the requisite soft glow without banging into the furniture.

Danes burn more candles per head than anyone else in Europe, according to the European Candle Association – a staggering 13lb of candlewax every year (double the weight of bacon consumed per head).

And the Danish word for spoilsport is lyseslukker, which literally means ‘the one who puts out the candles’. Danish light architect Asger Bay Christensen, quoted in Marie Tourell Soderberg’s book Hygge: The Danish Art Of Happiness, claims the ideal light temperature is precisely 2,700 Kelvins. This is, he says, ‘a yellow/orange tinge, what I call a warm light, and that is hygge for me and, I believe, for most Danes’.

You may not have a handy light meter to take accurate measurements. So aim for at least five candles for that festive feeling – a survey for Meik Wiking’s The Little Book Of Hygge found 31 per cent of Danes light more than five candles at a time.

A traditional Advent taper candle (£2.69, Lakeland, left) is crucial, and pick up a pack of 20 Vinter candles for £3 in Ikea, along with some Wee Willie Winkie-style candlestick holders, also £3.

SNUGGLE UP WITH SANTA

WHY have one blanket when you could have five? According to Louisa Thomsen Brits in The Book Of Hygge: ‘A space softened with textiles offers us an entry point into a world of comfort.’ In other words, blankets are very hygge, so scatter as many sheepskins and chunky knits around as you can bear – think of it as putting an Aran sweater on your sofa.

The White Company has a Supreme Faux Fur Collection in silver and mink (£40 to £175) and its Eldon throw (£100) is the chunkiest blanket around. It also has a large sheepskin rug for £395 – but Ikea sells a fake one, the Tejn, for £10. For festive cheer, Matalan has a fleece throw complete with snowflakes and penguins for £5.

You can even knit your own (£115, Notonthehighstreet. com). The kit comes with extra-large knitting needles and wool.

FLAMING FAIRY LIGHTS!

PACK away the tinsel! True devotees know it’s all about the scent of fresh pine needles and the flicker of real candles on a tree. If you’re brave enough, and don’t have children or a deep respect for health and safety, Amazon sells packs of ten metal clip-on candle holders (£5) and 20 Eika Christmas tree candles (£6.07).

The faint-hearted can pick up Jago wireless LED candles – or get extra hygge points for embracing nature and minimalism with a 6ft prelit Birch cluster (£100, John Lewis).

And forget about relaxing with a sherry – the Danes prefer to hold hands with their family and sing and dance around the tree.

A GNOME IN EVERY HOME

MOVE over Santa, there’s a new elf in town. The Danish ‘nisseman’ is one of the most familiar creatures in Scandinavian folklore.

In the English versions of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales, nisse is translated as ‘goblin’, but with their long white beards and conical hats they look more like garden gnomes.

Traditionally they protect houses from evil and misfortune. But beware – if insulted, they can play tricks and steal, so embrace it as a useful tool to remind any errant child to behave ahead of Christmas morning.

A nisseman, below right, is a traditional Christmas decoration in any Danish household, so pick up a hand-crafted version from Etsy (£12.38, etsy.co.uk) or nordiccharm.co.uk (from £4).

BREATHE IN THE CALM

IF YOU do end up with an artificial tree, recreate that nostalgic pine smell with a Diptyque candle, Le Roi de Sapin (£48, spacenk.com). Can’t stretch that far? Febreze does a Frosted Pine air freshener for £2 at Morrisons.

DUST OFF THE VINYL

WHILE a crowd-pleasing Christmas playlist of Wham! and The Pogues on Spotify might get everyone in the party spirit, it’s the crackle of an old LP which is truly hyggeligt, according to Meik Wiking, the chief executive of The Happiness Research Institute based in (where else?) Copenhagen.

Dust off that old record player from the attic, or pick up an Audio Technica AT-LT5 (£329.95, John Lewis) or Lenco L-85 (£119.99, Currys). It doesn’t get more festive than Frank Sinatra, so grab A Jolly Christmas on vinyl (£16.99, Amazon).

RELIGHT MY FIRE

THE warm crackling of an open fire is the very essence of hygge and so crucial to the Scandinavians that a book about wood-chopping was last year’s non-fiction book of the year.

