To ask how you cheer yourself up at this time of year?

[Rainydaysmeanmuddypuddles]

I'm trying not to let January get me down, it's just another month at the end of the day, but my gosh it's shit.

The fun and excitement of Christmas is long gone, it's back to work and school. Spring still feels like forever away. The routine feels so monotonous.

Are there any little ways that you cheer yourself up?

Could you book a holiday ?

I bought these primroses.
The evenings are brighter.
Browse online sales.

Clean bed
Clean PJs
Clean me
Good book
Good music
Glass of wine
Chocolate / nice crisps
Cats cuddling

DH downstairs playing his game, DS in his room playing his.

Then about 8pm them both coming into the bedroom, family cuddles & tv.

I know. Sounds like The Waltons but it's lovely

Fantasize about what I’m going to do in my garden in the spring. Look at nice pictures of gardens on Pinterest. Go to the garden centre. Spend hours looking at my rose cuttings.

I also eat a fair bit of cake.

Sounds! Ah! Mazing!!!!!!!!

Daffodils in the house in lots of rooms. Pinterest for spring/Easter decorating (I don’t do it but I like looking at it) nice spring smelling candle in the evening - definitely not a autumn/wintery smell.

Sorry, posted too quick...

This...

Clean bed
Clean PJs
Clean me
Good book
Good music.....

Sounds amazing!!!!

Food
Netflix/Good tv series
Vitamin D spray
Running

I’m off to clean my bed....

Planning fun things at half term, it's only a few weeks away
Walking at the weekend
Spring cleaning the grim the Xmas tree disguised lol
Using the discount vouchers for pizza express zizzis etc that keep pinging through because restaurants need to entice us out in January

Patting myself on the back at the end of every day because I survived seriously I can’t bear jan and feb and just crawl through the beginning of the year.

Lots of fresh flowers, daffodils are often only a pound a bunch.
Lots of fresh air, walking, running etc.
Book a holiday.
Plan a visit to a snowdrop garden.

Making & displaying a photo frame of memories, reading a good book, re decorating a room in bright colours.

Thinking about what plants to pot for spring

Could you book a holiday ?

Going to book one soon so it will be something to look forward to, but feel like I need to cheer up now.

Patting myself on the back at the end of every day because I survived seriously I can’t bear jan and feb and just crawl through the beginning of the year.

This made me laugh, it's so true.

Wintery scented candles
Hot baths
Glass of Drambuie on ice by the fire
A good book
Clean crisp cotton sheets
Bracing walks out in this shit Mordor weather (makes being cosied up at home afterwards feel very indulgent)
Hot drinks
Chocolates
Eating well
Planning holidays (just booked ours 🙌)

I try to take comfort in cosiness - comfy clothes, cashmere socks, fluffy blankets, warm drinks, hot baths, aromatherapy diffusers, new books, candles, movies and box sets, early nights, nourishing food, cuddles with pets. All helped by knowing it will get better soon! Trying to get a bit of sunlight at lunchtime helps too.

Definitely fresh flowers.

Cashmere, whisky and a clean house.
Clean bedding.
A lovely sunday lunch with the children.

Running outside. Get out as much as you can. I need light or I just sink into a depression.

I've also booked a holiday for a few weeks time.

Flowers, plants (I love succulents and have brought the plumpest ones from the kitchen windowsill into the lounge), candles (scented when dh isn't around, they give him a headache. Luckily he does overnight shifts!). Cosy bed, Christmas books (still working my way through them!), the rest of the Christmas chocolate!

The lighter evenings are nice (I am on antidepressants and for the first time in years have got through to this time without having to increase the dose), and there are the tiniest tips of snowdrops coming up in the lawn (we're in Scotland so that's all we can expect right now!).

I think embracing the evenings and hunkering down on wintry days is the key. It was one of the messages I took from the hygge craze. Hot chocolate, cosy throw and bingeing on Netflix is the answer.

Vitamin d, vase of tulips, bracing walks, cosy lounge with Netflix series, I usually buy a few new clothes, hopefully in the sales.
Days out to ballet or theatre or art gallery in London.
I need a new handbag......

Wine and shagging.
Staying in bed as long as possible on my days off.

I always feel low and depressed in winter time, I am absolutely a summer person. So in the last few years around October/November I've been booking a fun monthly thing well in advance for winter, so I have something to look forward to each month. Could be a weekend getaway to see family, or a show in town, an exhibition, a long hike in the countryside (I'm in London). Also we just started talking about our summer holiday, and that's really lifting my spirits. Also all the other things people are mentioning, self care, nice baths, hot tea with homemade goodies, reading in bed with a hot water bottle, decluttering, going for a walk whenever the sun is out, pretending it's spring :)

Fresh flowers around the house
Making lots of plans at the weekends to look forward to.
Keeping busy at work so the days don’t drag
Trying to get to the gym for an endorphin high when I can
Cosy fireplace most nights
Trying to read a lot so I feel I have achieved something in January
Going to the cinema on a Monday gets the week off to a fun start :)

Why not book something to look forward to each weekend? Admittedly, it is my birthday in Jan but I've got the following planned this/next month:

Day out with DH - we've booked my Bday off and will have a nice breakfast out and do a free gallery (we are in London) after dropping DD to school

Booked annual leave the following day, I'll have a day to myself.

Afternoon tea with BFs

Theatre show to see a musical with BF

Dinner at a swanky restaurant with DH (couldn't get a table on my actual bday so have postponed this)

I don't do much funnily enough the rest of the year, sort of save it all up for Jan and Feb.

It's a bit crap having a January birthday so I try to plan loads in to cheer myself up.

Good luck OP!

We’ve booked a couple of trips away and had / have a couple of days out planned at weekends .
Also helped that I was in bed for a week of it ill so it’s actually gone quite quick .
I don’t recommend catching a bug though !