It’s that time of year… the busy bustle of the holidays is upon us! Let’s embrace this season as a time to gather with the people we love and honor our traditions while creating a sense of cozy serenity together. We’re inspired by the brisk spice of pine, balsam fir, amber, and cinnamon in the air. We’re ready to snuggle into the nostalgic holiday classics we love to watch and find our favorite festive recipes. We’re looking forward to spending time with family and friends, sending holiday greetings, decorating our homes for Christmas, reminiscing over our keepsakes, and baking our sweet holiday treats. It’s all these little things that excite us when we think about the bright and merry moments December always brings.

No matter our beliefs, the holiday season is something we all look forward to throughout the year. It's a time to come together and celebrate joy—to express gratitude, love, and hope and make memories we’ll hold dear in our hearts for years to come. Although every holiday season may look a little different as families and friendships grow, let this be the moment we honor familiar traditions and to take the opportunity to celebrate in new ways as well. It’s more important than ever that we focus on our common humanity. Our favorite way to celebrate those ties that bind us is by incorporating delightful elements of midwinter festivities from around the world into our own beloved and comforting holiday traditions.

Embrace the Wonder of the Light

Did you know that nearly every winter holiday festivity around the world is centered around the celebration of light? 

For many of us, Christmas is the highlight.  For some, a nativity scene lies at the center of their Christmas feelings, and for others it’s a glowing tree surrounded by carefully wrapped expressions of our love for each other. In some countries, gifts are exchanged and the big meal eaten on Christmas Eve, whereas in the US, the joyous frenzy of opening presents happens on Christmas morning. In some countries, Santa Claus hides your treats in a stocking, but in others he’ll put them in your shoes. Every country—and every family—has its own beloved traditions around Advent, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve. 

For some among us the holidays are centered on the eight bright nights of Hanukkah, when families gather to progressively light the candles of the menorah. Hanukkah traditions include spinning the dreidel, exchanging gifts, and making potato latkes, jelly donuts, and other traditional treats. Kwanzaa also involves feasting together and lighting candles to celebrate the ancestors.

In Sweden St. Lucia’s Day is celebrated on December 13th—the festival of lights. There, girls dress up like St. Lucia in white dresses with a crown of lingonberry branches and a ring of candles. Saffron buns with raisins, called Lussekatts, are traditionally enjoyed on this day.  

And then, of course, there are all the high-spirited things we do to ring in the New Year and celebrate new beginnings together!

In our exploration of holiday festivities around the world, we’ve been delighted by the colorful details and differences. But more than anything we’ve been struck by what these celebrations share: all around the world, secular or religious, traditional and newly updated—they are about light, love, delicious treats, and joy. 

At plj we love the deep comfort of the familiar traditions that have been passed down for generations. But much like our homes and much like joy itself, if we want our holiday celebrations to feel alive, we must be continually open to updating them as our lives and families evolve. Hold onto what you love but make room in your heart to welcome new experiences and the fresh perspectives they foster. There’s no better way to add light and love into our lives during the holiday season and beyond.

Make Moments to Remember

Decorate your Home for the Holidays 

With the shortest days of the year upon us, let’s bring in some light by incorporating festive home accents, hanging fragrant wreaths and garlands, enjoying winter-scented candles, sitting by a warm fire, trimming a Christmas tree, or potting special plants or seasonal flowers. Get the whole family involved in creating the festive ambiance that will brighten your home this month.

Meet for a Christmas Market Night

European-style Christmas markets are an unforgettable tradition—a simply magical experience! When the center of the city is dressed for the occasion, the twinkling hum of the holidays sweeps us up in a wave of nostalgia. Sip a hot beverage and buy handmade gifts from artisans’ stalls nestled in a picturesque, festively adorned square. If there’s no Christmas market nearby, you can create your own excitement closer to home by attending a tree lighting ceremony or visiting a local tree farm. Bundle up and take advantage of an outdoor fireplace and heaters to host your own Christmas market-style gathering—featuring steaming cups of hot chocolate and mulled wine or Christmas punch, holiday music, warming snacks, and an abundance of good cheer. 

