Cozy? Comfort? Care? Welcome to Your Winter Toolkit
Settle in for warmth, simplicity and connection this season — whether you’re unwinding at home or navigating another work day. The collection below of illustrations, recipes, ideas, and more is here to add a touch of hygge (“hyoo-guh”) — a Danish concept of comfort and contentment — to your days, wherever you are. So say goodbye to doomscrolling and hello to … hygge scrolling! As you explore, you’ll find inspiration to slow down, enjoy this moment, and savor quiet pleasures this season, shared with you by many of FOA’s leaders.
So grab your favorite mug, get comfortable, and scroll on — coziness and delight await just below.
Favorite Traditions
Get inspired to relax and enjoy your time, with these favorite experiences from FOA leaders!
Stay toasty around a firepit with s’mores
Here is my favorite way to hygge: Sitting out on the deck of our family cabin around the firepit with friends, enjoying a glass or mug of something tasty and toasting marshmallow. Try building out a s’mores board!
–Julie Nola, University Architect and Associate Vice Chancellor (Design and Construction Management)
Gaze at starry skies and ocean waves
We love spending our holidays as a family at our family vacation home in Sea Ranch, which is the last city along the coast in Sonoma County. After you leave Sea Ranch, you enter Mendocino County. The ranch is full of wildlife, nature, hiking trails, amazing ocean views, and stargazing that’s out of this world, literally and figuratively.
–Tammy Kenber, Chief Human Resources Officer
Cozy slumber party for the New Year
Our favorite holiday tradition is one my father started when my sister and I were little, back when we were still in single digits of age. It would typically happen on New Year’s Day, and it was something we all eagerly anticipated. Our living room would be completely transformed into a cozy, all-night slumber party. Bedding, pillows, and comforters would be laid out across the floor. The night was all about family time, indulgence and comfort: fried foods and snack food galore. For my sister and me, the food was the best part! We’d fill our plates with all the treats we loved and spend the evening eating, laughing, and talking. The TV would be on, and later — once we had tapes and CDs — it became a marathon of movies and music, back-to-back, all night long. My sister and I have continued this tradition with our own families, even though we live on different continents except my boys call it junk food fest — and prefer video games and pillow fights!
–Radhika Prabhu, Assistant Vice Chancellor (Administrative Innovation and Technology)
Take your hot cocoa to go, with trees and lights
Getting our Christmas tree is a family tradition for us. We get hot chocolate and drive to Silveyville Christmas Tree Farm in Dixon to not just pick out a tree, but visit the goats and other animals there. We have pictures going back 15 years at least.
Our other holiday tradition also involves hot chocolate (shocking!). We have been driving the kids around the Fabulous 40's Christmas tree lights in Sacramento since they were little. It's amazing and so much fun!
–Nathaniel Hartinger, Interim Fire Chief
Delight in a New Recipe
Enjoy these beloved recipes from FOA colleagues. Maybe you’ll find a new delicious favorite to share with family or friends!
Try Corn Cazuela - It's better than stuffing!
Here’s our family recipe for a dish we have every year for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s always everyone’s favorite, even over stuffing! Yummy!
–Tammy Kenber, Chief Human Resources Officer
Chris Kenber’s Corn Cazuela Recipe
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Ingredients:
- 12 ears corn
- ¾ cup yellow cornmeal
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/3 cup whipping cream
- ½ pound Monterey Jack cheese
- 3 fresh Anaheim chilies, roasted, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch squares or strips
Directions:
Remove husks from corn. Soak wide outer husks in boiling water until softened, about 15 minutes. Drain well. Line 9x13-inch baking dish with husks, overlapping if necessary and allowing excess to hang over.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut corn from cobs. Set aside 1 cup. Puree remainder in batches in processor. Beat butter in large mixer bowl until fluffy. Beat in cornmeal, sugar, cream cheese and salt. Stir in reserved corn and corn puree. Blend in cream. Pour half of corn mixture into prepared dish, smoothing top; do not spread to edges of husks. Cover with cheese and chilies. Pour in remaining mixture. Cover with foil and bake 1 hour. Uncover and let stand 20 minutes before serving; cazuela will firm as it cools.
