Things to Look Forward To This Winter When You Dread It

It’s not that I dislike winter. I just don’t feel very happy on those dark, gloomy days, and I keep waiting for the sun and a lit sky. A winter picture looks lovely with heavy coats and a cold breeze, but only for a glance. After a while those gloomy days start getting into my head.

What helps me is having small things to look forward to. Some of them are things winter shows us on its own, like frost, fog and early sunsets. Some are little hobbies and plans to enjoy alone, with family or with friends, and a few are trips for when ice and snow are the whole point.

Here in India, winter means woollens and golden afternoons, and I know many of you are reading with frost on the windows or snow on the way.

Wherever you are, here are 29 things to try this season. I also wrote about winter arc 😉 focusing on our body, mind and spirit. 🎀

Outside, Under a Winter Sky

1. Watch the sunset for ten full minutes It is dark by five or 6 now, so the sunset has moved into your evening. Step out with a cup of chai or hot chocolate, leave your phone inside, and watch the colour change from orange to pink to deep blue.

2. Learn to find Orion Orion is the easiest constellation to spot in winter. Look for three bright stars in a row, which make his belt, and a free app that shows stars and constellations will confirm it. Once you know him, you will look for him every clear night.

3. Stay up for the Geminid meteor shower The Geminids peak around 13 and 14 December. Spread a blanket somewhere away from streetlights and give your eyes twenty minutes to adjust. On a clear night you can see dozens an hour, so make a wish with each one.

4. Start a frost, ice and breath-cloud collection In colder places, frost draws tiny fern patterns on windows and car glass, and no two look alike. Photograph one a day. Along the way, look for bubbles trapped in thin puddle ice and try blowing a perfect ring with your breath on a cold morning.

5. Go out in the first snowfall Step outside before the snow gets trampled. Let a flake land on a dark sleeve and look at its shape up close, then walk somewhere with fresh snow and see whose footprints you can spot. A bird, a squirrel or a fox all leave a different trail, and a free tracks guide online helps you tell them apart.

6. Go ice skating at an outdoor rink Fairy lights, music and cold air make this one of the happiest winter evenings. Famous rinks like Somerset House in London or Rockefeller Center in New York are lovely, but a local pop-up rink is just as good. Go on a weekday evening when it is quieter, and keep a hot chocolate for afterwards.

In the Kitchen

7. Build a hot chocolate bar Make one big pot and set out a tray of toppings like marshmallows, orange zest, cinnamon, crushed peppermint and a pinch of chilli. Everyone builds their own cup, then you rate them and crown a winner.

8. Make gajar halwa on a slow Sunday This is an Indian winter dessert made from carrots, and it is my favourite way to spend a Sunday. Not a single winter goes without this one. Winter carrots are the sweetest, especially the red ones. Grate them, simmer in milk until it reduces, then add ghee, cardamom and a handful of chopped pistachios. It takes lots of stirring, and the whole house smells wonderful.

9. Simmer a pot of orange peel and cinnamon Put orange peel, a cinnamon stick, three cloves and a cardamom pod in a small pot of water on the lowest flame. Top up the water as it reduces. Within minutes your home smells like a festive kitchen, no candle needed.

10. Host a soup jar swap Each friend makes one big pot of vegetable soup, like pumpkin, tomato or lentil, and fills a few jars. Swap them and everyone goes home with three or four different soups, which means your lunches for the week are sorted.

11. Bake and decorate gingerbread Use a simple dough, cut out shapes and decorate with an icing of icing sugar and a few drops of lemon juice. Pick a theme, like houses on one street or a row of tiny scarves. Gingerbread biscuits or cookies keep for a week, so they also make good gifts.

My Winter Arc

The winter arc is a simple idea, use the slow months to build the version of your year you will be happy to walk into in spring. I like to have it balanced for the body, the mind and the spirit.

Gratefully, I am in a really happy place mentally so I really want to enjoy the year end with calm and happiness. But, anything that helps me better everyday is always welcome. 🎀

For Body

13. Do sun salutations in the winter sun Surya namaskar warms you up quickly and works well in soft winter light. One round has twelve poses. Start with three rounds, add one a week, and do them by a sunny window if it is too cold outside.

