We spent a couple of days last week at our favourite yurt in Pinery Provincial Park and it was the perfect little escape right at the peak of Christmas season. I called it “Yurtmas”. 🙂 I thought for today’s post I would share a little bit of what we got up to while we were there!
A yurt is the absolute coziest place that you can find yourself during the winter. We always do tent camping in the summer, but I’ve heard from people who have yurted in the summer that it isn’t exactly ideal because a yurt can get very warm. You might think staying in a tent-like structure in the winter would be a little chilly, but it’s exactly the opposite. The yurts where we stay are outfitted with propane fireplaces complete with digital thermostats, so all you do is turn up the temperature if you find yourself feeling a little chilly and things warm up super quickly. They really hold the heat too, and it’s always so cozy to come back to the yurt after a long walk outside. You might even find yourself feeling a little too warm, which is perfect because it’s so refreshing to go sit outside on the deck with a hot beverage for a few minutes to cool off.
It’s worth it to bring a few twinkle lights. We brought a wreath, a mini tree, and a string of twinkle lights, which took about 5 minutes total to set up, but totally set the tone for “Yurtmas”. Even the simplest little Christmas touches feel so special in a setting like that and you really get to appreciate them in a different way than the way you enjoy your Christmas decor at home. Again, super cozy. 🙂
Note the tree stand that Chris rigged up out of firewood and a rock because we forgot the legs for the tree at home.
The forest is beautiful in a totally different way at this time of year. You notice so many different things in the forest during the winter that are kind of hidden during the summer months. I was amazed to find that there were the most beautiful little Christmas trees growing all around our yurt. It must be the season, because I’ve never really paid them much attention in the spring when we’ve been there, but they really caught my eye this time around. There were so many beautiful types of little red berries too!
And so is the beach! We love a good winter beach. It always feels like such an adventure to be down there in he winter with the wind howling and the waves crashing and all the driftwood that gets washed up on shore.
If you always hope for long, cozy hours spent by the fire playing games with your family at this time of year, but can never quite find the time, get yourself into a yurt! I find myself always hoping for long, quiet, cozy days at this time of year where we have time to casually play cards and just relax, but somehow at home that doesn’t seem to happen very often. When you’re in a winter yurt, there isn’t much else to do and it gets dark so early that you find yourself in the perfect position for a little family game night. We just left some cards and games out on the table and picked them up whenever we felt like it. We even downloaded a few movies onto our iPads so we could have a movie night as well. Hot chocolate made on the camp stove outside is always a welcome addition to this kind of setting. 🙂
The only things that I would bring next time that I didn’t this time is more bag clips for all the snacks we brought, fitted flannel sheets for the mattresses instead of cotton (they slip out of place less), and a puzzle to work on would have been great too.
Have you ever stayed in a yurt at Christmastime?
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.