Make buttery, tangy, sweet Sourdough Snowball Cookies
Sourdough baking has become one of my favorite cozy hobbies, and I'm always looking for creative ways to use discard — like these delightful Sourdough Snowball Cookies. If you’re not in your sourdough era yet, then this is your sign!
– BreAnda Northcutt, FOA Communications Director
Sourdough Snowball Cookie Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup sourdough discard (unfed, at room temperature)
- ½ cup powdered sugar (plus extra for rolling)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup finely chopped walnuts (or another nut)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Cream butter, sourdough discard, and powdered sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla extract and mix well.
- Gradually mix in flour and salt. Stir in walnuts.
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes (optional for easier handling).
- Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until set but not browned.
- Let cookies cool for 5 minutes, then roll in powdered sugar.
- Once completely cool, roll in powdered sugar again for a snowy finish.
- Enjoy!!
Bake your favorite fruit into a Bavarian Fruit Tart
This recipe is from my Bavarian mom. It’s quick and easy to make — and simply delicious. Good year round, including for the holidays!
–Clare Shinnerl, Vice Chancellor
Bavarian Fruit Tart Recipe
Directions:
Many different types of fruit can be used for this tart, including apples, peaches, apricots, plums, rhubarb, and pears. At a minimum, 2 cups of fruit are needed, with 3 or 3.5 cups yielding a fruitier tart. For the quantities in this recipe, use a small (7”) spring pan. Double the recipe when using a larger spring pan and add more baking time (+ 15 minutes, at least).
Cut up fruit first. Fruit should be thickly sliced. Remove peel for most fruits, except apricots and plums.
For the batter, mix in a bowl:
- ½ cup butter
- ¾ cup sugar (or less)
- 1 cup flour
- 3 eggs
- vanilla
Butter the spring pan. Pour batter into the spring pan and spread out throughout the bottom of pan.
Arrange fruit tightly in a circle on top of the batter. Fruit will sink into the batter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
The batter will rise above the fruit during baking.
Not-so-secret recipe for Bailey’s Hot Chocolate
Drink a big mug of hot chocolate with Bailey’s. Recipe:
- Make hot chocolate.
- Add liberal amount of Bailey’s Irish Cream 😊
–Matt Okamoto, Campus Controller
Get Creative
Coloring, crocheting, arts and crafts. Let your inner artist guide your way!
Color in the cutest critters on campus
Has the UC Davis campus ever looked so cute? FOA's talented Rosa Li illustrated these cheerful wintry scenes with beloved campus critters — including Cheeto, snacking squirrels, chatty turkeys, a decorated water tower and frosty trees. Print to color in your favorite bits, or add it to your favorite coloring app! Will your version be realistic looking or fantastically creative? (Why not both?)
You can also download these illustrations as full-color Zoom backgrounds, to add a little UC Davis winter cheer to your next meeting. This may be your only chance to see a cow riding a unicycle through campus!
Pick out an illustrated Zoom background
If you're feeling like bragging about your coloring creations, we'd love to see your colored-in scenes by email at FOACommunications@ucdavis.edu.
Yarn + math + downtime = adorable crochet animals
I learned to knit since the pandemic and recently started learning to crochet too--partly because crocheting was all the rage last year in my son's 5th grade class! I'm mostly self-taught with a few books and YouTube video tutorials. It’s a great way to relax and I'm amazed by the creativity and math (yes, math!) that generations of people figured out to develop the patterns for items both beautiful and useful. When I have time to relax, I like to put on an audio book and work on one of my projects. I also like that it is a very portable activity, so I've spent downtime at baseball games, cross country meets, and gymnastics practices working on a project. Recently I've learned to make a few crochet Amigurumi animals using the patterns in this book. These cute owls will be a Christmas present for some of my family members.
