A guide for staying abundantly cozy in the winter months including Book of the Month fiction picks, chocolate chip cookie recommendations, and an old-school word search.
GROUP PROJECT: if you are a seasoned winter veteran, please share your tips and tricks for enduring grey, cold months. I would love to hear what helps you thrive when it’s freezing outside!
Canadian here! Winter is great because we go through the horrors together:
- Nothing beats joining your neighbours and shovelling your driveways together to get the work done in half the time, and then going indoors for a chat!
- Host dinners with family, and eat your meals with one another as often as possible
- Christmas movie marathons with big blankets and mugs of hot chocolate
- Holiday baking frenzy! Make boxes for friends and family, or indulge to your heart's content
- Christmas jazz in the background at all times while you work from home or study with others :)
Winter tips from a native Minnesotan (and now Chicagoan):
- Try to find one outdoor winter hobby you enjoy. If you get enough snow, I LOVE cross country skiing, but maybe it's ice skating or downhill skiing or sledding or going to an outdoor sauna or something else entirely! Having a reason to look forward to snowy days makes the winter much more tolerable.
- When you do have to venture outside, dress appropriately! At a minimum, get waterproof boots (with good traction), a hat, scarf, and gloves that all coordinate with your warmest jacket. If you have to be outside doing a lot of standing or walking, base layers to wear on your legs (even if they're just leggings under your jeans) will make a world of difference. On top, multiple long-sleeve layers (like a turtleneck or Uniqlo Heattech under a flannel) will also help with temperature regulation better than one thick layer.
- Check your sweater material. Acrylic sweaters will make you both sweaty and cold. Wool is definitely warmest, but if you can't stand the itchiness (I can't!) cotton works great as long as you aren't exercising.
- Open the window just a crack at night so you have an excuse to pile on the blankets.
- Plan a craft night, either in person or virtually. You can either do a shared activity - my mom, sister, and I once all bought our own copies of the same paint by number and did them over Zoom - or bring your own embroidery or knitting or calligraphy or whatever.
- Candles. Everywhere. I even like the battery-operated ones so they turn on automatically and I don't forget to blow them out, but I still get the ambiance. String lights that stay up all winter also work.
- Try baking your own bread! The recipe and directions in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day are a super foolproof way to start. The oven heat will help keep your space nice and toasty, it smells incredible, plus you now have fresh-baked bread to eat with your cozy warm meals!
- If you have the budget for it, plan one fun warm-weather getaway to break things up. March is my favorite time of year for this because it's still cold but I'm usually ready for spring at that point. Plus there's something to look forward to all winter long! If that's not in the cards, schedule a visit to a fun tiki bar, a sauna, or somewhere local where you can pretend you're on vacation.
Canadian here too. I love winter. The deep snow, the cold, the cozy dark evenings, our wood heater roasting the basement, walks in the twilight early evening. But then, most of our houses are really warm and you are only cold if you choose to be.
Making cookie boxes as gifts is a great combination of baking and crafting! It’s so fun and satisfying to try new recipes and put it all together in a beautiful box.
Tips from a winter lover -- keep a fuzzy robe near your bed so it's not as daunting to get out of the warm bed in the morning, open your windows for a little bit everyday, bundle up well and go on walks still (be serious about bundling up, heavy socks, sweater, coat, scarf, ear muffs / hat, gloves), light candles, bake things that make the house smell nice, make lots of soups, use blankets to bundle up, take a hot shower in the afternoons if it's wicked cold too 🖤
When I read the part about changing wallpaper, I thought “I don’t have wallpaper on my walls! And I’m not putting Christmas wallpaper up”Nevermind. 😜
I’m a longtime inhabitant of New England. My flex is to wear colorful, cozy sweaters. And go outside if you can stand it. The colors of the sky are ever changing. When the sun comes out the blue of the sky is brighter than any other time of the year! And get a pet for cuddles. 🥰 even a standoffish cat will become a heat seeking missile.
I’m an Aussie in New York who has learned to adapt and embrace the cozy. Candles, soups, stews, and honestly a lot of the things you’ve described are how I get through the winter.
This year in particular I’m embracing the baking, calling people on the phone, and staying in.
GROUP PROJECT: if you are a seasoned winter veteran, please share your tips and tricks for enduring grey, cold months. I would love to hear what helps you thrive when it’s freezing outside!
