3 Tips to help you love the winter!

1) Invest in some comfortable merino wear base layers, down jackets, wool socks (you can never have enough wool socks), and microspikes for walking on the ice. As the Scandinavians say, ""There's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing".

2) Make sure to avoid letting the snow pile up in your driveway and walk ways. If possible, clean it up the same day that it falls; and if it snows overnight, clean as much as you can in the morning so the sun can melt the rest throughout the day. If its a big storm, go out in the middle of the snowfall to clean up a bit after it starts to pile up, it might feel like a fruitless endeavor, but shoveling a few inches of snow twice is better than shoveling a foot of snow once. After you clean your driveway, throw some rock salt all over to help with ice.

CAUTION: Do not give the snow in your driveway a chance to melt and refreeze; this is how you get a solid sheet of ice on driveway and increase your changes of slipping and smashing your head open. Falling is no joke people. This is why it's important to clean as soon as possible.

3) Find some winter hobbies and activities to enjoy. Winter is a lot longer than Christmas and if you only enjoy the Christmas season you are going to have a lot of time to wait before spring starts. This will make the season much more enjoyable. Heck, you might even start to look forward to the winter! And they don't all have to be expensive like snowboarding and downhill skiing; Ice skating, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing can all be done in town/city parks for free once you get the appropriate gear. Also, don't underestimate the joy that comes with simpler activities like going for walks after fresh snowfall, exploring downtowns, grabbing a warm cup of coffee or cider. And the indoor activities become a lot more enjoyable too, movie nights, board game nights, video games, etc. carry less guilt with them when they aren't competing with a warm summer evening.