–Sarah Mangum, Associate Vice Chancellor (Budget and Institutional Analysis)
Invite Gunrock to your next Zoom meeting
You've got a friend in Gunrock! Delight your colleagues at a future Zoom meeting with these classic campus scenes, with everyone's favorite blue mustang kicking back and strolling through your background image. (Photos shot by FOA's own talented Anjie Cook!)
'Egg on' your inner artist with the Eggheads
Robert Arneson famously wrote about Bookhead, his first UC Davis Egghead installation: "Now it’s ready for students to enrich it I’d say.”
Facilities teams work hard to keep those Eggheads fresh and clean in real life. Now you can add your own shades to these egg-xcellent coloring sheets from the UC Davis Library:
- Stargazer coloring page (PDF)
- Yin & Yang coloring page (PDF)
- Bookhead coloring page (PDF)
Or find more campus coloring sheets from the One Aggie Network (including See No Evil/Hear No Evil).
Get Out and About
Take in some fresh air or new scenery! Explore these favorite local adventures, events and other fun spots nearby.
Trek to breathtaking views near Tahoe
One of my favorite hikes is to Bassi Falls. In the summer and fall, it's an easy hike for a picnic and a great waterfall in the Tahoe region. In the winter or spring when there's snow on the ground, I take snowshoes, and I'd say it's a "moderate" hike. For safety's sake, I'd also say that hiking with snow on the ground means bringing a a map and using a GPS service on your phone because it can be hard to find the trail under the snow sometimes.
In the summer, I also highly recommend a more difficult day hike to Mt. Tallac, which has phenomenal views of Lake Tahoe. (But it's not a winter hike.)
Here’s a map to both trailhead locations, near South Lake Tahoe. Enjoy!
–Eric Kvigne, Associate Vice Chancellor (Safety Services)
Take walks around Davis
Visit the Arboretum! Download the Arboretum's Visitor Map to see our three suggested loop trails.
Visit the Putah Creek Riparian Reserve.
Cheer for Aggie athletes
Women's Basketball vs Cal Maritime
December 28, 2024 at 1 p.m.
University Credit Union Center
Men's Basketball vs Cal Maritime
December 28, 2024 at 4 p.m.
University Credit Union Center
Explore Sacramento's holiday bucket list
This holiday bucket list offers up seasonal holiday festivities in Sacramento, with classic ideas and new options curated by the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Visit a museum
Brenda Mallory: In the Absence of Instruction
Until January 26, 2025
Gorman Museum of Native American Arts, UC Davis
Grimm Tales: Stories of Life and Death
Until February 22, 2025
Tuesdays and Thursdays: 12-4 p.m., Curator open hours third Saturday of the Month: 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
The Gibson House, Woodland
Sponsored by Yolo County Library
Entangled Writing, Ritual Clay and other current exhibits
Until Dec. 29, 2024
Manetti Shrem Museum, UC Davis
Go ice skating
Lace up some skates and glide on the ice! Don't forget your mittens and hats because spending time on ice can be chilly, even in California weather.
You've got several options in our region, including:
- a new seasonal outdoor ice rink in Woodland
- an indoor ice rink in Vacaville
- a traditional holiday outdoor ice rink in downtown Sacramento
Catch a show
Elf - The Musical
December 6–15, 2024
Broadway Sacramento, UC Davis Health Pavilion
Nutcracker
December 13–22, 2024
Sacramento Ballet, SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center
Theatre of Lights
November 27–December 24
Old Sacramento Waterfront
Hike to the top of Stebbins Cold Canyon
My favorite hike in the area is definitely Stebbins Cold Canyon. Such a beautiful view from the top!
–Nathaniel Hartinger, Interim Fire Chief
(There's also a Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve App now, with an active trail map, pictorial Field Guide, and safety features. Check out the Stebbins Cold Canyon webpage for more.)