Lars Mytting’s Norwegian Wood: Chopping, Stacking And Drying Wood The Scandinavian Way sold 300,000 copies – and a follow-up, the Norwegian Wood Activity Book (£9.99, Waterstones), is set to be this year’s must-have stocking-filler. Cut out and dress up a woodchopper – and follow a step-bystep guide to making the perfect fire. Lars says: ‘A match alone will not make a log catch fire. Fires have to grow.’ More than 200,000 households in the UK install a wood-burner every year, so crank up the hygge and festive cheer with a stove like the Aga Wren (£655, DirectStoves.com). But if you don’t live in a Cotswolds manor house, recreate the flame effect

on your television with Fire DVD: Light The Box (£9.99, Amazon), left, which features ‘12 of the most beautiful digital fires’, complete with crackling logs and gas flames.

The FirePlace app (79p, iTunes) means you can take a fire with you anywhere – so you could even feel the hygge on the bus ride home.

LOVE YOUR LINGONBERRIES

DITCH the cranberry sauce. Recent studies found Scandinavian lingonberries prevented weight gain in mice fed a highfat diet. They’re also thought to lower blood-sugar levels and cholesterol – so grab another plate of mince pies! Buy a fro- zen 2.5kg bag (£22, scandikitchen.co.uk) to make jam or buy it ready-made (£1.95, Ikea). Mr Fothergill’s also sells lingonberry bushes to grow your own (£11.95).

With your crop, make a lingonberry cordial from Trine Hahnemann’s Scandinavian Christmas (£14.61, Amazon) by boiling up 2kg of lingonberries with four cardamom pods and 700g of caster sugar.

GET CRAFTY

IF YOU’RE still dragging out your limp, pink-tinselled creation from 1983, it’s time to hygge up your festive decorations. While nostalgia and home-crafting is consid- ered very hygge, so is making new happy memories, so gather the family round the kitchen table for a frenzy of glitter glue and pom-poms – and laugh off the inevitable mess. It’s hygge, remember? Hobbycraft sells a Gingerbread family sewing kit (£3), left, and paint your own ceramic Christmas baubles kit (£3), or you could make your own reindeer bunting (£1.50). B&Q stocks a selection of knitted Nordic-style baubles (£2) or take inspiration from the experts – Norwegian ‘knitwear design stars’ Arne Nerjordet and Carlos Zachrison have written a book, 55 Christmas Balls To Knit: Colourful Festive Ornaments (£13.48, Amazon).

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW

RAIN lashing at the windows, a howling gale – as long as you’re inside and not waiting at the bus stop without a coat, , it’s the definition of hygge. In Marie Tourell Soderberg’s s book, Jakob Nyholm Jessenn says: ‘The most hyggeligt, for r me, is when I hear the elements s raging outside, but I can n shut them out and light the fire e for heat and light for me and d my family.’ If you’re not in the Outer Hebrides, download Winter Storm Sounds from Amazon music (99p). Or go the whole hog and make your own white Christmas with a FXLAB Snowstorm II Snow Effect machine (£49.99, Argos) or Antari S-500 professional snow machine (£1,295, stagedepot.co.uk).

COSY TOES

YOUR feet will need to be warm for all that dancing around the Christmas tree, so invest in some hyggeligt socks. Brora’s cashmere Fair Isle socks, above, (£135, brora. co.uk) fit the bill, while The White Company also produces a cashmere pair (£35). Otherwise, Marks & Spencer has a five-pack set of festive footwear (from £6).

YOU MUST GET STUFFED

LOOSEN those belt buckles because Christmas is all about comfort food – especially in Denmark. The national dish is frikadeller – pork and veal meatballs which are pan-fried flat (or take a trip to Ikea for the rounder Swedish variety, £4.80 for 15 with mash and lingonberry jam).

For a truly Danish hygge Christmas, serve slow-roasted pork, duck or goose with caramel-drizzled potatoes and stewed red cabbage. And no more figgy pud – the Danes love an almond and rice pudding (risalamande) with cherry sauce.

Serve with craft beers and you’ll still be snoozing well before the Queen’s Christmas message.

For culinary inspiration, Trine Hahnemann’s Scandinavian Christmas will set you on your way (as before).

LASHINGS OF HOT GROGG

GLOGG (pronounced glurrg) is the Danish version of mulled wine, above, and known as ‘liquid hygge’ thanks to its wonderfully (alcoholic) relaxing properties. Since it’s hygge, have as much as you like!

Make it yourself by throwing a bottle of red wine, orange rind, cinnamon sticks, raisins, almonds, cardamom seeds, cloves and honey into a pan and boil for 30 minutes. Then add a good glug of port or brandy.

For even less effort, order Annika’s gloggmix (£2.49, scandikitchen.co.uk). Cheers!