To ask for your ideas for how to get through January?

[leftorrightnow]

Feeling a bit down taking down the Christmas decorations today, and looking ahead to gloomy January, with not a lot of fun things planned, but mainly, worried about the Mon-Fri slog in grey and rainy weather and back to school for kids and work for me.

what are all your tips and tricks for brightening up January?

My strategy is always to inject a little spring whilst also keeping a few festive bits around: I’ll leave a set or two of fairy lights up and the garland over my mantle in the front. I tend to take these down when the nights get lighter! I also buy a new spring-scented candle and some fresh flowers; it really makes a difference because the house feels more airy without the decorations up.

Other than that, cosy evenings and a doable resolution or two: one of ours is to cut our drinking down a little.

I think you have to see January as the start of the new year with spring just around the corner, rather than the end of Christmas iykwim?

Enjoy the cosiness of not going out on a night. Candles. Movies. A bath

Fresh flowers in the house.
Get outside every day.
Plan some nice activities eg (budget dependent) a meal out, cinema/theatre trip, city break

I don’t have kids yet so appreciate I probably have a bit more spare time on my hands but I have made a monthly bucket list for each month of things I want to do. This is januarys:

• finish reading my book
• bake sourdough
• Go on a morning walk
• Frame some of my wedding photos
• Visit the library
• have a clear out
• Watch an old classic movie
• Make home made soup
• start painting
• have a pamper evening

other than that I’d say have lots of candles around, cook a new recipe, start knitting, just do things with a focus on being cosy :)

The weather is no different to the "cosy" nights of November/ December except you have the daylight coming back a bit more every week. I really love that by the end of January I'm not driving home in the dark anymore although the nights are dark and snuggly.

There's no expectations. No pressure to do Christmas, Valentines, Easter, Bank holidays, School holidays, Halloween etc etc. Nothing happens in January ( sorry Australia Day and Burns night).

Even if you have put on weight, hair looks dry haven't waxed, you are in a ton of clothes and can stuck a hat on. No one knows or cares.

Everything is cheap! Hotels, restaurant's as well as clothes and other fun stuff. Plus there's lots of dry January people around to give you a lift home😉.

The first bulbs are kicking in.

Theres a massive difference in feeling between now and January 31st. Enjoy just plodding on through as Spring will be here before you know it.

I’m going to write this in my diary and try to do these things. Thank you.

I really like all the ideas! Especially fresh flowers, may get some hyacinths. Also, the idea of embracing some slower days and evenings staying in. we’re quite good at that, think my biggest challenge is ways to get DC’s (8 and 10) outside for fresh air when wether is grim. We live in a city so lots of activities and libraries etc nearby, but I struggle to keep them physically active in winter. DS (8) plays football so even if it’s muggy out, he and his friends tend to spend time outside playing. But DD (10) just becomes a real couch potato in winter.

Ideally I'd plan some things to look forward to. I haven't got around to that yet! I'm also feeling a bit low after Christmas.

I get my house back to normal, cut out booze after Christmas and focus on getting fit again. I walk a lot in January, try to plan things like meals out, cinema, hikes etc. If I have any decorating jobs to do I get them done then. My bathroom is my job this January. Clear out clutter and make sure I have some nice ornaments etc around the house out.

Yes I do have some nice plans for the two first weekends of Jan, so that’s sorted, but I’m worried about the February half term, we can’t afford to go anywhere and weather will guaranteed be grim (in a northern European country colder than UK but not cold enough for snow, the worst combination for winter!)

I've become slightly obsessed with the sunset time and the days getting longer. It cheers me up to know we get a little more daylight every day. I found out today that the sunset today is the same time as it was mid-November.

Despite the shortest day being the 21st Dec the earliest sunset is actually way before that so we are well and truely on our way to brighter evenings. 😀

Most importantly I think is to embrace it. This is a time for hibernating - lighting some candles, get cosy under blankets, read a new book. I find basically every other month of the year so busy, January is great for getting some much needed down time.
Second I’d say try and get out for a walk daily if possible. Winter can be a beautiful month if we accept it for what it is. It’s looking very cold but very sunny the next few days (depends where you are of course!), but a great time to get out for a walk in nature somewhere. Spring is my favourite month but I love spending the winter months looking at what is starting to grow. You’ll see the snowdrops coming through soon..then the daffodils.
And remember the days are already getting longer, by the end of January it’s basically 5pm sunset, then we’re in feb where it gets lighter very quickly!

We go the other way and drink more in January. We don't drink a huge amount anyway and I've only had a drink on 4 occasions in two weeks over xmas, but Sundays in January are for roast/slow cooked meat and a bottle or two of red wine.

I will also plant my Gaura seeds. I plant direct into large pots. Plant in groups of five seeds and then in configuration of five groups of seeds. This will give you a plant the size you'd buy in the garden centre. They need to be well on their way by March if you want flowers by July.
I plant them inside on the window sills.

I will also drastically reduce my calorie intake as I have my birthday in mid february and it's my annual check in to make sure I am the size I want to be. Love a January diet.

Snow is due and my Xmas Dec's only went up recently they are definitely not coming down yet. I take them down when it's too light for them to feel right anymore.

Lots of restaurants do 50% off in January so maybe plan some weekend walks and a nice meal out. Cinema, decluttering, getting the house back to normal, planning the year and looking forward to holidays and plans is how I spend January

Agree with pp's embrace it!

My snow drops are pushing through, I planted some hyacinths last year for indoors and so they'll be put out to replace the Christmas bits and bobs and M&S had daffodils in the other day. Flowers always cheer me up.

I went for a long walk this morning then had a candlelit bath with the favoured MN self care, although i need some more face mask as mine have dried up from the last time I did self care about 3 years ago

When days blend into each other they pass quicker, maybe? Plus it's getting incrementally lighter each evening...

That really is positive news!