Holiday Baking Day

A longstanding tradition in our home is to gather as a family and bake our favorite holiday cookies. Over the years it has become a moment for each generation to anticipate and adore. We don our plj aprons, sip eggnog, and connect through the art of baking. Every funny story we share, recipe we try, and cookie we bake will become part of our living tradition, a sweet stack of loving moments and Christmas joy. A decorative tin filled with an assortment of homemade holiday cookies is a wonderful way to share good cheer with friends and neighbors.

Trim the Tree

If a Christmas tree is part of your family tradition, get everyone involved! We love to incorporate a few smaller trees around the home—in a playroom, entryway, or patio—to add that little decorative spark we’re looking for this time of year. Young children will delight in nibbling holiday-themed snacks while they spend an afternoon crafting new ornaments, stringing popcorn, or decorating gingerbread cookies to hang on the tree. Handmade ornaments and the stories that go along with them become treasured heirlooms as they get handed down year after year.  

Take It Outside!

It’s the time of year when we tend to spend a lot of our time indoors, but outdoor activities with family and friends help everyone stay healthier, more cheerful, and more energized. Plan a sledding or ski day, go ice skating, take a walk in the woods, or host a patio cocktail gathering with plenty of steamy sips and toasty treats. Celebrate Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, by reconnecting with nature—and your loved ones. The best parts of being outside in colder weather are the rosy cheeks and warming up with hot cocoa by the fire afterward!

Holiday Essentials

Get the Winter Glow

With festivities beginning at Thanksgiving and continuing right through the celebration of a New Year, it's easy to feel weary in the frenzy of celebrations. Taking good care of yourself during the holiday season is essential. With colder temperatures outside and our inclination to overdo things, it’s especially important to keep balance in our lives. Savor this precious moment when nature is dormant and time slows down. Enjoy a few of your favorite festive indulgences but try to maintain healthy eating and exercise routines as well. Making time to be active and time to rest, relax, and enjoy your family helps to keep a wellness perspective through the next few weeks. Practicing yoga and taking brisk walks embodies mindfulness and does wonders to boost your energy. When it’s cold we tend to forget about hydrating properly, so make sure to keep up on drinking water—or herbal infusions for warmth!

Our Gifting Guide

A thoughtful gift creates so much joy, both for the giver and the receiver, whether it’s a special experience, homemade treats, or a beautifully wrapped package. At partager la joie, we celebrate the art of thoughtful giving in our style, home, and wellness collections. 

Give that special someone the gift of coziness when you pair our super-soft and luxurious loungewear with a Winter Woods or Sunday Morning candle. If you’re giving the gift of travel, our luxurious travel essential pouch, complete with an eye mask and soft blanket, or a cozy travel scarf is perfect for a jetsetting friend. For the homebody on your gift list: we’ve stocked beautiful home accents, throw blankets, woven accessories, timeless linen napkins and tableware, and adorable  kitchen refresh essentials. Wellness is always the greatest gift, so check out our sleep essentials, lavender eye pillows, lip love, beauty elixirs, hydrating spray, agave cloths, cleansing bars, and calming bath salts and oils. 

Looking for a touch of personalized curation for the loved one who already has everything? Reach out to us—we’d love to assist in creating a customized selection for you!

Design Notes: Time to Sparkle

Merry Minimalista

At partager la joie we like to design with simplicity in mind— we believe that fresh, cozy, and understated elegance is the perfect backdrop for all your festivities. We love to elevate our basics by using seasonal elements from nature. Incorporate fresh winter green sprigs—cedar, pine, and magnolia wreaths and garlands to anchor decor and warm fragrant scents to create a holiday home feeling. This season we’re smitten with winter whites in various textures, especially luxurious blended throws, faux furs, potted paperwhites, white amaryllis in woven containers, and simple twinkling lights. Winter boughs like pine, juniper, magnolia, olive, birch, green oak, and holly all complement each other in wreaths, vases, or simple, elegant garlands to create a seamless design both inside and outside the home. Looking for sparkle? Adorn your garlands with holiday ornaments—strings of clear bulbs, or silver and gold keepsakes. Infuse your home environment with comfort by adding earthy scented candles—like our Sunday Morning, Winter Woods, and Fireside candles. 

