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Original poster

January really is crap

330 replies

Nomoreburritosforgodsake · 10/01/2025 19:23

I’m a positive person and try to make the best out of things, count my blessings etc, but it really is the most depressing month…cold, wet, quiet, no money..just so blah.
I don’t mind staying in, have put fairy lights, candles, pjs and throws..still crap
Think it’s more the money and weather, just getting by, the most excitement being taking the dog for a walk and making lasagna. Dd asking for zoo, cinema, soft play and takeaways..just not happening this month

How to make Jan-well-Jan-March better?!

Does anyone actually prefer these months? I remember a brilliant year pre Dd where we went ski ing and then to Thailand just to escape it, no option for that these days 😅

OP posts:
CrispieCake · 10/01/2025 21:02

SexAndCakes · 10/01/2025 20:48

What I find tough is the way the whole world tends to get gloomy / grumpy at once and the contrast with Christmas. I also find Christmas a bit OTT. It would be good if we could just have a gentler approach to the Christmas season and eke it out for longer!

Failing that, I tend to block things out a bit too. I like to stay indoors, do cleaning and organising, not try to achieve too much. Certainly no massive resolutions or life changes. I like the feeling of a new year but tend to save it for April and work in financial years Grin

That is why we celebrate Christmas until Candlemas. The Christmas period itself is too frenetic and then suddenly over. Far better to have a winter festival that lasts longer but is less full-on and celebrates doing and being as well as giving. We were away for Christmas itself so never got round to making our gingerbread house and doing paper chains, which we usually do, so we did those last weekend. Have promised DC we can bake Christmas cookies tomorrow.

PrincessSakura · 10/01/2025 21:03

I was born in January and I have never liked it, I always fall into a depression during the winter months and it hits hard in January. I only start to feel better in April.

Moversnotshakers · 10/01/2025 21:11

Personally i love it. Off to canaries for a bit of winter sun on monday. We havent had a full week off work since june last year & DH worked all over xmas inc xmas day. Its our winter treat and we both deserve it!!

DeepRoseFish · 10/01/2025 21:17

cardibach · 10/01/2025 19:52

Christmas isn’t hideous if you do it right.
Cold crisp and sunny? In what world? It’s mostly damp and grey.
Who pressures you to eat beige food and why is it less likely in Jan?
Spring is fucking ages away. May at best. 3.5 months. Quarter of a year.

Edited
Show quote history

May is practically summer! Spring starts in March!

LunaNorth · 10/01/2025 21:17

I’ve not hated it as much this year, as we booked in some post-Christmas treats. I went to the ballet with a friend and to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream with DH.

The sunsets have been amazing this year, and the night skies have been so clear!

I’ve had a massive declutter, and feel so much better for it.

And I spotted some green shoots poking through the mud the other day, so Spring’s just around the corner.

TuesdaysAreBest · 10/01/2025 21:18

The worst is over and there is the merest hint of Spring in the air. Even in the north of Scotland. Have faith.

IVFmumoftwo · 10/01/2025 21:19

Tootiredmummyof3 · 10/01/2025 19:52

I also hate January. Worse this year as it's so cold and my first winter as a SAHM for a long time. DS wants to go outside constantly but after an hour I can't take anymore.
Not too bad money wise as we did Christmas on a budget but I can't get enthusiastic about going out when it's cold and dark by 4.
Can't wait until spring.

Softplay?

Iamblossom · 10/01/2025 21:20

38 days till the sun set at 7pm. Hope this helps.

Iamblossom · 10/01/2025 21:22

Cantrushart · 10/01/2025 20:35

I've heard some bloody strange things on this thread. Leftover Christmas chocolates?! Winter salads??

Hahahaha

KimberleyClark · 10/01/2025 21:23

I don’t mind it. Look forward to Six Nations and Valentine’s Day.

cardibach · 10/01/2025 21:26

AndThereSheGoes · 10/01/2025 20:43

Wrong, wrong, wrong,.

it's not like a dark icy November where you know you've got 3 months of possible misery.
Next week we are halfway through the month. By next month we're all focused on what sort of summer we'll get any Easter!

Show quote history

No ember is rarely icy. I know I’ve got 3 months of misery from here. February is shit too and March usually. And most, if not all, of April.

Catnamedroxy · 10/01/2025 21:27

I hate it & even more so because my birthday is the 15th of Janurary. Which means it is forever overlooked because everyone is skint from christmas/new year understandably haha.

Jewell25 · 10/01/2025 21:27

It’s been bright and sunny here the last 3 days. We’ve been out for a walk each day. I love coming back to the house, getting warm & settling down with a film on the TV. Every month has its positives.

cardibach · 10/01/2025 21:28

NooNakedJacuzziness · 10/01/2025 20:47

@cardibach - I could quite happily never have another Christmas. 51 of them so far, I'm done.

They aren’t compulsory. January is worse than December either way.

cardibach · 10/01/2025 21:29

Doyouthinktheyknow · 10/01/2025 20:42

I hate it too, I’m just working to get through it and counting down to a hopefully warm holiday in a couple of weeks!

I just don’t feel there is anything redeeming about January, I am cold, wet, sick of the dark, lacking energy and it’s a long time to payday because we get paid early in December. I go to the work in the dark and return in the dark which doesn’t help.

At least February is short! I can cope with March, feels more hopeful.

March is just disappointing. Supposed to be Spring. Usually just as cold and damp as the last 4 months. .

