Finding Joy in Winter: Creative Ways to Celebrate the Season

Winter… you love it or you hate it.

But let’s be real—the first part of winter is magical. You go from crisp fall evenings, when you can start to wear your cozy sweaters or sit around a campfire, maybe roast some marshmallows. Visit a pumpkin patch, make your favorite chili recipe. Sweatshirt weather is fun, whether you’re big into pumpkin spice and Halloween or you’re a football fan.

As the real cold starts to set in, the hustle and bustle of the holidays distract us. We have Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s—perfect weather for celebrating and drinking as much hot chocolate as your heart desires.

How Celebrating Small Moments Can Beat the Winter Blues

Then January hits. The sun sets super early, and I swear it’s the longest month of the year. Now it’s just winter. No holidays—just winter. We barely make it into February, and the groundhog betrays us… six more weeks???

Luckily, I’ve found that there are so many holidays to pack into the next couple of months to keep our spirits up and help us make it through the final stretch before actual spring.

Let me take you back to Valentine’s Day 2012. I was separated with five young kids. Can you think of a more depressing holiday given the situation? Add to that the fact that my father had just passed away a year earlier. I realized that lots of people didn’t have a reason to celebrate. Life was hard. I had five kids, preschool age to 12 years old. My mom was a widow and no longer had the man around who worshipped the ground she walked on. I had friends who were divorced, never married, or not happily married. On top of that, I was still living on base, surrounded by people whose spouses were deployed.

Creating Community Through Celebration

I decided to host a Valentine’s dinner for people who fell into these categories. My house looked like it had thrown up pink and red—not elegant, but definitely festive. What I wasn’t expecting was the reflection later that night. After a few hours of laughing, eating, cleaning, and putting the kids to bed, I sat in the quiet and caught myself smiling. Genuinely happy. That’s when I realized that no matter what we’re going through in life, we can take breaks to celebrate and be happy. It didn’t fix life or change the circumstances, but it gave me a little fuel to get through the next few days, weeks, or months.

When you start looking for reasons to celebrate, you find them everywhere. Your child’s favorite singer’s birthday? Get cupcakes to celebrate. A widely recognized holiday? Have a themed dinner. A random “made-up” holiday? Play along!

Fun Winter Holidays to Celebrate (Beyond the Big Ones)

Here are some of the holidays we added that year and their dates (or the range of dates they fall on):

(Easter can fall on any Sunday between March 23 and April 25; Mardi Gras is always 47 days before Easter, on any Tuesday between Feb. 3 and March 9.)

You made it to the First Day of Spring! This falls between March 19th and 21st.

When we reminisce about celebrating a celebrity’s birthday and that celebrity isn’t “cool” anymore, you risk losing your coolness with your kids. In their young, innocent state, you were the coolest—just be prepared that they can take that away in their developing minds. Don’t worry; it comes back later. Hold on!

Our Family Traditions: Simple Ideas You Can Try

Leap Day: Frog-Themed Fun

For Leap Day, we just did everything frog-themed (just so happened, it’s also my oldest’s birthday). I was mortified at the thought of him having that birthday when I was in labor—but I was wrong. It’s so fun! That’s part of learning and growing. We don’t know what we don’t know.

Dr. Seuss’s Birthday: Green Eggs and Ham, Anyone?

On Dr. Seuss’s Birthday, we read his books and had green eggs and ham. The first few attempts at achieving this colorful meal didn’t turn out great, but after some trial and error, you figure out the best options. My favorites have landed on warm ham sliders and dyeing the filling of deviled eggs.

Mardi Gras: Festive Food and Fun

Mardi Gras is for King Cake (with a little plastic baby) and shrimp and grits. Don’t forget the beads—but maybe don’t explain to your toddler how people actually get them in New Orleans.

St. Patrick’s Day: Green Food and Guinness Brownies

St. Patrick’s Day is another chance to pull out the green food coloring, make corned beef, and bake the kids’ favorite—Guinness brownies. Yes, they will ask to take beer brownies to school the next day. Remember, we pick our battles!

Look up fun facts about the origins of holidays, why certain traditions have been adopted, and the meanings and symbolism behind them. Your family and friends will become more well-rounded (and not just from the meal!).

What started as a coping mechanism turned into our family traditions. All the kids saw was that we were having fun—and, okay, maybe I’m embellishing, but they thought I was THE COOLEST MOM.

With every positive thing, you’ll have some haters. People may comment that you’re “that mom.” Something we need to remember is that we don’t always see reality. Sometimes what others see as “extra” is really just someone trying to survive and make sure their kids have a decent life during hard times when they were in situations they didn’t create.

Celebrate Life: Because You Deserve Joy

So celebrate. Decorate your table. Make a fun dish. Have dessert for breakfast—who made the rules anyway? We were created to be happy. Life is to be enjoyed. Find any reason to take a break from the real world and enjoy the people around you. If you don’t have anyone with you right now, celebrate by yourself. You deserve to be happy.

Before you know it, the sun will come out again—literally and figuratively. And making it through another winter? Hey, maybe that’s a reason to celebrate too.