What's good about January?

[Treezan82]

Was just thinking about how I love every time of year for different reasons. Like all the outdoor activities and sunshine in summer, autumn walks, Christmas, spring when the blossom starts and bulbs poke through. But that bit of winter after Christmas - I can't find anything to like about it. What do you enjoy about that bit between New Year and the start of Spring?

It’s a quiet month, weekends are free again after all the meals/drinks with family and work. We just get to relax. The weathers freezing so you don’t feel like you’re missing anything by just having time at home.
As a vegan it’s also veganuary so it’s nice to think people are eating less animal products... although annoying that I often can’t get some of my usual products.
I quite like January.

The fresh first page of a new diary, ready to make plans for the whole year ahead!

Being able to put any difficulties of the last year behind you, as it seems like a new start.

Enjoying the sales after Christmas.

Not helpful I know because I’m in a different hemisphere from you, which means January is the best month of the year - height of summer, Christmas madness is over, everyone’s on holiday for most it, so a general holiday, beach time vibe permeates, schools are closed, etc, etc.

But I do feel the same about July. It’s the month after the shortest day so the days are just long and dark. There’s nothing going on, and spring feels like a while away.

We’ve just spent this week skiing and it’s really helped to have something to look forward to at the end of July. Any kind of break away is nice - obviously we can’t do the usual winter holidays because the borders are closed, but local winter holidays are fun too.

I guess it’s just about focusing on the positives of winter (believe me, as a summer person, I do struggle with this!), and giving yourselves things, no matter how small, to look forward to.

I use January as my chill month.
Always have a city break.
Plan holidays and events for the year.
Read books and drink hot chocolate.

Agree with a lot of the positive sentiments. I bloody love Christmas but January for me brings a sense of welcome routine and direction, detox and sometimes that lovely winter sunshine. I love all seasons and the dark nights don't bother me.

It helps that we have a lot of birthdays and anniversaries and excuses for more fun in the 1st quarter then before you know it it's Easter and all the bank holidays.

I think every season has its positives

Both my DD birthdays (they aren't twins)

I do Dry January so always feel virtuous and drop a few pounds.

Hate January, so depressing. We almost always take a city break, usually an Italian city or go for a week on a package canary island holiday start of Feb. Something to look forward to. By the time we are back it feels like spring is not too far on the horizon.

January is shite, it’s my birthday too and still shite. Roll on February, at least spring is in reach then,

Snowdrops.
Apart from the seriously dreary first week after Twelfth Night, though, when the nice cheerful decorations are gone, , it’s never quite as bad as I dread. Long dark evenings are are good time to binge watch anything you fancy - last year for me and dh it was Spiral.

And the more dire the weather is, the less you feel guilty for slobbing indoors with a book/TV, instead of being out of doors doing something healthy.

I kind of find the bleakness bracing. Like having a cold shower.

The growing amount of light coming back to the world.

It's quiet and I can stay home and do a lot less than normal. I get a bit over-socialised after the Xmas and New Year period and Jan is the least social month of the year.

I always try to view it in a more positive light, new start, longer days, but:
It's not just January, it's also February, March, and possibly part of April as well - winters in my part of the world are not spectacularly cold, but are usually quite long.
Fog for days and smog also, it seems like days are just repeated over and over. Feels unreal.
Smog is really the worst part, one of my DCs has asthma and it affects them badly.
Basically waiting for spring

I love January, good sales for starters meaning you can spend money on yourself not everyone else like you do in December. More space in your house once your decorations are away!

A month of just chilling with no events to have fo spend money on. Bliss.

I always buy myself new underwear, socks, books, face masks (the cosmetic kind) and interesting tea and coffee in January.

My birthday and snow.
Before I retired we had quite a few snow days on my birthday which meant no work!

You get it over and done with early in the year.
It's not November.
By the end of it, you're scraping out some daylight at 5pm.

Nothing it’s a time to be endured. I just chant to myself this too will pass.

My birthday.
My best friend's birthday.
My DD's birthday.
Burns Suppers.

I realise these are not available to everyone, though - sympathies to the unlucky ones!!

January is a good time to go to the theatre, I always go and see a great show at the end of the month :)

Musicals, movies, west end.

@NeverDropYourMooncup ” snowdrops are poking their heads out of the ground.”

So right. Simple pleasure.

Nothing.

Sales - I tend to go in for kids’ clothes for the next 12 months and treat it like a military operation.

No more Mariam Carey / Slade playing from every shop stereo.

No expectations of forced jollity.

There is absolutely nothing good about winter. My birthday is in February & I seriously couldn't give a hoot. If I had the money, I'd go to the other side of the world in October & come back in May. Or hibernate.