14 Cozy and Creative Winter Solstice Celebration Ideas
The winter solstice marks the longest night of the year, the first day of winter, and the time when the light of the sun will begin to return with longer days. While historical winter solstice celebrations often featured Celtic druids, Pagan traditions, or saturnalia in ancient Rome, many people now choose to use the moment to honor the passing season and welcome in new beginnings.
If you want to celebrate the winter solstice this year, we have all the ideas you need. From what to do to how to decorate, here’s your guide to winter solstice traditions new and old.
14 Ideas for Your Winter Solstice Celebration
Just as we might celebrate the summer solstice and the longest day of the year, the winter solstice (the shortest day of the year) has become an important moment in December in the Northern Hemisphere (or in June in the Southern Hemisphere).
Whether you’re celebrating the moment alone, gathering with loved ones, or hosting a big party, here are some thoughtful ways you can welcome in a new year of light, warmth, and love.
1. Clean Your Space
The first day of winter is an ideal time to clear your space and make everything feel fresh again. You might not want to tidy up and clean, but doing this can help you reset your home and make it feel like the cozy paradise you need for the winter months ahead.
Cleaning up your space is also a must-have if you’re planning a get-together or party in honor of the winter solstice. Start early so you can refresh a room every day, or set aside a day to go around tidying up and cleaning before your guests arrive.
2. Decorate a Holiday Tree
While Christian events like Christmas popularized decorating a holiday tree, it’s also a much-loved part of winter solstice celebrations. Decorating the tree with elements from nature can remind you of the beauty of it and encourage you to take a moment to pause.
Many people like to decorate an outdoor tree for the holiday, so they’re not cutting down one to bring into their home. If you don’t have an outdoor tree, look for other ways to decorate your yard or home — like adding a wreath to your front door.
3. Reflect and Journal
Winter solstice celebrations encourage us to reflect, be mindful, and show gratitude, and journaling is a great way to do this.
Sit down solo with a journal and write down memories from seasons past, or invite friends along to do this as a group exercise. Give yourself quiet time to sit, reflect, and find joy in the little moments, and choose some goals for the future.
4. Decorate with Nature
Outside isn’t the only space to decorate this winter solstice. Bring the beauty of nature to every element of your home and celebrations with decor from the natural world.
Hang mistletoe up in your home, or use it to decorate a table display. Use pinecones, dried leaves, logs, and other natural pieces from your local area to create a centerpiece for your dining table or a piece of long-lasting art.
5. Enjoy Quiet Time Together
Design: Signature Greenvelope
Gathering your loved ones for a winter solstice celebration can be all about relaxation. Instead of a more lively event with lively holiday party games, invite people over to spend some quiet time together.
Gather friends for a board game night, spa night, vision board party, or quiet movie night. Another fun idea is a book club night — you could use these charming matching invitations to spread the word.
6. Watch a Winter Solstice Livestream
There are many locations around the world that throw epic winter solstice celebrations, such as:
While it may not be possible to travel to one of the many symbolic locations around the world, the good news is, you don’t have to. These days, it’s easy to find a livestream of an organized event to watch from the comfort of your home.
Look for a live video feed from your chosen location, or play a recorded version in the background of your own dinner party or event later in the week.
7. Fill Your Home with Candles
We love filling our homes with candles in midwinter. It’s one of the best ways to make your space feel comfortable, cozy, and warm. Light is a popular symbol for winter solstice celebrations, with many traditions dating back to the return of the sun god in Peru and various Scandinavian countries.
Embrace this focus on light with real candles, LED candles, or even twinkle lights. Extend it outside your home too with some soft outdoor lighting, or place LED candles on your window sills so they can be seen from outside.
8. Make a Yule Log
In the past, families would bring in a log from outside and burn it in the hearth as part of midwinter celebrations. If you have a fireplace, you could continue this tradition now, but you can also embrace having a yule log in other ways.
Find a smaller log, and use it as a centerpiece, decorated with small candles that you can light to add warmth and brightness to a room. Invest in a decor piece in the style of a yule log that you can use for many years in a row. Swap the traditional yule log for a cake version instead. The choice is yours!
9. Host a Dinner Party
Design: 2birdstone | Folksy Frame Invitation
You can’t go wrong with a dinner party as your winter solstice celebration. Whether you invite a handful of people or make it a larger event, enjoying a feast with your friends and family is always fun.Create a menu that matches your own tastes, or work in some traditional midwinter feast foods like nuts, oranges, and pomegranates.Â
Gift-giving isn’t an essential part of the celebration, but you could give your guests a small token or party favor to take with them as they enter into the winter season.
10. Make Winter Crowns
Making flower crowns is a lovely way to celebrate in summer, and the same can be true for winter too — only with seasonal elements from the natural world instead.
Swap the fresh flowers for evergreen leaves, berries, and twigs, and create a rustic winter crown that you can either wear for a party or use as a decoration in your room.
11. Write a Gratitude List
It’s the time of year where many of us reflect on the months that have gone before, eager to remember the good moments and take more of that with us into the season ahead.
Sit down with a pen and paper, and write some of your favorite memories from the year so far. Add notes of gratitude, giving thanks to the people that made the moments possible, the hard work you’ve put in to reach milestones, and the presence of joy in your life.
12. Make a DIY Lantern
Light is such a key part of midwinter celebrations, and a lantern is a lovely way to bring that to life. Try a simple DIY lantern project. This is a fun craft that works for both adults and children, and it requires only a few resources to complete.
Once you’ve made your lantern, you could hang it on a string outside your front door or in the backyard, place it on your dinner table to light up your meal, or take it with you to an event.
13. Take Part in a Community Event
You don’t have to celebrate the winter solstice solo or at home. Many areas host community events to celebrate the holiday, with people gathering together to welcome in the light and reflect on the year.
Look for an event that matches your interests and the age group of your party. Lantern parades, poetry events, community days, and evening gatherings are all popular winter solstice celebrations.
14. Host a Winter Solstice Party
Design: Ashley DeMeyere Design
If you can’t find an event, maybe it’s time to host your own. Invite your loved ones over for dinner and festivities like lighting the yule log or playing games together, or plan a grand yard or street party in honor of the solstice instead.
Whatever you choose, our collection of online invitations has something for every type of event. Try this ethereal winter party invitation for an elegant get-together, and customize all the elements to create an invitation that’s as unique as the party you’re planning.
Host a Cozy Winter Solstice Celebration This Year
Midwinter invites us to pause, reflect, and let light into our days. Whether you’re hosting a grand event or something more laid-back, we hope these winter solstice celebration ideas help you plan the kind of day you want to experience.
If you’re inviting others to join you for the event, use our entertaining invitations to do it. Every design can be customized, so you can alter the layout, fonts, and colors to make it feel beautifully bespoke — without the price tag or environmental impact of printing and mailing all your invites.
