Looking for Winter events/activities that beat "countdown to Spring".
January 11, 2016 4:41 PM Subscribe
The only activity I'm involved in January and February is counting down to Spring. After the holidays, there is nothing going on. I'd like to hear what others look forward to doing over those two months.
I'm near Toronto and am not interested in Winter activities like skiing, maple sap gatherings or skating. However, I'd really like to hear what others look forward to doing over these two months. Are there things you're involved in over the first months of the year that you look forward to doing, indoors or out?
I'm near Toronto and am not interested in Winter activities like skiing, maple sap gatherings or skating. However, I'd really like to hear what others look forward to doing over these two months. Are there things you're involved in over the first months of the year that you look forward to doing, indoors or out?
Work on indoor hobbies - artwork, organizing. I love thinking of January as a fresh start to the year.
posted by sarajane at 5:04 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by sarajane at 5:04 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Best answer: During fall/early winter, I force myself to think of classes I might enjoy doing that I can take during this exact time that I otherwise might write off. There are a bunch of weekly/biweekly classes that are only a couple months long. Ceramics? Metalworking? Woodshop? Adult ballet? Adult trampolines? Adult trapeze? Cooking? This is an excellent time to explore new things indoors, and the structure of class settings helps keep motivation high. A bonus for signing up early means I actually have something to look forward to during this dreary time.
posted by blueberrypuffin at 5:07 PM on January 11, 2016
posted by blueberrypuffin at 5:07 PM on January 11, 2016
one of my friends absolutely loathes February, so every year she emails a bunch of us or starts a facebook group and we gather suggestions for events to attend - concerts, museum exhibits, indoor fairs, movies. Chinese New Year and Mardi Gras are both in February.
I've been experimenting with baking since it's actually nice to have the oven on this time of year.
posted by brilliantine at 5:35 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
I've been experimenting with baking since it's actually nice to have the oven on this time of year.
posted by brilliantine at 5:35 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Maybe plan a trip for the Family Day long weekend. The planning/dreaming about the trip will give you something to look forward to and after that you've only got 2 weeks until March anyway.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 5:48 PM on January 11, 2016
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 5:48 PM on January 11, 2016
Plant seeds in peat pots, by spring time you'll have healthy seedlings to plant!
posted by jbenben at 5:59 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by jbenben at 5:59 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Well, I don't know if this would interest you, but I am currently working my way through the e-Book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo. Or, to put it the other way around, tidying up would be one of my least favorite things to do when the weather is nice.
posted by forthright at 6:04 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by forthright at 6:04 PM on January 11, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: SOCIAL THINGS:
- My friends and I like to have board game parties. If I have the party at my house, I have to plan what food I'm going to make/buy and make sure my house is clean, which keeps me busy outside of the actual party.
- One of my other friends lives in an apartment with a nice pool, sauna and steam room and has just started doing once-a-month pool parties (basically a bunch of us going and hanging out in the steam room/sauna for an hour or two), which is EXTRA nice in the winter months. We gather at her apartment for snacks for a little while ahead of time and then trek down to the pool area.
- I also plan dinner nights out with various groups of friends I haven't seen in awhile. We like to try new and different restaurants we haven't tried and everyone always loves seeing each other again.
Basically, planning/coordinating things takes up a LOT of time, if you're looking for things to do. I love doing it because it keeps me busy, I love doing things with my friends and I know they love it too.
SOLITARY THINGS:
- I love winter for binge-watching TV shows (I actually do this all year round, let's not kid ourselves) and movies. It's ideal to do in the winter because our summers here are so short and there's so much going on outdoors that I hate to miss.
- Museums and galleries! I can do this by myself or with other people, and I can usually find a friend who is interested in whatever thing I think looks good. There are so many good events and exhibits in my city and I didn't take advantage of them for the longest time. I'm glad I do now. Again, winter is an optimal time because it's an indoor activity.
- Organizing my closets/basement/house. This is an activity that can eat up hours of my time.
- Catch up on all my magazines I have stacked all over the place that I haven't had time to read yet.
- I love to plan vacations that I hope to take someday.
- Mastering a skill I can practice at home. Things I've done in the past include: learning how to bake pies and practicing my handwriting for entry into handwriting competitions (don't laugh). I've also made cards for people, organized my favorite poetry and indexed all my links to my saved articles in Pocket. I still need to: organize my photos, work on my photography (the parts I can do at home) and properly file away all my documents.
- Look up dates for things I might be interested in doing in the spring/summer (fairs, exhibits, festivals, shows, etc). There's always a lot going on, so if I want to cram a lot of it in, I need to plan ahead.
