While meteorologists are referring to this winter as one of the coldest in the last half of century, and the snowstorms surprising us on every step of the way, we are often forced to find a relaxing and entertaining ways to spend our time outside of work or school. Here are some fun and creative things to do during your winter evenings, because than you probably wouldn't have time for them.
Tidy up your photo library
Nowadays developed technology is helping us to capture memories from our trips, parties with friends to the everyday’s little moments that we want to remember. With all those effects and filters, our photos are becoming the real masterpieces. But what usually happens, after we upload them to Facebook, Instagram or transfer to our computer? We forget them. So, find some time during the winter to refresh the memories, select those photos that made you smile, print them out, buy one of those albums with blank pages and start making the jigsaw! You can also do this with family and friends and besides that is fun, it is a great and decorative way to save the photos.
Telling stories or reading aloud
Speaking of warm and cozy nights by the fire, there is one more thing that could make an evening like that even more soothing – an old-fashioned story telling. Whether you’ve gathered some friends to kill time while the storm passes, or you are cuddling up with your loved one in a blanket, you can use this idea to make your night even more relaxing and fun. So grab a book by Austen, Tolstoy and King, or try to recall the chilling stories you’ve once heard while camping in the woods in seventh grade, and enjoy your evening.
Playing board or card games
Before our laptops and iPads, there were these thing called board games. And not the ones you play while staring at the monitor and yelling to your teammates through headphones and microphone, but the ones that your mother still keeps under your bed in an old box, with a bunch of figures, cards and dices. Even if your electricity is still on and your TV is luring you, try to remind yourself what it was like being little, sitting on the floor and getting upset when you lose your last cringe of hope in the game of Scrabble or Snakes and Ladders.
Writing a journal
While it maybe seems as something that only a twelve year-old would do, there’s a magical way of letting things go and bringing back the memories while writing your thoughts on paper. It can also help you make plans for the future, or simply to get your mind off of everyday responsibilities.
Friends Knitting
With a small effort, basic knitting knowledge and a little help of your friends you can make one warm and unique accessory for winter. Tell your friends to buy one ball of wool in color that they like the most, and if you like-some applications, buttons, glitter, so you can knit a scarf. Every friend can knit 10 centimeters and afterwards you can put all the parts together and decorate it with stuff you brought. While creating the perfect winter scarf, you can also relax, drink tea and chat with your friends.
Spending time in the kitchen
My second favorite thing to do in the cold winter evenings is learning to cook something new while messing up my entire kitchen. There is something very relaxing in slicing and chopping your ingredients, tasting the smells mixed in the air, and arranging it all nicely in plates when it’s done. Cleaning the mess afterwards? Not so much fun, but you’ll get the hang of it.
Meditating
Note: I highly advise everyone to do yoga or meditation regularly, and not just on the evenings when you’ve exhaled all other options.
Meditation is a great way to relieve stress, spend time focusing on yourself and clearing your mind of everything that is bothering you. It is very relaxing and functional to do it early in the morning before work, but it is also highly effective in the time before going to sleep.
General cleaning out of your apartment/house
We all know how hard it is to make ourselves clear out that few left boxes that are still unpacked from the day of moving out from our dorm room, not to mention that mines are judging me every time I look under my bed. So when times are tough and there isn’t much to do, and the weather outside is not looking to improve, you can get your mind off of things organizing and going through stuff that you’ve forgotten you still have. You’d be surprised what there’s to be found; maybe an old album with pictures from high school with you and your embarrassing frizzy hairstyle you were so proud of back then, or maybe an old shirt that you swore you will never wear, but it’s making a comeback this season.
Home Fashion Show
After winter comes the spring and with spring the new clothes, right? So you definitely need a space in your wardrobe and there is an interesting way how to make it. Invite friends and make a fashion show with all the clothes that you don’t wear, it doesn’t fit you or it needs a refreshment. Your friends can bring their things as well, and then you can also swap the clothes, or if you are good in sewing-make some new things using the old.
The article co-authored by Katarina Manojlovic.
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