188 Days Until Summer

Yesterday with the first flakes of snow falling from the sky, summer seems like a hundred years into the past or the future. I was personally confused about these flakes of snow thinking it was possibly dust flying out of my head to clear it from the crazy weekend, but it turned out that it was indeed snow.  As expected, Facebook was loaded with posts about the snow, but one comment caught my eye.  My best friend's daughter made a comment "189 days until summer!"  I responded by stating that makes it sound so far away.      With the positivity that only a 13 year-old could possess, she told responded back by telling me to "just do 189 crazy things, and it'll be over like thaaat!"  At my age, "crazy things" are a bit different than what they used to be.  Regardless of that, it got me thinking about fun things to do that will pass the time of these winter months, especially when many people suffer from seasonal depression.

Sit around a bonfire or in front of a fireplace drinking hot cocoa and eating s’mores. Add Bailey’s to the hot cocoa. Make snow angels. Go sledding.  Jump in a pile of raked leaves.  Spend the afternoon at the library. Spend an entire day in pajamas reading books. Have a Holiday movie marathon including “A Christmas Story”, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  Go to the Garden of Lights at the Botanical Garden.  Take your kids, grandkids or someone else’s kids to meet Santa at the mall.  Write letters to friends and/or loved ones who are in the military or overseas and will be away for the holidays.  Do the Polar Plunge.  Go for a ride on the back of a snowmobile.  Go to a tree farm where you can chop down your own Christmas Tree.  Play a board game with your family. Play Wii or Xbox Kinect games with your family.  Watch the Packers win more games. Spend the weekend at an indoor waterpark.  Dance in the rain or snow and sing at the top of your lungs.  Sing Karaoke.  Invite friends over to your house for a fondue dinner.  Buy a Christmas Gift for a less fortunate stranger.  Make up goofy new lyrics to all of the Christmas Carols you know and sing them at the top of your lungs.  Get a manicure, a pedicure, or a new hairstyle. Buy cheap Christmas ornaments at the Dollar Store and decorate them yourself in your own creative way.  Have a chili cook-off with your family and friends.  Put on a formal dress (prom dress, bridesmaid dress, wedding dress) and spend the entire day in it just walking around your house like a soap opera star.  Bake Christmas Cookies and get creative with your decorations and do a cookie exchange with friends. Do a “winter cleaning” day.  Buy a fur coat at Goodwill and wear it to the grocery store.  Shovel snow for a neighbor.  Have a snowball fight with your kids, your dog, your friends.  Build a Nativity scene or Christmas village out of popsicle sticks.  Go wine tasting on a Saturday afternoon. Make breakfast for dinner. Make dinner for breakfast.  Watch the sunrise on a wintry day. Watch the snow melt on a spring day. Spend the day in fuzzy slippers.  Wear a Santa hat.  Go ice skating.  Play laser tag. Make a fort with blankets in your living room.  Move your couch or loveseat into the kitchen. Have an indoor picnic.  Have an indoor picnic by candlelight. Go to Sam’s Club and try all of the free samples. Visit a museum.  Visit a local art gallery. Join a book club. Join a cooking class. Make a meal for someone who is extremely busy and deliver it to their home.  Write a Christmas Play and act it out (complete with costumes) and video record it.  Kiss someone under the mistletoe.  Write inspirational thoughts on post it notes and stick them all over someone’s house who needs cheering up. Make a snowman. Do a jigsaw puzzle. Call someone you haven’t spoken to in awhile and talk on the phone rather than just text or instant message. Throw a party with a “worst holiday sweater” contest/theme.  Build a snowman.  Knit a scarf.  Eat an icicle. Cut out snowflakes and hang them from your ceiling like you did in elementary school.  Write a short story, a long story, a song or a poem.  Go to a music store and try out all of the instruments.  Babysit for someone who desperately needs a night out… for free. Make someone laugh.  Make a photo book as a Christmas gift for someone special. Spend all day with your best friend just talking about anything and everything.  Laugh until you cry.  Cry until you laugh. Take a bubble bath.  Eat macaroni and cheese in the bubble bath. Volunteer for a cause you believe in. Clean out your closet and donate what you don’t want, need, or fit into to charity.  Go to the gym. Re-arrange your furniture.  Ask someone to be your valentine.  Drink green beer on St. Patrick’s Day.  Kiss someone at midnight on New Year’s Eve.  Make a music video.  Make a parody commercial.  Learn to play guitar.  Take a horse and carriage ride.  Replace your regular lotion with suntan lotion so you smell like summer.  Have an indoor beach party.  Go downhill skiing.  Learn to ski.  Write a letter to Santa from your adult self.  Sing in church, at the top of your lungs. Dance with a stranger.  Hold hands.  Tell someone you love them.     

And lastly.... make your own winter "bucket" list!