Canadian here! Winter is great because we go through the horrors together:
- Nothing beats joining your neighbours and shovelling your driveways together to get the work done in half the time, and then going indoors for a chat!
- Host dinners with family, and eat your meals with one another as often as possible
- Christmas movie marathons with big blankets and mugs of hot chocolate
- Holiday baking frenzy! Make boxes for friends and family, or indulge to your heart's content
- Christmas jazz in the background at all times while you work from home or study with others :)
All your ideas are wonderful. I love these! You are clearly seasoned at this freezing cold thing.
Winter tips from a native Minnesotan (and now Chicagoan):
- Try to find one outdoor winter hobby you enjoy. If you get enough snow, I LOVE cross country skiing, but maybe it's ice skating or downhill skiing or sledding or going to an outdoor sauna or something else entirely! Having a reason to look forward to snowy days makes the winter much more tolerable.
- When you do have to venture outside, dress appropriately! At a minimum, get waterproof boots (with good traction), a hat, scarf, and gloves that all coordinate with your warmest jacket. If you have to be outside doing a lot of standing or walking, base layers to wear on your legs (even if they're just leggings under your jeans) will make a world of difference. On top, multiple long-sleeve layers (like a turtleneck or Uniqlo Heattech under a flannel) will also help with temperature regulation better than one thick layer.
- Check your sweater material. Acrylic sweaters will make you both sweaty and cold. Wool is definitely warmest, but if you can't stand the itchiness (I can't!) cotton works great as long as you aren't exercising.
- Open the window just a crack at night so you have an excuse to pile on the blankets.
- Plan a craft night, either in person or virtually. You can either do a shared activity - my mom, sister, and I once all bought our own copies of the same paint by number and did them over Zoom - or bring your own embroidery or knitting or calligraphy or whatever.
- Candles. Everywhere. I even like the battery-operated ones so they turn on automatically and I don't forget to blow them out, but I still get the ambiance. String lights that stay up all winter also work.
- Try baking your own bread! The recipe and directions in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day are a super foolproof way to start. The oven heat will help keep your space nice and toasty, it smells incredible, plus you now have fresh-baked bread to eat with your cozy warm meals!
- If you have the budget for it, plan one fun warm-weather getaway to break things up. March is my favorite time of year for this because it's still cold but I'm usually ready for spring at that point. Plus there's something to look forward to all winter long! If that's not in the cards, schedule a visit to a fun tiki bar, a sauna, or somewhere local where you can pretend you're on vacation.
Has anyone mentioned heating pads or hot water bottles? Very helpful when watching a movie or reading and a blanket won't cut it.
Canadian here too. I love winter. The deep snow, the cold, the cozy dark evenings, our wood heater roasting the basement, walks in the twilight early evening. But then, most of our houses are really warm and you are only cold if you choose to be.
I picked Best Offer Wins too and I loved it!! It's great! And nothing beats a book and a bubble bath!
Making cookie boxes as gifts is a great combination of baking and crafting! It’s so fun and satisfying to try new recipes and put it all together in a beautiful box.
Tips from a winter lover -- keep a fuzzy robe near your bed so it's not as daunting to get out of the warm bed in the morning, open your windows for a little bit everyday, bundle up well and go on walks still (be serious about bundling up, heavy socks, sweater, coat, scarf, ear muffs / hat, gloves), light candles, bake things that make the house smell nice, make lots of soups, use blankets to bundle up, take a hot shower in the afternoons if it's wicked cold too 🖤
When I read the part about changing wallpaper, I thought “I don’t have wallpaper on my walls! And I’m not putting Christmas wallpaper up”Nevermind. 😜
I’m a longtime inhabitant of New England. My flex is to wear colorful, cozy sweaters. And go outside if you can stand it. The colors of the sky are ever changing. When the sun comes out the blue of the sky is brighter than any other time of the year! And get a pet for cuddles. 🥰 even a standoffish cat will become a heat seeking missile.
Haha! A very low commitment wallpaper!
Yes!! My cat and I warm each other up, haha!
I read baking books 📚 and bake one or two things in them. This year my find is Small Batch Cookies by Edd Kimber!
Ooo I need to look into this!
I’m an Aussie in New York who has learned to adapt and embrace the cozy. Candles, soups, stews, and honestly a lot of the things you’ve described are how I get through the winter.
This year in particular I’m embracing the baking, calling people on the phone, and staying in.
Love this. What are you baking? I need some ideas!