How To Get Into The Christmas Spirit – 9 Gentle Ways To Feel More Festive This Year

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Christmas used to be my favourite time of the year. I remember waiting for snow, decorating my room with colourful lights, and feeling cosy during those long winter evenings. Back then, everything felt magical.

Then, somewhere along the line, something changed.
For worse.

I still love Christmas, but I haven’t truly felt festive in years. Maybe it’s not being able to spend holidays with my family, just like we did every year when I was a child. Maybe it’s the weight of being the one who has to create the magic now. Or maybe life just looks different as an adult, especially when you’re estranged and grieving, so December feels heavier than it used to.

Whatever the reason, I know I’m not alone in this.

There are so many reasons why the festive spark fades and disappears but it doesn’t mean you don’t deserve warmth, comfort, a gentle and calm December. If you’d like to try and reconnect with Christmas together, here are some small and cosy ideas that might help you. They’re the ones I’m going to try myself this year. Feel free to share your experience and other ideas you might have in the comments or on my Instagram ❤️

A Gentle Guide to Finding the Christmas Feeling Again (Even When You Don’t Feel Festive at All)

1. Begin with one tiny cosy ritual

Forget all the morning routines you see online or miles long “winter self-care checklists” – they simply don’t work. I’m guilty of writing such things myself just… because they rank high on Google, not because they’re truly helpful.
Instead of trying to follow elaborate routines, pick one small thing that makes you feel cosy and safe.

It can be as tiny as:
• lighting a candle after sunset,
• turning on wax melt or diffuser with your favourite scent,
• switching on a table lamp (or Christmas tree if you don’t have any small lamps just like me) instead of the main light,
• wrapping yourself in a soft blanket,
• making a warm drink the same way every evening.

One small repeated moment can become the quiet anchor of your December, making it more familiar and safer.

2. Create one cosy corner (not a full festive home)

Let’s be real – decorating an entire house is not only overwhelming, but also often impossible. Who has money to buy, and then space to store, all those decorations? If you do, good for you! I’m not shaming anyone.

Still, I believe decorating an entire house is not practical for many, and that’s okay. Instead of trying to make your home festive, choose one corner. Your couch or bedside. An armchair (or chair) by the window.

Add:
• a blanket,
• a warm light source,
• one winter decoration that feels like you.

That’s it. A simple little space you can retreat to when everything feels too loud.

For me, it’s a corner of the living room where we put our Christmas tree and a mantelpiece for a small Christmas-village type of decoration. Soft snuddie and electric blanket on the couch for those colder spells, which happen constantly lately.

Maybe it’s not Instagrammable but it’s mine.

3. Decorate your Christmas tree the way you actually want

There is no rule saying your tree needs to be colour-coordinated or Pinterest-worthy. It doesn’t even need to be big.

Put on some soft music, take your time, and decorate slowly.

The point isn’t to create a masterpiece.
The point is to build a gentle little ritual that feels comforting — even if the ornaments don’t match, even if half of them are slightly crooked and clustered in one place because your child insisted on decorating one branch only, haha.

I used to colour coordinate my Christmas tree but three years ago my daughter asked for a specific bauble to get in

Let it be imperfect and personal.

4. Build your own December soundtrack

It’s been proved that music can change your entire mood within seconds. Christmas playlist doesn’t have to consist of just typical Christmas songs, though. This year, instead of searching for “best Christmas playlist”, try to build your own.
Think:
• soft instrumentals,
• gentle acoustic songs,
• old classics you actually like,
• winter ambience,
• film scores.

Play it while you cook, tidy up or read. Over time it becomes this quiet little “December cue” for your brain – something cosy, familiar, and grounding.

5. Fill your home with a scent that feels like warmth

This is honestly one of the easiest ways to shift the atmosphere.
A scent can do more for your mood than any amount of decorations. Whenever I think about Christmas scents I still remember a cookie wax melt I bought years ago during tough times hoping it would help me get into a festive mood. In fact, it worked wonders, and I regret getting rid of my wax melt burner.

