Design Tips and Celebration Ideas for the Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice marks the onset of winter and is the shortest day of the year, typically falling somewhere between Dec. 21-23 in the Northern Hemisphere. Though it's the day with the least sunlight, Winter Solstice is a celebration of sunny days ahead and is the perfect time to break out yule logs, roaring fires, candles and enjoy decadent treats with friends. Want to get in on the festivities this year? Read on to learn about our favorite Winter Solstice decor, recipes and activity ideas for the whole family.

Deck your halls, tables and trees with dried orange slice decorations. Orange garland and ornaments offer natural color and texture to your solstice decor and, even better? They’re steeped with holiday symbolism. Oranges represent the sun in Winter Solstice celebrations because each day that follows the holiday — the shortest day of the year — welcomes progressively more sunlight.

What better way to revel in the winter holiday than by gathering outdoors? Invite guests around your fire pit and burn a yule log (or 12!) to celebrate the season. Supply each loved one with a cozy sherpa throw blanket and a cold-weather cocktail to keep them warm from the inside out.

Add snow to the forecast for late December with a flurry of shimmery snowflakes. Dangle store-bought or hand-crafted snowflakes from light fixtures throughout your house to create a festive, wintry statement for your solstice gathering. Another idea? Suspend your snowflakes at varied heights from interior doorways or window curtain rods for similar results.

Bring a wintry, woodland touch to your Solstice table with this rustic candle holder. Drill holes into a fallen branch or log, then nestle white votive candles into each for an ambient centerpiece. Surround the candle holder with evergreen branches, holly berry bunches or mistletoe as an ode to the holiday.

Transform your homemade (*cough* store-bought *cough*) cake into a snowy Solstice centerpiece. Fill a piping bag with white buttercream icing and use an open star or round tip to cover the cake with dots. Top the white icing with a flurry of coconut shavings or iridescent edible glitter for a frosted finishing touch, then top with a pair of white woodland figurines.

Hazelnuts, chestnuts and English walnuts — oh my! Roasted and raw nuts are a traditional Winter Solstice snack and are a tasty addition to your holiday spread. Take cues from this cozy winter table. Pile a wooden trough high with your favorite shelled winter nuts and provide guests with a few nutcrackers.

Welcome winter with a slew of evergreen trees, indoors and out. Take notes from this stunning alfresco entertainment space and create a lush backdrop with four pine trees surrounded by cypress and eucalyptus garland and pine cones aplenty. Add a few pillar candles and twinkle lights throughout your outdoor space for a touch of cozy ambiance after dark.

Roasting food over an open fire is a classic Winter Solstice activity. Embrace the tradition with your family and friends by serving everyone’s favorite childhood dessert: s’mores. Follow our lead and present the chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows on a tri-tiered cake stand. It’s chic, easy to navigate and lends the simple dessert a distinctive, elevated appeal. Another idea? Put a woodsy, Winter Solstice spin on the classic treats by using sticks instead of skewers.

Make the most of the limited daylight available and take your trusty four-legged family member (and your human ones, too!) on a bundled-up stroll on the Winter Solstice. Convening with nature and enjoying fresh air gives you an opportunity to reflect on the last year and recharge for the days ahead.

Whether hosting a Winter Solstice party or skipping the shenanigans and spending the night solo — this is the perfect holiday to escape the chilly temps and slip into a nice long bath. Rest, reflect and recharge for the longer days (or festive night) ahead. Set this soak apart from your weekly dips by surrounding your tub with candlelight and take part in the Japanese Solstice tradition of using Yuzu fruit (or salts) in your water to usher in good health and fortune in the coming year.

Warm your Winter Solstice guests with a batch of classic and oh-so-cozy mulled wine. Our German mulled wine recipe (linked below) combines dry red wine with cinnamon, star anise, allspice, oranges, cloves, orange juice and amaretto to leave anyone who drinks it with the ultimate holiday glow.

Wassail is a staple for Winter Solstice celebrations — and for good reason. The hot beverage warms party-goers from the inside out with a tawny port, apple cider and orange juice base, spiced to perfection with aromatic cinnamon, clove and cranberries. Best part? You can throw all the ingredients in your crockpot and your house will smell divine long after the Solstice festivities come to a close.

Celebrate the Solstice by transforming a bare-branched yule tree into a festive focal point in your home. Take note from the Celtic Druid Winter Solstice traditions include trimming yule trees with symbolic and natural elements like orange slices representing the sun, mistletoe for happiness, holly berries for fortune and (flameless) candles to symbolize warmth.

