“A hygge theme would be nice,” my sister Sophie said when I asked her what kind of bridal shower she’d like. I smiled. “Perfect,” I said. Then I went about my day wondering what the heck that meant.
I knew about hygge because she often lit candles at home “to be hygge,” and she’d told me about a hygge book she was reading. But I had no idea how to turn those things into a hygge party.
Without much else to go on, I turned to my good old friend: Wikipedia. Hygge is the “Danish and Norwegian word for a mood of coziness and comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and contentment.” A mood of coziness and comfortable conviviality. I could work with that.
So here’s what I did…
Party-planning tip: If you’d like to throw your own hygge party, you can find everything you’ll need in the yellow shopping lists below.
Hygge Party Theme
First, I decided on a Nordic Wonderland theme to help me stay focused. The Nordic part focused on the cozy and comfortable elements, while the Wonderland bit ensured everything would be pretty, too.
Hygge Flowers
Flowers play a huge part in making a party feel festive and beautiful. So I enlisted the help of my florist friend Devrie who helped me pick out flowers at the SF Flower Mart (that place is amazing). For a fireplace installation (more on that later), she made a big and wild arrangement with cotton, thistle, hydrangeas, carnations and sprays of white berries.
And I used the leftovers to make three other arrangements for the food table, the cocktail station and the cocoa bar.
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Hygge Party Florals
3-4 pedestal flower bowls>
Flower foam>
An assortment of your favorite flowers (Tip: including hydrangeas is always nice for their size and visual impact)>[/su_note]
Floor Lounge
One of my favorite parts of the party was the floor lounge where people could hang out in their socks, catching up with Sophie and sipping hot drinks. Sheepskin rugs, knit-textured pillows and Moroccan poufs invited guests to make themselves cozy, and gold lanterns holding flickering candles set the mood.
The fireplace installation (I love that word; calling things installations make them sound so much grander than they are haha!) was made up of the big cascading floral arrangement and a wild bundle of branches. I wanted to give loungers something pretty to look at at eye-level and spark a conversation.
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Hygge Party Floor Lounge
2-3 sheepskin rugs>
4-5 knit pillows>
2 Moroccan poufs>
6 gold lanterns>
6 battery-operated pillar candles>[/su_note]
Cocktail Station
For the signature cocktail, we served this easy sparkling apple cider sangria, which was refreshing and cinnamon-y. The sprigs of rosemary and pomegranate seeds in these champagne flutes made it look much fancier than it was.
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Hygge Party Cocktail Station
4 apples>
1 c cognac
4 c apple cider>
2 750-ml bottles dry sparking wine>
1/2 c pomegranate seeds
fresh rosemary garnish
Plastic champagne flutes>
Glass pitcher>[/su_note]
Cocoa Bar
My cousins Denise and Mabel set up a hot cocoa bar with homemade whipped cream and mix-ins like Kahlua and Baileys. And these polar bear marshmallows!
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Hygge Party Cocoa Bar
Hot cocoa mix >
Polar bear marshmallows >
Small crock pot >
Mugs or cute paper cups >
Whipped cream >[/su_note]
Food
We kept the menu simple with a charcuterie board, a winter salad of arugula, persimmons and pomegranate seeds and mini caprese skewers.
My mom made fried rice and a Cambodian salad. It was whatever people felt like bringing and worked out great.
For dessert, we served Sophie’s favorite banana cake. In place of a cake topper, I decorated the cake with a few eucalyptus sprigs around the base.
And to decorate, we hung up a macrame bunting and a “hip, hip, hygge” sign; lit tall, white tapers; and plated the food on cake stands and white serveware.
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Hygge Party Food Table Decor
Macrame bunting >
Hip hip hygge sign>
Tall white candle tapers>
Palm leaf plate and wooden utensils set>
Cake stand>[/su_note]
Dress Code
In the party invite, I told guests to dress “cozy and cute,” which was whatever it meant to them. Lots of people wore jeans, sweaters and fun socks.
Sophie said the hygge party was wintery and cozy and made her feel “transported to Denmark,” so I’d say it was a success. 🙂
Want more fun how tos? Find out how to tell someone they’re cute, how to ask someone to be your bridesmaid and how to throw a Kate Spade-themed bridal shower here.