Twenty-five Ideas for Keeping Your Home Cozy This Winter

Blame it on my Midwestern, introverted roots, but this girl loves cozy! Growing up in the “Frozen North” can lead to some creative methods to keep warm in body and spirit. Although you may not be reading this with snow drifting outside your window, many of the same rules apply.

Much like the seasons outside, there is a cadence to our lives no matter how climate controlled we can keep it indoors. This is not to say that our “seasons” match up with those in nature, only that there are some seasons that are for productivity, and others less so. There is an appropriate time for new life, for fast-paced growth and busyness, for letting go, and for dormancy. The natural world requires each of these seasons, as do we (see Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

Winter demonstrates to me that even though the vegetation and animals are taking some time off, the work of creation is still being accomplished underground. “It's quiet, but the roots are down there riotous,” the poet Rumi reminds us (source, p. 194). So it is with us. Nurturing a season of restfulness, of nourishment, may not look like a lot on the surface, but what it does under the surface is not without merit.

To encourage this kind of rest, I have compiled a list of twenty-five ways to get cozy in these first, wintry months of 2025.

Twenty-Five Ideas for Keeping Cozy This Winter

1. Get outside // Nothing will make your home feel cozier than going for a brisk walk outside and entering your front door. For added emphasis, go for a walk at night and enjoy the welcome sight of the light from your window beckoning you in.
2. Wear wool and flannel // Texture is a great way to make any room cozy. Think wool socks or a cozy blanket. There is a true sense of hunkering down when I switch the light cotton summer sheets to the flannel sheets we use all winter.
3. Light candles // Candles are a delight in any season, particularly during a season of shorter daylight. Incorporate a candle with your morning cup of coffee. Light a candle on the dinner table. Create a ritual where you can enjoy the soft glow and the fragrance of the light and shadows thrown by a single wick.
4. Read more books // Perhaps there is no season better for books than winter. Cold temperatures outside paired with a blanket in your favorite chair are an invitation. Chapter books, audiobooks, picture books, and how-to books foster our need for escape and respite at the same time.
5. Notice the light // Paying attention to the divine Light is an integral part of our Christian hope. Having lived in a place prone to seasonal depression, paying attention to light offers a great deal of hope as well. Notice the light at sunrise. Watch the waning light at sunset. See the time creep slowly later and later, as the Earth turns closer to the sun once more.
6. Simmer a pot // Realtors will tell you to make cookies before a showing, as a way to help potential buyers envision themselves in the reality of making a house their home. In the same way, the smells we associate with our home can provide real comfort. Recipes for simmer pots are widely available online, and pretty easy to DIY. Pine cuttings, orange peels, cloves, and cinnamon—on the stove or crock pot to simmer—will provide a real treat for the senses.
7. Bake // Need I say more? Whether baking crusty bread for soup or pie for a get-together, baking can’t help but create a cozy feeling. The warmth of the oven combined with the scent of yeast or vanilla in the air is a treat even before the timer goes off.
8. Write a letter // There are few things sweeter than receiving a handwritten letter in the mail. Making time to communicate with our loved ones in this quickly vanishing way is a practice of reflection and love that does good to both sender and receiver.
9. Pare down // Most magazines at this time of year will have all sorts of suggestions to get organized in the new year. While those are good and often inspiring, sometimes the best reset we can find is to rid ourselves of the clutter that has built up over the past months and past year. Give it away!
10. Rest // Give in to the actual invitation of the season. Take a nap. Take a bath. Stay in when the weather is threatening. Rest is the root of restoration.
11. Dream // With fresh calendar and planner pages comes the inkling to plan. Allow time for yourself to dream a little. What is one thing you would love to include in the coming year?
12. Put the kettle on (for yourself or someone you love) // I only find this phrase in storybooks, but I love it. It is the ultimate invitation to cozy up. Heat some water for a cuppa.
13. Give gratitude // Have you had the opportunity to take stock of the past year? Before diving into the to-dos of the year to come, give yourself the gift of mulling over the past year to notice the gifts and growth that have taken place.
14. Compile a booklist // Is there a classic you’d love to read? A bestseller you’ve heard about? A spiritual book you’d like to commit to? Write it down!
15. Grow // Nothing says a fresh start like fostering the growth of a plant. Repotting, planting, and trading plants with a neighbor are a sure way to make your space feel more homey.
16. Take stock of your heart and soul // What do you need to nourish in the new year? What would help? A spiritual director? Therapist? Friend? Reconciliation with a family member? The Sacrament of Reconciliation with the Lord?
17. Create a restful playlist // What are the songs that make you happy, grounded, or get you pumped up, relaxed? Try making a playlist of all of your favorites to enjoy at home.
18. Offer hospitality // Welcome someone you love into your home for an afternoon or a meal.
19. Movie night // Cozy up with a movie night. Bonus points for seasonal, snowy classics.
20. Build a campfire: In your backyard, fireplace, or local park, light a fire to roast marshmallows.
21. Slow cook: Long live the slow cooker, which simmers dutifully all day reminding you what a genius you are for having something hot and tasty ready for dinner while not doing any work.
22. Warm the hot cider: Not only does this make your house smell amazing, but it’s a rare treat in terms of hot beverages.
23. Follow the rhythm of the light // Go to bed earlier.
24. Create // Puzzles, calligraphy, paintings, jewelry, photographs, poems. Winter is the perfect opportunity to cultivate our creative outlets. Clear off the kitchen table or pull out the card table. Spread out and make something new.
25. Play // Snow forts, snowmen, sledding, skating, board games. As a participant, facilitator, or spectator, don’t miss out on the wonderful opportunity winter provides for play!

Cheers to the new year, and to so many ways to respond to the Lord’s invitation for you to be restored as it begins. Where do you need nourishment? What graces might flow from mimicking the winter season of rest and replenishment?

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