VeneziaJ · 10/01/2025 21:29

I cannot stand January especially here in the UK! Its cold, dark and freezing rain. Even the snow we get is crap (the wet not powdery type that Scandi countries enjoy❄️) and where I live rarely settles anyway. Pay day is about 1,000 years in the future and the adverts are all about bloody salads, diets and gym 🥶😖
going anywhere is expensive and parks (fun and free) are usually out of the question with young kids, due to constant rain and strong wind 😖

cardibach · 10/01/2025 21:30

itsalwaysthesame · 10/01/2025 20:49

I love the cold and frost, love the dark nights, this is my time of year, I hate summer and the never ending days, sweating and lack of sleep. This is my month where I seek revenge to all the summer lovers those who tell me all summer that "it's not that hot", I say to all you January and cold weather haters "it's not that cold" or "the colder & darker the better" Wink

I do t understand why anyone would prefer dark and cold, but hooray for you! Most of the year is dark and/or cold so you win. Can’t you have a bit of sympathy for those of us who get so little of the year to suit?

PrioritisePleasure24 · 10/01/2025 21:32

No one is a huge fan of january. We use it to chill out and plan some of our year: mini breaks, main hol, plans with friends/family… things to look forward to. No huge plans or spending.

It’s v cold where i am and i’ve some days off. I’ve enjoyed having some time to do nothing and stay home in the warm. I’ve pottered doing small jobs, read, watched films, done spin and yoga. Much needed down time after christmas and being ill twice in a month beforehand! It’s looked beautiful blue skies outside today but our street is hideously icy still…

Maybe you need to book a january holiday in future? i know some people love that.

cardibach · 10/01/2025 21:32

Doggymummar · 10/01/2025 20:49

We are still eating the Christmas treats had a baked cheese tonight with chips and pitta bread. Big glass of Bailey's makes everything better. Oh eating Ferrero Rocher and twiglets. Heated throw and Christmas spice soy wax melts.

I do t over purchase at Christmas. It’s all been back to normal for a while here. And Ferraro Rocher are shite anyway. I do like my heated throw though.

anotherusernameforthis · 10/01/2025 21:34

Try to find the joy. Always try to find a positive.

Simple pleasures, whatever they may be. Mine so far have been swapping some lamps around to make the room look different and sorting the under stair cupboard. Very satisfying. Plus some lovely walks all wrapped up on the sunny days. Blood oranges. New bright red laces in my winter boots. Picking up some bargains in the shops for next christmas. New pants from Sloggi sale. Lots of £1.99 hyacinths from Lidl, love watching them grow so quickly.

A proper Going Out in the Cold outfit by the door - gloves, soft tissues for the endless watery eyes, decent umbrella, second pair of socks, proper hat.

Annual Planning Month in this house, keeps us cheerful. We look up nice restaurants/concerts/walks/trips/museums/markets/recipes/projects for the year ahead, the more obscure the better! Just bung them in your calendar willy-nilly. We went for an early breakfast at an old school caff one wet Sunday in Jan last year and it is one of my nicest memories of the whole year, tea in a chipped mug, formica tables, looking at the winter morning outside. So small, but such joy.

Embrace the dark and cold, you can’t change it; find a cosy, warm, satisfying indoor project and hunker down, knowing you won’t have the time or the gloom for it in the summer!

cardibach · 10/01/2025 21:34

Lamplighting · 10/01/2025 20:57

The ten day forecast is actually looking pretty good here. It’s cold sure but it’s winter and can be beautiful when the sun is shining. I find if I get out for a walk every day I feel so much better. Then enjoy the darker evenings, light candles etc.

You lost me at ‘it’s cold’. That’s it. The end. Vile, depressing, horrible. The sun doesn’t help - just means it’s colder at this time of year. Makes me feel ill. Stops me enjoy8ng any of my hobbies - and most of them are indoor. I dread leaving the house and getting cold going to them and all the time I’m there I dread getting g cold leaving to come home again. I do wish people would stop telling me I should be grateful for sunshine when it actually means things are worse for me.

CoubousAndTourmalet · 10/01/2025 21:34

I prefer the cold, dark, quiet times. June/July/August are my difficult months...

cardibach · 10/01/2025 21:35

Ilovemyshed · 10/01/2025 20:57

Love it. Muddy cold walks and back to a cosy clean and tidy house. Curling up in front of the fire, eating well, rested after a decent Christmas break and no social pressure.

I think its worth budgeting if you can to spread the cost of Christmas over the year so its not all out in Dec and then if you get paid early, putting it aside and paying it back to yourself on the proper day so Jan is not as long. Or hide some emergency money to pull back mid month.

How is a cold walk fun? And how is the house tidy if it’s too cold to leave the huddle of the sofa?

cardibach · 10/01/2025 21:36

Doodleflips · 10/01/2025 20:59

It’s been beautiful here today. I was out walking the dog as the sun rose, the sky was gorgeous, the birds were singing, and it was all sparkly and crisp. I love this weather.
The days are getting longer too
January is a good time to hibernate (work aside).
Rest, recuperate, recharge.

For the 19264826391846 time. It’s. Not. Beautiful. It’s. Fucking. Cold. The sun makes it worse not better! It means it’ll be even colder.

Oblomov25 · 10/01/2025 21:36

It is. It's shit. Miserable, grey. Weather awful. People fed up, no money. My birthday is at the end.