Bringing Play Back Into Your Life: Winter Edition
The Winter season can be full of joy, laughter and fun, especially leading up to the holidays! For some, there are traditions and memories galore, lots of activities and people to fill the short days with. It can also be a hard season to get through. Perhaps the holidays are not fond memories or you might feel lonely. Maybe the cold and dark days feel like endless gloom. Perhaps, you have so much on your To-Do List for the upcoming holiday that the holiday season is now just simply miserable. During the Winter season, it is essential to be intentional with your time and energy, finding the activities that bring you energy and joy through this season while also allowing yourself time to rest. So how do we begin to do that? First, check out my previous post Bringing Play Back Into Your Life: Fall Edition for the questions necessary to start this activity.
Did you answer the questions? Great! Remember, the key is to identify activities that bring play and fun into your life, no matter how silly they are. Winter is an excellent season for this because there are many holiday activities, winter sports, and cozy ways to spend time at home. Here’s a quick list to give you some ideas:
Watch your favorite holiday movie or a movie you have always wanted to watch
Learn or relearn to ski, snowboard, or ice skate
Grab a sled and hit the hills
Build a snowman
See a show that brings back old fond memories or creates new ones
Read your favorite book
Cook or bake a comforting dish
Create art
Have a snowball fight
Buy YOURSELF a gift (or THE gift you always wanted as a child)
This list is by far not exhaustive but it’s a starting place for you to think about what your inner child wants from the winter season. When winter break started, what did you dream about doing? Maybe these ideas only stayed in your dreams, now is the time to invest the time and energy into taking care of yourself and making them happen. Remember, these don’t have to break the bank or be extravagant. The idea is to take time and remind yourself that you are worthy to have fun, relax, create, and just simply play.
With the shorter, darker days, it is easy for the winter blues to set in. That is why being intentional with your time and carving out moments to play is so important. When we set aside time to create joy, we are working to combat the dreary days. Ask yourself, what can you do each day (remember, it only needs to be a few minutes) or each week to bring in more playtime?
Some final words on winter, while this post is geared toward more play and activities in the winter months, it is important to remember that this season is also about allowing yourself the much-needed time to rest. Part of healing your inner child, is asking yourself, what do I need at this moment? It is more than acceptable for the answer to be rest. Give yourself that time, all year, but especially during this season.