Making your Home a Cozy Place (A Relief Society Women's Activity Night!)

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     I've been waiting since last Fall to share this Relief Society Activity that we did back then.  I figured that it was too late for you to implement a Fall type activity at that late date, so I saved it for this year.  
     When Autumn arrives, everyone is ready to settle in at home and feel comfortable and cozy, have their loved ones around in quiet contentment...and that is the dream. It can be frustrating when your dream doesn't fit your reality.  So, we decided to talk about the questions, "What does a Cozy Home mean to you and how can I create one?"  It turned out to be a very well received and awesome activity.

This was our flyer, inviting everyone to come! Don't mind the typo! This flyer isn't editable, but you can design one like it on Canva!

   We began the evening with a nice dinner of warm and delicious soups and breads.  Who doesn't love a nice soup during the brisk Fall months? (Even in Phoenix, we like to consider weather in the 70's to be brisk Fall weather!)  We also invited everyone to bring quick breads or other treats so that we could put together some "cozy" treat plates for sisters that couldn't attend and needed to be ministered to.  We had plenty to share and everyone love this idea.  We ended the night early enough so that people could drop things off on their way home.  Some special treats to share always make a home feel cozy! 

     After the meal, we began our discussion about what made a cozy home.  

     Of course to start off, responses included:

Lots of pillows!

Warm lights and cozy furniture by a fire. (not usually found in Phoenix, lol.)

Stacked books and warm throws.

Hot Cocoa!

    Those answers weren't wrong.  All of those things can add to the feeling of coziness.  But not everyone can afford to have a magazine worthy home, and that idea is pretty much a fantasy for large families with little children.  Does that mean that everyone can't have a cozy home?  

     Of course not!  So we dug a little deeper and even incorporated some of the ideas of the Danish term hygge.  A definition of hygee  is , "Hygge embodies coziness and a way of living that promotes comfort and contentment."  
      When I think about my own home, when I was growing up, I always felt cozy and loved and safe.  My home was a refuge to me and my family.  Yet, we were not rich by any means, our furnishings were very modest and most of what we had was handmade by my mother and hard earned by my father.  But, my home included the following things: 

Showing love to one another.

Having fun together!

Learning together!

Family mealtimes together.

     Having a cozy home isn't only a thing that families can enjoy.  People who live alone can also have that coziness in their homes as well:

Find ways to enjoy time alone.

Find activities to do in your home that you enjoy, a hobby or craft!

Invite friends over and make your home a welcoming place.

Or make your home a place where you can have a heart to heart with a special friend.

Enjoy your craft and a visit with someone who may also like some company. This is a great way to minister to someone.

...and whether you are living alone or with a crowd, don't forget time to study scriptures and to have private prayer and prayer with family.

     Of course, all of this discussion led us to the Family Proclamation that is a wonderful reference for creating a home where people want to be.  Where they feel loved, warm and cozy.  
      The final answer to creating a cozy home is by starting with ourselves and as the Hygee definition suggests, living in a way that promotes comfort and contentment.  In other words, we call that inviting the Spirit to reside in our home and keeping the ugly things of today's world away.  More and more, in our lives today, we need those cozy homes of refuge from the world.

      Every person and family will need to decide where this improvement can happen in their own homes.  Perhaps there needs to be more regular scripture study and prayer.  Maybe less screen time and more family game time.  Everyone could add more hugs and loving words.  Working together to keep your home clean and inviting can also help.  You get the picture and can probably think of a million more ideas, or the sisters in your discussion can give a million ideas as well. 

     At the end of the discussion, we handed out these cards with an individual serving of hot cider mix attached to it.  I love the quote from Ezra Taft Benson:

You may click on this picture to get a pdf to copy and print this card.

     I used the recipe for the mix from Savory Nothings and simply divided it into individual servings.  All the recipients have to do is mix it into hot apple cider.  
     I used small bags much like these to hold the mix and tied them with an Autumn colored ribbon. 

     After this discussion, we put together our treat plates to deliver, and everyone went their way, feeling like they could create a cozier home by inviting the Spirit to be there! 
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​If you liked this activity idea, here a few more you may enjoy: 

• A S'mores Relief Society Activity
• It's All About Love
• An Alice In Wonderland Tea Party
• Our Gardening Workshop
• A Soup Buffet Party
• Chicken Noodle Soup in a Pint Jar