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How to Combat the Winter Blahs
One thing I’m always worried about – the winter blahs.
Of course, the best thing to do is to book a vacation to some warm weather destination, but I know that’s not always a possibility. For me, the key is to have something, anything to look forward to that’ll break up the gray skies and cold temps. Something to give me a boost to get through another chilly winter.
My Best Tips for Beating the Winter Blahs
Book a nearby, cozy weekend away.
Think bed and breakfasts and cozy winter cabins. There are plenty of lovely places you can get to on less than a tank of gas. Look for places with a hot tub, sauna, fireplace, anything that really dials up that hygge vibe (that’s the Danish word for cozy). Is it close to fun outdoor activities, like snowshoeing, cross country skiing, or trails? Sign me up!
When it comes to booking a getaway, I always recommend calling up the property and booking directly with them for the best deals. Plus, you never know – while a place may be sold out on all the major hotel sites, they may have some rooms they keep just for direct bookings!
Take a Staycation.
Typically, I am leery of staycations. How can you really “vacation” at home when there’s a pile of laundry, a junk drawer that needs decluttering, and a pantry that you now feel compelled to organize by color (thanks, The Home Edit!)? This year is so different. So many of us aren’t traveling at all, and thus, a staycation is really better than nothing. I have a whole post on how to make a staycation feel special, but here are some of the biggest takeaways:
Spend some time before your actual staycation cleaning the house. Put new sheets on the bed, clean towels in the bathroom, stock the fridge and try to get through all that laundry! If the house is put away, it’s so much easier to relax.
Set the tone. There’s nothing like fresh flowers in unexpected places to transform your home into a pseudo hotel. Put some in your kitchen, bedroom, hey, even the bathroom! And if you find yourself eyeing a fancy candle from Voluspa or Diptyque, now is the time to splurge.
Agree on the ground rules. It’ll never feel like a vacation if you’re tethered to your regular life. Set some ground rules with your fellow staycationers—like only checking email once in the morning and once at night, no using social media. You could even pretend it’s 1983 and lock everyone’s phones away for the weekend.
Pick a theme. I know a couple who does an annual reading weekend, where all they do is read books for three days straight. They even cook all their meals ahead of time so they can just heat them up! You could watch all the Star Wars, Lord of the Rings movies. Never watched Game of Thrones? I’ll bet you could put a big dent in that one over a long weekend (though make an appointment with your therapist for the following week—there may be a lot to unpack after so much carnage!). Cook your favorite meals from trips you’ve taken in the past. if you can’t go to Italy, maybe just eat and drink like you’re there! Board games, puzzles, home spa weekend…. The possibilities are endless.
Bring vacation elements into your home.
Remember the scene in It’s a Wonderful Life when they wind up being unable to go on their honeymoon? Instead, Mary decorates their new (still bedraggled) home with decorations, a freshly cooked meal, and even gets two locals to sing for them once George arrives home. If she can do that last minute, you can too!
What do you love about hotels? See if you can bring those elements into your home. Try a new recipe from a totally different cuisine to what you’re used to. (Or if you live somewhere with a great food scene, order in!) Stock up on fun movies with faraway settings. Plan a theme night with family and friends. There are so many ways to enjoy a “vacation” even if you’re not physically boarding a plane.
How are you planning to break up the winter blahs this year? Share in the comments!
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Wow, great ideas here, Samantha! You’re on to something!!
We, a friend and her mom usually spend New Years Eve at the friends house and make appetizers, play games, have one of the New York New Years Eve Specials on and drink ridiculously expensive Champagne. This year since none of us were able to go on a vacation(yes, our Italy trip was canceled because of covid) we decided to book a hotel room in Half Moon Bay Calif for 2 nights. New Years Eve out, still drink the ridiculously expensive Champagne, play games and watch the ball drop with room service! Staying New Years Day in pj’s, drink more champagne and watch movies. We booked an ocean view room, we are within walking distance to a few really good restaurants! Just three friends enjoying the Holidays together! How much better can that get?
Sara I love Half Moon Bay. We stayed in a room with our own patio with fire pit. It was wonderful. Especially the bagpiper @ sunset.
Bring your own s’more makings the hotels is outrageously expensive. Spend it on champagne!!!
Enjoy.
Thanks Samantha! I’ve been dreading the colder winter and now dark when I leave for work in morning and soon will be dark outside on my way home after work. It makes me feel anxious but knowing you feel the same way I don’t feel alone. This winter will be a mental health challenge for many including myself.
