The Hygge Holiday by Rosie Blake

The Hygge Holiday by Rosie Blake is the official December 2022 pick for the Peanut Blossom Book Club for Recovering Readers.

A copy of the book The Hygge Holiday sits on the table.

In the 8 years of our book club, I have NEVER picked an official read for December before this year.

Usually I call this our “Reader’s Choice” month because during the busy holiday season, it can feel nice to take a break and just read whatever is calling your name.

But, when I spotted the sweet pink cover of this month’s book during my book search for the year, I absolutely couldn’t resist adding it to our lineup.

If you’re not sure what “hygge” is, it refers to a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture).

If that doesn’t describe snuggling up with a good book, I don’t know what does!

So if you’re needing an extra does of good will and happiness this month, this book club pick is going to be right up your alley.

Peanut Blossom Book Club

This book club pick is one of the awesome books from our eighth year of book club.

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What is The Hygge Holiday About?

“The perfect recipe for hygge:

make a hot chocolate
draw the curtains
snuggle under a blanket
read your way to happiness!

It’s autumn in Yulethorpe and everyone is gloomy. It’s cold, drizzly and the skies are permagrey. The last shop on the high street – an adorable little toy shop – has just shut its doors. Everything is going wrong for Yulethorpe this autumn. Until Clara Kristensen arrives.

Clara is on holiday but she can see the potential in the pretty town, so she rolls up her sleeves and sets to work. Things are looking up until Joe comes to Yulethorpe to find out exactly what is going on with his mother’s shop.

Joe is Very Busy and Important in the City and very sure that Clara is up to no good. Surely no one would work this hard just for the fun of it?

Can a man who answers emails at 3 a. m. learn to appreciate the slower, happier, hygge things in life – naps, candles, good friends and maybe even falling in love?”

Buy your copy here.

The Hygge Holiday Discussion Questions

I believe the best book club questions to spark a lively discussion in your group help readers make personal connections to the story.

You can read about how to write the best book club questions on your own here, but hopefully these will get you started!

Question 1:

Were you familiar with the concept of “hygge” before reading this book? How do you make your own home more cozy during this time of the year?

Question 2:

Clara takes over at the toy shop, if you were going to take over a small shop what kind would you love to run? How would you make it special?

Question 3:

Joe is Important and Busy while Clara is calm and peaceful. Who do you identify with more? Why?

Question 4:

Clara cooks a lovely meal, sets the table, and savors her meal, Joe admits he eats snacks for dinner usually at his desk. What does family dinner look like at your house? Did this book inspire you to make it a calmer part of the day or does that seem completely unreasonable with your current lifestyle?

Question 5:

Lady CaCa the parrot only speaks in movie quotes. Take a round and everyone share a thought about the book in movie quote style.

Question 6:

Did you enjoy the messaging back and forth between Louisa and Gavin and seeing their relationship progress? What was your favorite moment between them?

Question 7:

Cozy romances like The Hygge Holiday can be quite predictable but that’s often why we love them. Did you see the ending coming? Did that make the book more or less enjoyable for you? How would you have written the ending differently?

Book Club Party Menu

For your book club party menu, keep things super cozy for the end of the year and just serve hot cocoa and cookies!

My easy crockpot hot chocolate bar is so fun to set up. For the adults, you could always set out a bottle of liqueur to add a little extra warmth to the mug!

Then choose one or two easy Christmas cookies to bake. I love my crispy M&M cookies with cornflakes and oats because they are a simple drop cookie.

If you have a little more time, the homemade gingerbread cookies are fun to bake with your kids ahead of time.

Or in a pinch, just whip up my sweet gingerbread dip and serve it with graham crackers for dipping or a package of super-fancy thin cookies. I’ve spotted hot cocoa flavored cookie thins at the store that would be perfect.