Even though I was born and raised in the Midwest cold, every single year I find myself struggling to beat the winter blues right as January rolls around. The holidays have ended and the cold, dreary days that once provided a sense of festivity in December give way to feelings of… blah. It’s hard to feel motivated or inspired, and easy to feel isolated – especially as Moms. So, this year I decided to experiment with some ways to beat that post-holidays low.
Get Active with a Rec League
First, I joined an indoor winter volleyball league. It has been such a fun way to spend time with friends, have a regularly scheduled exercise plan at least once a week, AND get those endorphins flowing. I highly recommend combining exercise with friends and fun….oh, and drinks and apps out afterwards! Consider joining a recreational sports league, or just grabbing a friend and heading to the gym to workout or to an indoor location to walk.
Child Swap
Second, I asked a friend to do a child swap. You read that right! I watched my friend’s kids for her one morning and she watched mine for me a different morning. It gave each of us a few hours to ourselves for appointments and errands or a little bit of self-care time. Plus, it gave our kids some social time and two playdates, too. (Also, is it just me or do kids sometimes do even better at home when they have a friend to play with for a few hours? More kids sometimes feels like less kids!)
Board Night- and not the game
Lastly, I scheduled a girls night with friends (a few weeks in advance, to give us all something to look forward to!). Come February, we are having a Galentine’s Board Night. Have you heard of “Board Nights”?! Thanks to TikTok, we discovered this trend where each person creates and brings a food board (think charcuterie board) filled with a certain food theme. It could be pizza, tacos, actual charcuterie, candy, dessert, nachos, veggies, breakfast, bagels, salad….the options are endless! And who doesn’t love a themed party as a reason to get together?! These are just a few ideas, but hopefully they get you thinking about what you may enjoy or choose to do to beat the winter blues.
It doesn’t have to be huge and it doesn’t have to be expensive! Sometimes just having a few things planned can help the long days of winter feel a little more enjoyable.