I actually find I have no shortage of things to do - it's just finding the motivation to do it all.
posted by triggerfinger at 6:14 PM on January 11, 2016 [5 favorites]
- My friends and I like to have board game parties. If I have the party at my house, I have to plan what food I'm going to make/buy and make sure my house is clean, which keeps me busy outside of the actual party.
- One of my other friends lives in an apartment with a nice pool, sauna and steam room and has just started doing once-a-month pool parties (basically a bunch of us going and hanging out in the steam room/sauna for an hour or two), which is EXTRA nice in the winter months. We gather at her apartment for snacks for a little while ahead of time and then trek down to the pool area.
- I also plan dinner nights out with various groups of friends I haven't seen in awhile. We like to try new and different restaurants we haven't tried and everyone always loves seeing each other again.
Basically, planning/coordinating things takes up a LOT of time, if you're looking for things to do. I love doing it because it keeps me busy, I love doing things with my friends and I know they love it too.
SOLITARY THINGS:
- I love winter for binge-watching TV shows (I actually do this all year round, let's not kid ourselves) and movies. It's ideal to do in the winter because our summers here are so short and there's so much going on outdoors that I hate to miss.
- Museums and galleries! I can do this by myself or with other people, and I can usually find a friend who is interested in whatever thing I think looks good. There are so many good events and exhibits in my city and I didn't take advantage of them for the longest time. I'm glad I do now. Again, winter is an optimal time because it's an indoor activity.
- Organizing my closets/basement/house. This is an activity that can eat up hours of my time.
- Catch up on all my magazines I have stacked all over the place that I haven't had time to read yet.
- I love to plan vacations that I hope to take someday.
- Mastering a skill I can practice at home. Things I've done in the past include: learning how to bake pies and practicing my handwriting for entry into handwriting competitions (don't laugh). I've also made cards for people, organized my favorite poetry and indexed all my links to my saved articles in Pocket. I still need to: organize my photos, work on my photography (the parts I can do at home) and properly file away all my documents.
- Look up dates for things I might be interested in doing in the spring/summer (fairs, exhibits, festivals, shows, etc). There's always a lot going on, so if I want to cram a lot of it in, I need to plan ahead.
I actually find I have no shortage of things to do - it's just finding the motivation to do it all.
posted by triggerfinger at 6:14 PM on January 11, 2016 [5 favorites]
I draw joy of seeing longer days. It's amazing how much longer days become in a week (Waterloo, Ontario). The week before Christmas is the worst, and now getting up gets better and better with light in the morning.
posted by Yavsy at 6:14 PM on January 11, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Yavsy at 6:14 PM on January 11, 2016 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I'm friends with the person who is Ask Moxie (parenting/lifestyle blog) and she started the Candletime practice for the month of November each year - but I see no reason not to do Candletime all through winter.
posted by sweetkid at 9:33 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by sweetkid at 9:33 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
I don't travel over the holidays because it's so expensive and stressful, so I usually take time in January and February to visit family and friends.
When I lived in a place that didn't have cold and snowy winters, I always looked forward to biking in January and February. That particular time of the year was great because the weather was crisp and clear, but the trails were still pretty empty because it's not prime biking season.
For some reason, I tend to get a lot of reading done in January and February. I love reading and don't always make enough time for it the rest of the year, so I really relish the reading I do during this time.
I also take the opportunity afforded by putting away holiday decorations to do some serious cleaning, as well as work on kitchen projects like making sauces and infused liquors to use throughout the rest of the year. I realize this is not a celebratory activity for other people, but I find it enjoyable and look forward to the results (a cleaner space, lots of yummy things in the pantry).
There are a bunch of scifi/fantasy/writing/geekery conventions that happen throughout January and February, many of my friends spend months planning for and looking forward to them.
posted by rhiannonstone at 10:39 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
When I lived in a place that didn't have cold and snowy winters, I always looked forward to biking in January and February. That particular time of the year was great because the weather was crisp and clear, but the trails were still pretty empty because it's not prime biking season.
For some reason, I tend to get a lot of reading done in January and February. I love reading and don't always make enough time for it the rest of the year, so I really relish the reading I do during this time.
I also take the opportunity afforded by putting away holiday decorations to do some serious cleaning, as well as work on kitchen projects like making sauces and infused liquors to use throughout the rest of the year. I realize this is not a celebratory activity for other people, but I find it enjoyable and look forward to the results (a cleaner space, lots of yummy things in the pantry).
There are a bunch of scifi/fantasy/writing/geekery conventions that happen throughout January and February, many of my friends spend months planning for and looking forward to them.
posted by rhiannonstone at 10:39 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by bleep at 5:00 PM on January 11, 2016 [1 favorite]