Smells you can try:
• pine,
• cinnamon,
• vanilla,
• orange,
• clove.

You don’t need anything fancy. A candle, a wax melt, or an essential oil is enough. Peeled oranges or pine twigs are great, too.
It’s more about the feeling it creates than the product itself.

6. Take a quiet evening walk and look for Christmas lights

This one is such a small thing, but it works.

Put warm clothes on, go outside after dusk, and walk slowly.
You don’t need to go far – just around the block, or to a nearby street with lights.

There’s something grounding about being outside in the cold, seeing windows glow and Christmas lights twinkle, hearing the quiet of winter evenings. It takes you out of your head for a bit… in a good way.

It’s probably my favourite family activity this time of the year.

7. Watch or read one gentle winter story

You don’t need a full Christmas movie marathon or a list of 20 films. And I know the idea of a movie marathon can be really tempting right now! I know it is for me – my mind has been focusing heavily on curating the movie list for December. After all, there’s nothing cosier than having a movie on with Christmas lights in the background and a cup of hot cocoa on a table.

But, you don’t need to overdo it. Just pick one story that feels comforting:
• a winter book,
• a cosy film,
• an old favourite you return to every year.

Let it be part of your December – a tiny tradition that comes back the same way every time.

PS. I’m reading Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel now and it’s such a cosy and light read! I borrowed it from the library on a whim and it’s much better than I expected.

8. Bring a touch of nature indoors

Honestly, this does more than you think.
A pine branch, a few twigs in a vase, dried oranges, rosemary… anything simple. Natural textures instantly soften a room and make the whole season feel calmer.

Looking for such items can be a great theme for a nature walk, too, killing two birds with one stone.

You don’t need to craft anything. Just place it somewhere you walk past often. They could make a great centrepiece for the dining table.

9. Creating gentle Christmas memories with children

Celebrating December with a child can feel… a bit overwhelming at times. There’s pressure everywhere – crafts, baking, outings, elaborate advent calendars, all the “perfect childhood Christmas” expectations.

I’m anxious just thinking about it all. And the problem is, that I feel like I need to do it all. A bought advent calendar isn’t as good as homemade one. I need to play Christmas-themed activities for each day, plan outings to check all the possible Christmas markets, parades, and what not in the area…

But children don’t need that.
It’s hard to believe that (at least for me), but they genuinely don’t.

They remember:
• warmth,
• being included,
• tiny rituals,
• soft moments,
• cuddles,
• the feeling of safety.

That’s it.

So instead of trying to plan 24 activities, just choose one tiny moment each week. Something simple like:
• reading a winter story before bed,
• decorating the tree together (slowly, without pressure),
• going for an evening walk to look at lights,
• drawing or building something while quiet Christmas music plays,
• making hot chocolate and sitting under a blanket,
• lighting a candle and sharing one nice thing from your day.

These are the things they’ll remember – not the perfect crafts or the expensive outings.

If you want to add a bit of extra magic, you could create a simple Christmas calendar:
a book advent with winter stories, or a tiny jar of activity ideas your child can pick from when you both feel up for it.

Nothing daily, nothing forced – just little sparks of excitement spread throughout the month.

This year, we’re going to decorate Christmas tree on the 1st December, and read more winter stories before bed. Daily walks to look at lights, weekly movie nights with hot chocolate might also happen, who knows 😉

Final thoughts

You’re allowed to have a quiet Christmas.
A simple one.
One with gentle rituals instead of big expectations.

The festive feeling doesn’t always arrive like a burst of excitement.
Sometimes it appears slowly – through warm lights, familiar scents, soft music, bedtime stories, and the tiny moments you repeat day after day.

And honestly?
That kind of Christmas lasts much longer than the chaotic, glittery one we’re told to create.
And maybe that’s enough.