Top Tips to Keep the Winter Blues Away

“The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful…”  Make winter wonderful with our top tips to banish the blues and make this your happiest season yet- from family activities to fun (and dare we say it, recession friendly) ways to socialise with friends, we’ve got winter sewn up…

1. Cook
Spend some quality time with friends and family, gather them together round the kitchen table and share some winter warmers. Catch up over a bowl of homemade soup with freshly baked bread; get their blood going with a Cognac-laced winter cocktail or ask them all to muck in in creating a delicious and filling stew.

2. Enjoy the Great Outdoors…
Gentle exercise lifts the spirits, releasing serotonin, the ‘happy hormone’. So layer up and take a stroll round the park or, snow permitting, get creative and build a snowman, igloo or challenge the neighbours to a snow ball fight.  More of a shopper than a sportsman? Check out local crafts, farmers, winter and German markets, perfect for original and thoughtful gifts while promoting independent retailers.
3. …Or make the most of the cosy indoors!
Just because it’s cold enough outside to set even an Eskimos teeth chattering, you can still bring fun in the sun inside. Hold a summer picnic dinner party inside- Pimms, food on your knees on a picnic blanket, and summer tunes in the background.

Not in the mood for a floor party? Gather on the sofa, layer with blankets and just add your favourite DVDs…. the perfect winter recipe for a chilled evening in. Or even better, stack up those holiday brochures and plan some exciting seasonal escapes- fun in the sun or on the slopes, looking forward to a getaway should banish the blues immediately!

4. Board, not Bored
It’s drizzling outside, autumn’s creeping into winter and you’re starting to feel restless. Fear not, boredom can be staved off very efficiently in the most traditional of ways- a little bit of healthy competition and a great board game. We recommend Articulate, Smart Ass and Pass the Bomb- fun for the whole family!

5. Just Give
When he wasn’t drinking, Winston Churchill was a wise man in many ways, and in saying “we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give” he hits the nail on the head.
There’s no better way to feel warm and gooey inside than by doing something good for someone else. Whether it’s doing the washing up without being asked or helping those less fortunate, there are so many easy ways to make a difference.

Children North East, hold an annual ‘Giving Tree Appeal’, where companies, schools and groups  are urged to make Christmas a happier time for some of the region’s most disadvantged children, young people and their families.  All they ask is that you donate a gift to the value of £10, a food parcel for a needy family or that you make a monetary donation which helps with their work throughout the year.

In the words of a dad living in temporary accommodation: “Due to problems me and my partner had with drugs, us and the kids were evicted a few months ago.  When we were in the homeless unit we was worried sick about Christmas and presents.  It wasn’t the bairns faults and they were going to get nothing.  We couldn’t believe it when the worker from the out of school club knocked on the door with a heap of parcels for the bairns all wrapped up and everything and a box of food.  She told us it had been donated from lots of people in companies.  Thank you – none of what’s happened to us is the bairns fault.  Thank you for helping and not judging us”

If you could like to make Christmas special for a family who is struggling please call the Children North East fundraising team on 0191 256 2444 or e-mail enquiries@children-ne.org.

Children North East receives regular and unrestricted funding from the People’s Postcode Lottery, totalling £183,000 to date.