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Original poster

How do you get through the -ary months?

110 replies

Lelophants · 17/12/2025 19:06

I know we’re all into the hype of Christmas right now but once that’s done it can feel exhausting and soooo gloomy. What do you do to get through those months? Starting a new gym membership doesnt do it for me lol. I have a friend’s birthday end of Jan so try to arrange something fun with her but apart from that?

OP posts:
GreenSmithing · 17/12/2025 19:30

I sign up for a running event of some kind in March. Is something like that a thing you'd consider? I like having a target to aim for and it gets me out of the house in Jan/Feb

GreenSmithing · 17/12/2025 19:31

I sign up for a running event of some kind in March. Is something like that a thing you'd consider? I like having a target to aim for and it gets me out of the house in Jan/Feb

3gumstonight · 17/12/2025 19:31

Lelophants · 17/12/2025 19:30

I also love this attitude! How do you see the other months?

Show quote history

They each offer something in their own way

and even my least favourite (March) has my daughter’s birthday in it so that always perks me up!

Original poster
Lelophants · 17/12/2025 19:32

Redcase · 17/12/2025 19:30

There’s usually some good TV in the New Year. The Traitors starts on New Year’s Day.
Like a PP, I’ve joined a hiking group which starts in January so I am looking forward to that. Committing to doing some activities in a group helps me to stick to things.

Ooh I didn’t know that! I love the traitors. A new hobby or group sounds good.

OP posts:
HouseAshamed · 17/12/2025 19:32

March to October are great. I don't like the short dark days.

Original poster
Lelophants · 17/12/2025 19:32

3gumstonight · 17/12/2025 19:31

They each offer something in their own way

and even my least favourite (March) has my daughter’s birthday in it so that always perks me up!

Show quote history

Can you tell me what each month offers? Id love ideas (and for some reason find this really interesting!)

OP posts:
NormasArse · 17/12/2025 19:34

A week hiking in the semi-warmth (hopefully- Madeira- it usually is! )in January, and a week in the snowy mountains in Feb. More important to me than going away in the summer, when there’s Britain to be enjoyed!

cantbearsed27 · 17/12/2025 19:34

I hate Jan and Feb, I've started booking a long haul holiday for mid to end Feb and then spend the time looking forward to that.

PistachioTiramisu · 17/12/2025 19:36

It's the 'ber' months I hate - once the New Year arrives, it gets lighter and brighter every day, even if it is cold. Crocuses and camellias start to flower - everything gets better.

ResusciAnnie · 17/12/2025 19:38

3gumstonight · 17/12/2025 19:08

Love both those months! The key is to book a holiday and make plans. Things like dinner with friends; an overnight stay at a spa; dog walk on the beach and then a pub lunch with the kids.

Me too, like new year more than Christmas I think! I LOVE a fresh start, making plans, a whole new year ahead. I don’t suffer with SAD etc in general and have a very nice life so not much really to moan about. I love hibernating, I love planning, I love setting goals, so it works for me.

HeadyLamarr · 17/12/2025 19:41

I hate them.
January, because I'm skint. Most of my family have birthdays then and I'm still reeling from the Christmas spends.
February because it's been damp, dark and cold for so long that I'm at the end of my tether.

I get through it by booking tickets to productions I want to see, overnight breaks at places that have good restaurants, or tickets to workshops/lectures about something interesting and new. Having something to look forward to helps a lot.

FirstdatesFred · 17/12/2025 19:43

January feels a bit like December recovery. And by the end of Feb we have snow drops, maybe even daffodils, longer evenings returning and the promise of spring.

ThePoshUns · 17/12/2025 19:44

i go to Tenerife

reluctantbrit · 17/12/2025 19:46

I hate them. I work 9-5 4 days a week and often the weather is not good enough to have a longer stroll over lunch. My day off is filled with chores and running around.
After a month with houses decorated with lights it will be depressing walking home from the station.

We try to get out at the weeked but I hate damp and grey weather regardless how warm and waterproof my clothes are.

It's the first year without school as DD is now at uni so we look now into taking a week with warm weather going forward from 2027. With the last 3 years filled with mocks we didn't even do anything over half term.

Give me March and we talk again.

Crinkle77 · 17/12/2025 19:48

For me November and December are worse cos its so bloody dark. Jan the nights are pulling out and its just about light as you leave work. Snow drops start to come out too. You can see an end to the doom and gloom of winter. That's what keeps me going.

Pollins · 17/12/2025 19:54

We have school aged dcs and for us it's a nice start to the year. Things feel less busy and tiring compared to the autumn term. Life tends to be fairly similar all year around in term time, with school and extracurriculars keeping us busy. Our weekend activities tend to be indoors - visiting museums, theatre, indoor leisure like soft play, bowling. We have just got Merlin passes so we'll make use of those.

skybluestars · 17/12/2025 20:00

I love January and February. More so the older I’ve got. I enjoy Christmas a lot but I relish January for the peace and calm. The house is cleared of Christmas clutter, all the excess food and gluttony is stopped, my mind is cleared of all the Christmas to dos / jobs / plans etc.

