6 Cozy Staples to Have a Sleepytime Tea Bear Winter
I am not a winter person in the traditional sense — I’ve never been downhill skiing and I haven’t owned any snow pants as an adult. But that doesn’t mean I hate winter: I appreciate the excuse to recharge from a social summer and stay in more often, I thrive with a book and a pot of tea by my side, and I delight in the chance to get unabashedly cozy and spend time at home.
If only there was more encouragement out there to embrace this slower pace of life in the wintertime. Shouldn’t there be some kind of hygge mascot everyone can look to for inspiration? Ah, but there is — and its name is the Sleepytime Tea Bear.
You’ve surely seen this little guy before, either on the box of Celestial Seasonings tea in your cabinet or in one of the many memes about this beautifully unbothered bear. The Sleepytime Bear wears an expression that shows he knows complete peace. He is fully content to sit in a stuffed green chair and revel in the warmth of the fireplace. He doesn’t know anything about “FOMO” or “winter sports” or “work” — he is simply a cozy icon and he is who I channel all winter long.
Although the Celestial Seasonings illustration is mostly a state of mind, if you really want to lean into having a Sleepytime Tea Bear winter, here are a few staples to help you do it.
A Crackling Fireplace (Real or Fake)
If you live in a home with a fireplace, you’re all set — just light a flame underneath those logs, sit back, and relax into your reading chair. If not, you may have to get a little more creative. In the winter, if I’m in my living room and not watching something on TV, you can bet it’s streaming a crackling virtual fireplace. If Netflix had its own version of Spotify Wrapped, “Crackling Birchwood from Fireplace for Your Home” would be my top play of the year. There are also hundreds of creative options on YouTube, or you can opt for a more tangible but miniature fireplace, like this light-up ornament (I have one and it’s one of my favorite small things) or a tabletop fire pit.
