It’s officially January. ‘New Year, new me’ season. Whilst I am usually not a fan of waiting for the New Year to turn my life around, I do have one resolution: stop letting my seasonal depression get the best of me.
Winter can be a hard time, especially in a city where that means practically no sunshine and unheated flats. With the Christmas spirit far behind us, a cold January, February (and let’s be realistic, March) can seem difficult to weather. So, whilst I am all for daydreaming of the summer, I have compiled my best suggestions to make sure this winter season is also a fun one!
- Host a dinner party.
Cooking for a large group of people can seem a little daunting, but you can always enlist the help of a friend, or even make it a potluck. You can make a fun day out of charity shopping for cute tableware and decorations, design your own menus, set up an after-dinner activity — the world is your oyster! And if fronting the grocery bill seems like a lot, asking each of your friends to send you a fiver for a home cooked feast sounds like a fair deal to me!
- Make an occasion out of anything & everything!
Make a big deal out of absolutely everything! Your friend got a new job? Bake them a fun cake. It’s Burns Night? Buy some haggis and Iron Bru and have some friends over for dinner. It’s Valentine’s Day? Celebrate — even if you’re single. Be it pink themed brunch, a cosy night in or taking turns projecting your friends’ Hinge accounts on your living room wall, it’s the perfect occasion to take the day off!
- Take yourself on a solo date day.
My personal favourite solo date day locations are charity shops and cafes. Whether you’re keen on fashion, into records, books, or old timey trinkets, the Edinburgh charity shop scene will have something for you. And of course, there are endless cute independent coffee shops for you to choose from! Nothing like buying yourself a coffee and a slice of cake and reading your (perhaps newly purchased) book in a cosy seat. Of course, your ideal day might be something completely different, but either way, spending a day dedicated to doing things you love is bound to cheer you up!
- Book those cheap reading week flights!
Not much to be said here other than do it! I’ve seen plenty of return flights for under twenty pounds, and you could literally just go for a day trip if you don’t want to fork out on accommodation.
- Use this time to let your creativity run free.
Summer can feel busy, and creative pursuits can get swept up with all our social plans, but winter is the perfect time to stay indoors and try your hand at something new! Have a paint and sip night with a friend or buy some air-drying clay and attempt some pottery. You could write a poem — or maybe even an article for us here at The Student!
Image via Isabelle Browser