Five Simple Tips for a Peaceful Cozy Christmas

The joy that fills the air this particular time of year must mean that December has arrived, and these are the five simple tips that I use to create a peaceful cozy Christmas.

The day the tree goes up in our home, the entire atmosphere begins to change. The everyday ordinary becomes more spectacular with the glow of Christmas lights and Christmas music playing in the background.

A Peaceful and Cozy Christmas

December has become a season all about Christmas and materialistic excess. The reason to celebrate the season has been lost, and it has become a season about buying gifts and rushing to the next get-together.

I was recently in a store and overheard a couple talking about the season’s stress, and I thought about how sad that reality is. The truth is, that was me several years ago.

It was a time in my life when I was focused on providing my children with the toys they wanted, decorating our home, and worrying about what I would take to the following family function.

December wasn’t the pleasant, cozy, and peaceful month that I longed for, and so over the last few years, our home has transformed what the month of December feels like.

It has become a favorite time of year that I look forward to, a time that I no longer stress over and celebrate with family and friends.

I want to share a few tips with you in hopes that you will work on cultivating a peaceful and cozy home this month.

Create Memories for a Peaceful Cozy Christmas

Make time for your family and for doing fun things together for a peaceful, cozy Christmas. Gather in the evening to play games, read books or fit a puzzle.

Make hot chocolate, pop some popcorn or enjoy homemade sugar cookies while watching some favorite Christmas movies.

Take a drive around the neighborhood to view the Christmas lights while listening to Christmas music. 

Simple DIY Christmas Crafts For a Peaceful Cozy Christmas

How to Make Salt Dough Ornaments: An easy old-fashioned craft project that has become a favorite holiday season tradition in our home. The children love making salt dough Christmas ornaments and love to give them as beautiful gifts or to hang on their own tree.

How to Make Chocolate Scented Salt Dough: Learn how to make chocolate-scented salt dough ornaments recipe for the best old-fashioned homemade craft creations. These primitive homemade gingerbread men are the perfect ideas for kids and adults.

Old Fashioned DIY Icicle Ornaments: Learn how to make these old-fashioned DIY icicle ornaments with this step-by-step tutorial for Christmas decorations.

DIY Wax Dipped Primitive Window Candle: This DIY wax-dipped primitive window candle will have your home looking cozy for winter. Using a battery-operated candle, you can make your own primitive window candle.

Bring Nature Inside

I like to keep Christmas simple and add a lot of nature touches. This year I tried something new with preserving fresh greenery that has worked amazingly well so far.

Fresh greenery is beautiful, lying on shelves, spread in an arrangement on the coffee table, and even tucked-in bowls with pine cones. You can lay it in window seals or use it to create swags or wreaths.

My favorite tip for finding fresh greenery is to visit a place that sells Christmas trees. They will often give away the branches they cut off the bottoms of the trees. 

Christmas Recipes for the Family to Bake

Christmas Sugar Cookies and Royal Icing Recipe: This is the best cut-out Christmas sugar cookies and royal icing recipe! A classic holiday favorite decorated with frosting, these are the perfect, thick cookies that your family will love.

Old Fashioned Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Recipe: Learn how to make these chocolate espresso crinkle cookies. This old-fashioned holiday baking recipe gets a twist with the addition of espresso powder. Delicious, perfect combination of brownies and cookies, all in one!

Turn Off Over Head Lighting

Candles and Christmas lights create a warm feeling all their own. It gets dark around 5:30 in our area, and the evenings can feel so long.

Lighting creates an atmosphere, and I love turning off all the overhead lights and sitting together as a family with all the Christmas lights glowing while we watch an evening show or relax.

This year I purchased battery-operated candle lights for the windows in our home. Driving up at night and seeing the glow of the candle lights in each window is a beautiful reminder of the cozy home awaiting inside.

I wonder if those passing by can feel the peaceful cozy Christmas joy just by seeing the candle lights all aglow.

Craft and Bake Together

Crafting and baking are special in December. There are certain things that we only make this time of year, like Gingerbread men. This year we have dried oranges, dried cranberries, made ornaments from clay, homemade stockings, and simmered a lot of stovetop potpourri.

The children love to help in the kitchen, and I love working alongside them. We turn on Christmas music and enjoy creating handmade ornaments and garlands for our home and delicious holiday crinkle cookies. 

I love using scents of nutmeg, clove, allspice, and cinnamon in the home during this time of the year as it creates a feeling of warmth.

Be Intentional About Slowing Down

Slow mornings become a more prominent time of our day during this season. The mornings have turned cold, and one by one, the children will come from their rooms, wrapped in a wool blanket to curl on the couch or to sit near the wood-burning stove.

Hot chocolate has become a more common request, and I often play Christmas music softly in the background. Creating a peaceful morning often sets the tone for the day for my children.

I don’t particularly appreciate being rushed in the mornings nor the children, so I try to allow them time; sometimes, that means waking them earlier, especially if we have a busy day.

Our mornings are often filled with a table full of books, each child working hard to complete the day’s studies. Afternoons are for individual book reading choices, outside playtime, games, puzzles, and I often sew or use that time to craft or bake.

I strive to create a peaceful cozy Christmas environment; therefore, the television often stays off during the day, and we don’t own many electronics that consume the children’s time. I love to see the children be creative and understand what it means to live a life of intention. 

As a mother, I have been given the incredible joy of creating a home environment that is peaceful and cozy. Our home is not perfect, and there are days that it is full of chaos; the children aren’t getting along, and I begin to feel the stress.

So I would love to encourage you to work on cultivating a peaceful, cozy Christmas home this season for your family. Do you have a favorite way of creating a quiet, relaxing home this season? I would love to hear about it in the comments. 

Peaceful Cozy Christmas Decorating Ideas

Cozy Rustic Farmhouse Christmas Living Room: Simple tips for creating a cozy rustic farmhouse Christmas living room. There’s no other time of year like Christmas for feeling all warm and cozy inside; here are some very simple tips to add that feel to your home.

Simple Country Christmas Table Decorations: Using a table garland and candle centerpieces for decor, simple country Christmas table decorations. Create your own simple natural Christmas table setting with these ideas for decorating your dining room this season.

Rustic Country Christmas Living Room: A tour of our rustic country Christmas living room. Buffalo check curtains, neutral colors, thrifted finds, and woodsy farmhouse details fill our room with old-fashioned, vintage charm. Here is a look at our cozy, warm, and welcoming living room.

Simple Rustic Farmhouse Christmas: Lots of greenery, ticking stockings and white lights, crocks, and Christmas trees are how I decorated our home for a simple rustic farmhouse Christmas.