Prayers and positivity to you and family.
Paula
Great ideas, Samantha! I love your newsletters. I am missing travel so much, but we are learning to think of vacation in terms of exploring nearby destinations instead of flying to a faraway island. (With 5-yr-old twins, car trips are easier than flights anyway, lol!).
I absolutely love your FB Lives too…in this time of isolation, they are truly the highlight of my week!
Can’t wait to hear how your first post-pandemic filming went! 🙂
Hi Samantha,
Winter is hard to begin with so this is a good topic. I have a light box to give me a boost. Also massages, walking if not too cold or dancing inside, reading a good book or magazine, watching Samantha Brown when she’s live : ) … thanks for that! I also sign up for virtual cooking classes and yaymaker crafts with my daughter. My company had a virtual conference and treated us to 1 hour in Florence with a guide who is from the city. It was fabulous. Also, every Saturday my husband and I get in the car and go food shopping wherever we have not been within 2-3 hours away. We figure we have to go food shopping so we might as well make a day of it. There have been very few Saturdays where this has not happened. We wind up in Delaware, Jersey, NY – upstate and boroughs (live in Brooklyn), Long Island, PA (sometimes Lancaster if we are ambitious). If the area is a dud so what every area has a supermarket. We mask up and go for it. We try to go to those super store markets and walk up and down every aisle. We hit anywhere from 5000-10,000 steps.
I love your idea of traveling to go to the supermarket. I’m going to do that. Thanks so much for sharing!
Okay, good article. I think your tips will definitely help you cope with the winter depression, which may soon reach us. I especially liked the item about Staycation. Although I do not agree with fresh flowers, on the contrary, it irritates me more, the futile killing of flora. But cleaning the house is a good solution. It once helped me. When I had problems and stress, I didn’t want anything. Then only CBD, a psychiatrist and a way to cleanse life as much as possible helped me.
O live in AZ and I’m currently working from home until June. My family and I were planning to meet in Victorville CA for Christmas, but with the way things are going, it doesn’t look like that will happen. Most likely will do Google Duo to see my family. Thanks for the tips Samantha.
I live in AZ and I’m currently working from home until June. My family and I were planning to meet in Victorville CA for Christmas, but with the way things are going, it doesn’t look like that will happen. Most likely will do Google Duo to see my family. Thanks for the tips Samantha.
As a resident of NH; I see you call yourself a New Yorker; but…we’re glad you grew up here.
Have to share this…recently I saw a NH License Plate that read NYAWKA
Get it? A New Yorker with a NH accent.
I came across this article after reading your previous post “How to Bring the spirit of travel into your life during Covid-19.” I found this one to have ideas I hadn’t thought of before. I had previously written a Covid post over the summer. I am updating it to reference your article and include your link for additional reading.
Winter temps aren’t too chilling in Seattle but the darker skies can be increasingly suffocating, as if life in COVID isn’t suffocating already. It’s challenging to find a warmer US climate that isn’t ambiguous or unsafe with regard to masking and isn’t raging with the virus. So, I decided to double down with French studies including conversation with a tutor, who lives in sunny Portugal, on VerbalPlanet, started outlining a book I want to write, and ramped up our research for just how we plan to spend more time in Paris and southern France once the borders re-open.
I LOVE the winter. I came back to IN because I missed the winter so much. Where we lived before we had 360 days of warm, sunny weather. So, what to do for fun: go ice skating when it is -15 degrees outside; you will feel WARM for the rest of the winter! (in comparison!) Try downhill skiing; try cross country skiing if you live where there’s enough snow for that. Have campfires outside. Take your puppy for walks in the snow; they LOVE the snow more than we do even. Do Polar Plung in a lake. Go ice-fishing in a shack on a lake or river. Play “Duck, duck, goose” in the snow with your kids. Make a snowman, snowballs, a snow fort. Have a snowball fight with the neighbors. Go sledding. Go iceboat sailing on a lake. Remember: there’s no bad weather, only bad clothing choices.
Yes, now all winters will be the next waves of coronavirus, and you need to understand this in advance and plan your new year’s leisure a little differently. Last winter, we met with relatives only through Skype (
In winter, I love spending time with my family. Fortunately, we live near the lake. Snow slides, hot tea and sledges are all we need.
Interesting to read about your experience. Me and my family love to travel