With spring fast approaching, you may be packing away your winter hygge essentials: hot tea, chunky blankets, knit socks, stringed lights, etc. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to justify starting a fire when it is 85 degrees outside. While the Danish don’t have many tips for springtime hygge, you can still find a way to embrace warm weather and the essence of cozy at the same time.

 

Hygge first begins as an act of the soul and mind. While your atmosphere certainly influences your mindset, you don’t need a crackling fire to provoke a sense of harmony and gratitude. There are aspects of hygge that can last throughout the changing seasons. If you want to build an atmosphere that brings comfort and warmth at the same time, try incorporating some of these elements into your day.

Flowers

Bring the spring inside. Fill your house with sunflowers and hydrangeas – and not the artificial kind either. Get the real thing and let the scents of spring fill your home.

Backyard picnics/cookouts

Togetherness is after all one of the manifestos of hygge. Put a summer spin and invite your friends over for a barbecue. Cook together, eat with each other, invest in one another.

Detox digitally

Be in the moment. Call your friends over then turn the TV off. Go out and leave your phone behind. Remove the excess games and unnecessary time-consumers and find something worthwhile to fill your new freed-up time. Take pictures – but quit caring about the Instagram likes.

Bonfires

Burning fires are essential to winter hygge. For the spring, simply move them outside. Enjoy the weather and the warm and fuzzies all at once.

Sunshine

Take advantage of the seasonal change. Discard your socks and scarves. Put on a pair of shorts and a tank top. Let your skin bask in the warmth of the sun. Break those freckles out.

Read a book by the pool

You don’t need a dozen lit candles or a cup of hot tea to reread your favorite childhood book. Trade them in for real sunlight and sweet tea. When your eyes need a break, take a dip in the pool. Relax.

Cook

Fruits and vegetables are blooming everywhere this time of year. Hit a farmer’s market, pick up some produce, dance around your kitchen while you whip up some of Mother Nature’s finest.

Sit outside at night

Pour yourself a cup of lemonade or glass of wine. Spend some time looking at the stars. Remember how big the universe is in comparison to you. Find comfort in that, not fear.

Take advantage of the summer rainstorms

April doesn’t exactly bring the winter snowstorms that allow us to curl up by a fire – but it does bring with it plenty of showers. Drink some tea while you sit by a window with a good book. Or, wrap up in your favorite blanket and take a midday snooze while you listen to the pitter-patter on your bedroom window.