Winters can be long and boring if you don’t set plans for yourself and try to make the best of it. Don’t let this winter drag on. Instead, make plans with your significant other to avoid those dreaded snowy blues. You can have just as much fun in this season as you do during the rest of the year. Plan some fun things to offset the pain of slipping on ice for the next few months. Make a checklist of things to do and be certain to include these on that list:
1. Volunteer somewhere. I’m always a fan of soup kitchens because it’s a reminder of how fortunate you are. Do it together and then reflect after….surely those little things you were fretting over before won’t matter as much now.
2. Go to a light festival. Even if you don’t celebrate the holiday, it is still a beautiful thing to see those intricately designed sets. Or if there isn’t one around you, set out in your car to drive around the suburban houses closest to you and see the house decorations right around you. Just don’t go sticking your fingers in any open sockets. There is nothing attractive about singed hair…but at least your probably wouldn’t have to shave for a while.
3. Write a list of why you are thankful for one another. And share. It’s the perfect time to reflect on your year and what you love about one another. Don’t forget to include all the times that they really try to do nice things…and then epicly fail. It’s the thought that counts, right?
4. Skip Amazon and go out shopping together. Sure, Aunt Carol might like that set of candle stick holders or dad might want an engraved snow globe that says “Best Dad EVER!!” on it, but take some time to go out together to find these things. Have fun with it. Hit up local stores and be sure to check out some of those cute little trinket stores near you!
5. Sign up for a giving tree around you. Maybe at your work, or neighborhood organization, wherever it may be there are plenty to choose from. Sponsor a child’s Christmas and make a small difference in this world.
6. Go ice skating. I recommend an outdoor rink in order to make it an all around special activity, but you don’t have one close to you an indoor rink works too. Don’t forget the bubble wrap and knee pads.
7. Lock yourself inside with hot chocolate, blankets, and a ton of movies. Find a nice cozy day to cuddle on the couch and not leave the house at all. Maybe there are things to be done that day, but they can wait. How often do you just spend the day being lazy together?
8. Creatively thank your local volunteers. Send some of those cookies, a thank you note, and if you’re financially stable enough a check, to your local volunteer firefighters and police officers. They risk their lives every day for you to lay safe in bed with your significant other every night.
9. Light a candle in someone’s honor. Whether it’s in a church or on your dining room table take a minute to think of someone else. We have all lost people important to us somewhere along the way, as a couple reflect on that in their honor. Keep them with you during this time.
10. Bake cookies (for Santa of course). Break out the flour and the sugar and make an afternoon of it, follow grandma’s secret recipe and be sure to decorate them after! Try not to light your house on fire though, that’s not very merry.
11. Go to a Christmas tree farm. If you are celebrating the holiday, skip the fake fern in your attic or the Home Depot parking lot this year and head out to a real farm. Then spend the day decorating it and make sure it doesn’t die before the 25th. Or your cat doesn’t tear it down. One or the other, that would be downright depressing.
12. Take the night off and go out. Get a nice dinner, reflect on your year, and think about what you want to accomplish as a couple in the next year. Getting a place, buying a dog, taking a vacation together, not killing one another, whatever it may be, no matter how big or small, talk about it.
13. Go skiing or sledding. Have a fun adventurous outdoorsy day being playful and happy, (maybe even a little competitive if you’re anything like me. 😉 )
14. Send Cards to someone. Veterans, soldiers overseas, children in the hospital, terminal patients, whoever you might choose bring a little joy to someone who is less fortunate .
15. Make paper snowflakes and hang them up. Remember as a kid when you would cut intricate designs into a folded paper and then marvel at your beautiful snowflakes? Be a kid again, have fun with it, then make sure to display your new art all over your apartment. Hang your Significant Other’s on the fridge like your first grade glitter glued snowman covered in macaroni. Just don’t be one of those obnoxious *ssholes that leaves up their decorations til June.
This is the time of year to certainly enjoy the holiday and the snow, but also be thankful for those around you, especially your significant other. These 15 activities will certainly provide for some fun days as well as pleasant memories. Take time out of your busy schedule this winter to truly enjoy the time and the atmosphere around you.
Featured Image via Sara K Byrne.
These are the cutest ideas I’ve ever heard, far from basic. My boyfriend and I are definitely going to be volunteering this Christmas break.
Thank you so much, that’s great!!