I love taking loads of cold blustery walks on the beach, reading books and watching the new tv series out, exercise and make new habits. Minimal socialising - no one expects anything from you. Can save money. It’s peaceful and relaxing and I love it!

frozendaisy · 17/12/2025 20:10

With two young kids
we used to, still do to a certain extent but it’s changed a bit, do indoor things. Embrace being inside your house that you work and pay for.

We would have Saturday afternoons when we made a warm dessert (sticky toffee pudding say) - it was time to teach the kids to cook (obviously not anything nutritional to begin with) but warm puddings they could get behind.

We would play, I would get them to vacuum, lots of radio music was played, we would still go out and a run around the park blew the cobwebs away.

We would get morning jobs in the house done, saves doing them when the warmer weather turns up.

I like January, it feels bare, clean, fresh after the excess of Christmas.

I buy Seville oranges and make marmalade (that is their one season Jan/Feb) takes a while but finely slicing orange peel makes the house smell fresh.

You can forget the joy of reading, January is a time for dystopian fiction and pencil drawing.

Basically a time to cleanse the body with simple food, feed the mind instead of the body with reading and ticking off jobs, and enjoying your home with all the toys, puzzles, games and tv that you enjoy.

Think of it as the blueprint month for the rest of the year.

PigeonsandSquirrels · 17/12/2025 20:15

I bake and I read and I get stuff done to the house so that I’m all cosy and comfy

ShanghaiDiva · 17/12/2025 20:23

Hate January and February - the months I lost my parents- so try to go away, have a clear out of wardrobe/kitchen cupboards/paperwork (quite therapeutic) and go back to the gym after the Xmas break. I also do some exam invigilating for two weeks in January which seems to make the time go quickly.
This year we will be away from 3rd to 23rd February so by the time we get home the darkest time is over.

sharkstale · 17/12/2025 20:23

frozendaisy · 17/12/2025 20:10

With two young kids
we used to, still do to a certain extent but it’s changed a bit, do indoor things. Embrace being inside your house that you work and pay for.

We would have Saturday afternoons when we made a warm dessert (sticky toffee pudding say) - it was time to teach the kids to cook (obviously not anything nutritional to begin with) but warm puddings they could get behind.

We would play, I would get them to vacuum, lots of radio music was played, we would still go out and a run around the park blew the cobwebs away.

We would get morning jobs in the house done, saves doing them when the warmer weather turns up.

I like January, it feels bare, clean, fresh after the excess of Christmas.

I buy Seville oranges and make marmalade (that is their one season Jan/Feb) takes a while but finely slicing orange peel makes the house smell fresh.

You can forget the joy of reading, January is a time for dystopian fiction and pencil drawing.

Basically a time to cleanse the body with simple food, feed the mind instead of the body with reading and ticking off jobs, and enjoying your home with all the toys, puzzles, games and tv that you enjoy.

Think of it as the blueprint month for the rest of the year.

I like this

Nourishinghandcream · 17/12/2025 20:24

We keep an eye on the weather and when it looks half decent, get away for a few mid-week breaks in our Moho.
As long as there isn't snow or hurricane force wind & rain, we like to visit places that are too popular in the summer.
Beaches are a great favourite and most are open to Ddogs in the late autumn, winter & early spring.

My OH goes away (alone) in the MoHo so he can visit museums (that hold no interest to me). The distances mean that they are usually 1-2 night stays for him. Again, these tend to get busy in the summer so he enjoys them "out of season".

InMySpareTime · 17/12/2025 20:26

I don’t start Christmas festivities until at least mid-December as I like to wring every last drop out of autumn celebrations. Keep Christmas going all the way to Twelffh Night, then there’s only 8 weeks left of winter.
I usually spend that time planning my garden planting, buying seeds etc from the garden centre, and having spontaneous days out when it snows (I love crunchy snow then coming back home to warm up with hot chocolate).
I’ve planted a lot of early bulbs so I can always look out and see some flowers, and I make sure I spend some time during the daylight hours looking at some natural light to keep my body clock stable.
I get a lot of jigsaws done in winter too.

OttersMayHaveShifted · 17/12/2025 20:26

I hate them, but I don't have any particular way of getting through them. I just grit my teeth and desperately look forward to spring! I live in an especially rainy place, so it's even worse here than most places!

Raisinsandweetabix · 17/12/2025 20:32

BigSkies2022 · 17/12/2025 19:21

Another lover of the ary months here. The light changes- buds are coming out on trees and they form tiny reflective surfaces so the light is refracted and there’s a sort of haze. Cheap daffodils in the shops mean you can put loads of cheery yellow in the house. You can get the house all clean, decluttered and simple after the Christmas glitz. Vegetable soups and curries to cleanse the system after the rich meals. No-one thinks you are weird or anti social if you stay at home watching box sets/reading your way through the whole of Jane Austen. New diaries, lots of space to plan and set goals. New plants coming up in the garden. It’s fabulous!

How lovely, I'm also a lover of these small glimmers