Yoga and the Winter Solstice are a match made in heaven. Since ancient times, this holiday has been a time for grounding and self-reflection, and yoga is the ideal activity to enter that revitalizing state of mind. Roll out your yoga mat for solo work, or invite your loved ones to join in as a new annual family tradition. Bonus points if you serve spiced cider afterward.

Mark the occasion with a mouthwatering homebaked yule log. Our take on the classic French Buche de Noel will earn you compliments aplenty with a rich pumpkin roll filled with cream cheese frosting and covered with decadent chocolate bark. Find the full recipe in the link below.

Go ahead and put mistletoe under your must-have list for Winter Solstice decor. This iconic winter berry is associated with sweet stolen kisses today, but the Druids believed it to be a symbol of fertility, prosperity and protection during ancient times. Hang fresh mistletoe beneath doorways and over headboards, or follow our easy DIY tutorial to create an everlasting bunch you can use year after year.

Cinnamon Star Bread is a staple for Winter Solstice and St. Lucia feasts in Sweden — but if you’re not the best baker, a simple batch of generously iced cinnamon rolls will do! Start a new family tradition of making homemade cinnamon rolls and drinking spiced cider on Winter Solstice morning.

Traditional Winter Solstice decorations nod to celestial bodies, including the sun, moon, and stars and these luminaries fit the bill. Add wintry whimsy overhead with a collection of Moravian star lights dangling from tree branches in your yard. Pro tip: Secure your star lights with fishing wire to achieve a magical floating effect.

Turn up the texture and dress your sitting room for the Winter Solstice by incorporating faux furs. Drape your dining bench or armchair backs with snowy faux sheep-skins to create an inviting, wintry design to welcome guests for the holiday. Another idea? Provide partygoers with fluffy faux fur blankets for gathering around your outdoor fire pit.

Prep your home for a Winter Solstice soirée by putting fresh (or faux!) evergreen trees around every corner. Leave their needled limbs bare and wrap the branches with lights for a simple yet impactful display suited for the holiday. Our advice? Take cues from this lush mudroom and use trees of varied heights to create a dimensional, visually balanced display.

Use the Winter Solstice as an opportunity to swap out your summer and autumn artwork for something a bit cooler. (Pun intended.) Go bold with an oversized ski print a la this wintry living room, or take a traditional approach with a few snowy landscape paintings or sculptural accents like vintage skis or ice skates.

A sparkling mantel in champagne and silver cancels out the gloom and cold outside your door. Forced paper whites are a cheerful reminder of springtime weather to come. Include natural elements like pinecones and nuts, and you've got a wintery scene to last the whole season.

The first day of winter is the perfect time for candles to serve as more than decorative accents. Put your chandeliers, sconces, candelabras and candlesticks to work in the fight against seasonal affective disorder.

Carefully placed touches of gold used in this living room — candleholders, fabrics, frames, furniture, dipped candles and bowls — instantly create a glamorous space. Incorporate a non-working fireplace into the sophisticated look by placing battery-operated lights behind plants like ferns.

When hosting a meal for Winter Solstice, make a combination centerpiece and table runner using fresh evergreen clippings. Keeping the centerpiece low allows for easy conversation between guests.

Framed photo prints and white vases makes an enchanting snowy display. A large mirror is layered with vases and picture frames and a lovely quote is featured on a lattice-framed chalkboard.

Dress up your tabletop surface with an arrangement that looks just like mistletoe. Combine branches of hypericum berries with sprigs and branches of pine. The arrangement will last anywhere from 10 days to two weeks if the water is changed regularly and the stems are cut at an angle every other day.

To create drama, think of each decorative element in reference to its visual weight and shape. This table for four is lacking in a tablecloth or runner; instead, different textures and sheens of varied materials, from the seagrass and cork chargers to the antique brass place setting and the coarse texture of the thistle centerpiece anchor the tablescape.

Bright whites and simple natural elements dress up this winter mantel display. Terra-cotta pots painted in metallic colors add shine, as do the glitter highlights on pine cones. Candles and lanterns provide a warm glow, great for cold winter nights.

This mantel's play on shapes, scale and layering gives it an understated vibe that's seasonal, yet modern, and a bit masculine.

Set the tone for the Solstice with a wintry tablescape steeped with symbolism. Follow our lead and fill glass bottles with water, pine and mistletoe berries to create modern candle holders that represent prosperity and protection. Serve tasty treats on live-edge wood serving boards as a nod to the yule log and adorn your light fixture with fresh-cut evergreen snippings.