Shop our home and winter candle collection

Festive Winter Florals 

Indulge your creativity and arrange your favorite winter stems. We like to keep the theme of seasonal simplicity going with ours—lots of winter whites and fresh greens, including magnolia or pepperberries on the branch, paperwhites, and amaryllis. Force some of these bulbs in your favorite containers (they take a couple weeks to open) and depending on the timing, they will last well into the New Year. Does anything evoke the holidays at home more than the fresh, earthy scent of pine? Wreaths, trees of all sizes and varieties, garlands… Change things up and bring holiday cheer to other parts of your home besides the central living space with small trees, potted winter plants or even decorated winter garlands or branches in your office, foyer, kitchen, or bedroom.  

Set a Holiday Table

Layer and texture is the name of the holiday game with table settings this time of year. Drape beautiful greens adorned with personal touches. Always anchor your place settings with charger plates so that each guest’s dinner plate has a set spot at the table. If your group is large, think about making place-cards of some sort: a handwritten card with a seasonal sprig, a small gift or ornament, or a personalized wrapped bag of cookies or chocolates for each guest. Incorporate warmth by using cozy touches such as faux fur accessories draped along the back of dining chairs. Add plenty of candles and gorgeous potted winter plants to create your own winter wonderland! 

Baubles and Bubbly

Epicure: A Holiday Feast

Whether you’re looking for a holiday dinner showstopper, something to complement the craft cocktails for a midwinter apéro party, or a way to add some festive cheer to a midweek meal, or simply some seasonal comfort food to indulge in, we’ve got you covered in our December epicure.

Coconut Date Smoothie

Eggnog + Coffee

Cranberry Bread

Baked Brie with Cranberries

Seafood Pasta

Potato Latkes

Lentil Soup

Winter Salad

Spiral Ham

Salmon Fillet en Papillote

Classic Chicken Soup

Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Reduction

Poached Pears

Roasted Pineapple

Caribbean Rum Cake

Favorite Pie Dough  

Gigi’s Scotch Crescent Cookies 

Peanut Butter Blossoms 

Traditional Christmas Punch

Aperol Spritz

Festive Ice Cubes

A Time to Toast

In nearly every culture under the sun, midwinter marks the fading out of the old and the welcoming in of the new. On December 21st we celebrate the Winter Solstice, when the tide turns and days start getting longer again. It all gets brighter starting now, as we turn into the light… 

And then there’s New Year’s Eve. Let’s say goodbye to 2024 and make a joyous toast together about our wishes and intentions for 2025! Host a small gathering to ring in the new year, or a brunch on January 1st. However you choose to celebrate, look at the end of the year as your opportunity to welcome a fresh start. 

The Season for New Intentions

With the turning of the year, whether you choose to set resolutions or not, take some time to reflect on what you want to keep, going forward, and what you want to let go. Focus on the positive and customize your intentions to what you want for your life, not what you think you should want. Remember, if you find fulfillment in what you do and focus on doing something that makes you happy, you’ll find more success doing it. As you transition into 2025, think about how you’d like to make small, positive edits in your life to create goodness around you—and we’re sure you’ll find success, not only in this new year but for many years to come.

Remember to be kind to yourself and take the time throughout the festive season to journal on these themes; your notes will guide you in the coming year. This season is a moment to take stock of what we’re grateful for. It’s a moment to share our hopes and wishes for the future, and above all, express our love for those who give us joy.

Wishing you love, peace and joy this holiday season,

xo, Kristin 🤍