14. Take a 30-minute walk after lunch This is the warmest part of the day, so it is the easiest time to get outside. Keep the pace easy and leave the headphones at home some days. Winter light is gentle, and you will see more.

For Mind

15. Read one book slowly Choose the book you have been meaning to read and read a few pages a night until spring. Winter evenings are made for this. Finish it by the first day of spring and you have a winter well spent.

16. Keep one phone-free hour after dinner Put the phone in another room, dim the lights and do something with your hands or your head: stretch, read, write, sit and you’ll have a slow evening to yourself.

17. Write three lines every night Note one thing you did, one thing you noticed and one thing you are looking forward to. By spring you will have about ninety small snapshots of your winter.

Spirituality

18. Light a diya at sunset and sit for ten minutes Early dark makes this ritual easy to keep. Light a diya or a candle, then sit with a mantra, a bhajan or just silence. Stay until the flame settles.

19. Keep a gratitude streak until spring Before you get out of bed, name three small things you are glad about that day. Mark an X on a wall calendar each morning and try not to break the chain. By the first day of spring the page is full, and so is your head with good things.

Little Projects and Festivals

18. Sketch the same window all season Keep a small notebook and sketch the same window every week or two. By February you can flip through the pages and watch the tree go from golden leaves to bare branches to the first buds.

19. Make an envelope calendar until spring Write a small plan inside each of twelve envelopes and open one every Sunday until the first day of spring. Ideas likes a favourite dessert, a call to an old friend, a walk in a new park. Every Sunday gets something to look forward to.

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20. Have a winter solstice dinner The shortest day of the year falls around 21 December, and after it the days get longer. Light candles, cook a few favourite dishes and write a short list of what you are looking forward to in the new year. Read it out loud over dessert.

21. Celebrate Makar Sankranti Around 14 January, India marks the turn of the season with kites and sweets. Skies across Gujarat fill with colour, and the International Kite Festival in Ahmedabad is a sight to see. At home, make til-gud laddoos by dry roasting sesame, melting jaggery into a thick syrup and shaping the two together with a little ghee while the mixture is warm.

22. Write a letter to next winter’s you Write about what you are enjoying right now, what you are proud of and what you hope for. Seal it, put it in a drawer and set a reminder for this time next year. Opening it is one of the nicest small surprises of the season.

With Friends and Family

23. Make ice lanterns with balloons Fill balloons with water, add a drop of food colouring and leave them outside overnight when it freezes. If it does not, use the freezer. Peel the balloon off, empty the centre and put a tea light inside for a glowing lantern on the doorstep.

24. Take a festive lights walk Walk around the neighbourhood after dinner to see Christmas lights, fairy lights on balconies and Diwali diyas. Rate each house like a jury and pick a winner at the end.

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25. Host a snack passport night Everyone brings one vegetarian snack from a different country, with a small label saying where it is from. Make a paper passport for each guest and stamp it for every snack you try. Taste, rate and guess the ingredients. A big supermarket’s world food aisle makes this easy.

Worth the Trip

26. Chase the northern lights Head to Iceland, Norway, Finland, Alaska or the north of Scotland between September and March. Pick a clear, dark night and use an aurora forecast app for timing. Give yourself more than one night, because they do not always show up on schedule.

27. Book a cabin weekend in the snow A small wooden cabin with a fireplace, board games and snowy trees outside the window makes the cosiest weekend. Manali, Auli, The Lake District, the Scottish Highlands, the Catskills and Vermont all have good ones.

28. Ride a scenic train through the snow There are so many trains that runs through scenic routes. If you have been planning a trip, The Glacier Express in Switzerland rolls through white mountains and tiny villages, toy train from Kalka to Shimla in India runs through snowy hills, and the Settle to Carlisle line in northern England is beautiful in winter. A memorable winter trip for sure.

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29. Spend a weekend at a Christmas market So many places are known for having that Christmas market feel like Edinburgh, Goa, Chicago and New York all have markets full of lights, wooden stalls and handmade gifts. Warm your hands with hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts and fresh pretzels, and leave plenty of time to wander.

These small things are what make winter feel like home to me, and I hope a few of them find a place in yours. Go slow, stay warm, and let this be a soft season. 🎀