Nothing beats Winter !

I’m often greeted by a sharp intake of breath followed by utter disbelief when I say to people that I’m not a fan of Summer and that my favourite season is Winter. As a person whose body temperature seems to have set itself to hot even on the coldest of days I just can’t think of anything worse than basking in the Summer sun.

There are so many reasons I love the Winter months but I have tried to condense them as much as I can to allow me to share them with you without boring you to death in the process!

Dark night’s

When the time comes for nights to start drawing in and it’s already dark by 4pm I can barely contain my excitement!  Dark nights mean to me cosy nights in the house in front of the fire with the curtains drawn against the world and some quality time with my family.

Weather

As I have already said I can’t really stand the heat so when Winter dawns and brings with it those crisp, icy days I am truly in heaven. There’s nothing better than opening the curtains in the morning to see that Jack Frost has been busy turning everything white. It just looks so beautiful especially first thing when the sun is just coming up. Whilst everyone else is grimly scraping ice from their car windows I have a huge smile plastered on my face and can usually be found humming a Christmas song as I go!

Snow also has to be a highlight in Winter for me, despite the fact that it is often reluctant to make an appearance and even when it does it’s usually short lived. At the first sign of snow I’m bundling the kids into their coats and hats and dragging them outside for a snowball fight and of course to make an obligatory snowman and it’s often a close call as to who actually has the most fun.

Wardrobe

Winter means that the warm clothes can be retrieved from the back of the wardrobe. Snuggly warm, and often crazy patterned jumpers are acceptable along with silly warm hats, gloves and scarves, they are all part of the fun. My favourite by a mile though has to be my warm fleecy pyjamas and big thick socks – ideal for my cosy nights in. When it’s cold anything goes as long as you’re warm and believe me in Cumbria you definitely need to keep warm!

Food and drink

Goodbye salads, hello carbs!

The colder weather for me means stodgy ‘Winter warmer’ meals. There’s nothing better on a cold evening than a hearty casserole with warm chunky bread! It’s also the time of year when you can freely consume hot chocolate, cream and marshmallows and the calories just don’t count. I’m also partial to a cup or two of mulled wine along with a mince pie– a must when attending festive events.

Talking of festive who can forget the food and drink consumed over Christmas? My favourite meal of the year has to be Christmas dinner as I love sprouts – yes you heard it right I LOVE them (not sure my family love me afterwards though!). There are way too many Christmas foods I enjoy for me to list them all, however let’s just say I indulge as a much as I can until January heralds the start of yet another new diet.

Christmas

Of course the cherry on the cake for me is Christmas itself and everything associated with it! I am completely Christmas mad and drive my family bonkers talking about it all year long. I think the run up to the big day is my favourite thing – putting up the tree, writing letters to Santa, the panto, Christmas Fairs, Nativities, Santa’s Grotto and most of all the excitement, anticipation and cheer that everyone seems to have.

It’s a time to watch festive feel-good movies with the family whilst working your way through tubs of Celebrations (those calories don’t count either!). It’s a time to spend with those you love playing games and making memories that will last a lifetime – I feel quite often life takes over as we are all so busy but those few days over Christmas is the one time I leave the housework, washing etc. and really relax

New Year

It’s so cliché to say it but New Year, New start. Since having kids my days of partying New Year’s Eve away are long gone, however I always enjoy sitting up until Midnight (that’s usually as far as I can last nowadays) and saying farewell to the previous year and welcoming in the new. Filled with hope I step into that New Year and look forward to the future which is what makes life so fantastic.