How to Make the Most of Winter When You’re a Summer Person

A skier and a snowboarder viewed from behind going down a snowy mountain trail.

Tips for how to enjoy the winter season when you wish you were sitting on the beach.

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For those of us who love summer, who absolutely live for it, the start of winter can feel depressing, with summer seeming incredibly far away. But instead of spending the entire winter feeling down, you can turn the season into an opportunity to set yourself up for an amazing summer, and embrace the extra time to indulge in winter activities. Who knows, you might even find yourself enjoying winter along the way.

You can take advantage of the winter season to find activities you enjoy, get your home organized, simplify your life, research and plan trips and vacations for summer, and find new ways to enjoy time with family and friends. Winter is a great time to tackle home projects, embrace hobbies, and rediscover activities that you’ve been wanting to do but didn’t have time for during the rest of the year, which tends to be a busier time while you’re taking advantage of being outdoors in the warm weather, going to the beach or the pool.

Here I’m sharing ways you can make the most of winter when you’re a summer person. These are all things I do to occupy my time and energy in winter, giving myself, my life, and my home a much-needed reset and preparing for summer, so when it finally rolls around I’m ready to dive back into all of my favorite activities.

Use this guide as inspiration for having a great winter that sets you up for an even better summer.


Use these ideas to make the most of winter — and actually enjoy it — while you wait for summer to come back around.

Winter is a great time to think about where you want to travel when it gets warmer and who you want to travel with. Start brainstorming vacation locations and activities, plan when you’ll go, and ask friends or family if they’re interested in joining. For some locations, you should book rental homes well in advance, especially if you’re going to a popular location in high season, like a seasonal beach town.


Things always feel a little chaotic after the December holidays, don’t they?! Use the winter months to really clean up and declutter every room so you can start spring off with everything feeling fresh.

For tips on decluttering your kitchen, check out this post.


Your pictures aren’t meant to be stuck in your phone forever. Take the time to load them to your computer, and use one of the many photo book companies to create beautiful books of your previous year’s adventures.


Use this time to reconnect with old friends, whether for coffee, brunch, dinner, or over to your place for a fun hang. If you’re looking to make new friends, try joining a book club or take a weekly fitness class.


Prioritize your self care this winter. Reduce stress by taking up meditation or journaling, or take time to relax and recharge by giving yourself the at-home spa treatment: bubble bath, face mask, candles, painting your nails, whatever feels right to you. You can even put a summer spin on it by transporting yourself to a tropical beach with coconut-scented bubble bath, shampoo, or body wash — see the best coconut beauty products that will remind you of beach vacations all year long. If you prefer perfume so you can sniff your wrist throughout the day, check out these coconut perfumes that will transport you to your favorite beach vacation.


A skier and a snowboarder going down a snowy mountain trail alongside a chair lift.

If you can’t beat them, join them (or so they say). Have you given winter activities a real chance? Ice skating (outdoor or indoor), sledding, skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, winter hiking, and snowmobiling are just some of the fun winter activities that you might enjoy more than you’d think. Or you could join a winter indoor activity like a bowling league or dance class.


Related: 52 Exciting Things to Do in Winter for Adults


Whether tackling your digital clutter or reorganizing a closet, winter is the perfect time to focus on big indoor organization projects. It’s much better to get them out of the way when you’re already feeling stuck inside due to the cold weather, than to need to spend time on these types of projects at other times of the year when you’d rather be outside.


There are so many different indoor hobbies to enjoy, whether you have favorites that you want to return to or want to try something new. Winter is a great time to fully lean into these hobbies. Maybe you’ll even get ahead of your gift-making for the year, or open an Etsy shop.


When winter seems to drag on, it’s nice to have things to look forward to. Create a taco Tuesday night with family or friends, or a once a month Saturday game nights. There are many options for starting your own traditions.


Giving back to your community is always a good use of time. If there’s a charity or organization you’ve been wanting to get involved with, look into signing up as a volunteer. Otherwise, a quick online search should provide you with options. Many organizations don’t require too much of a time commitment, as some only ask that you volunteer once or twice a month at a minimum, so don’t let time restrictions hold you back from looking into it.


I don’t really think there’s such a thing as a “beach body,” because every body belongs at the beach (or lake, or pool). But if you feel like you’ll feel better about yourself, more confident and carefree, if you were to start exercising, get a little bit toned, or maybe lose a few pounds, then winter is exactly the time to start a fitness routine. Most people start thinking about how they want to look for summer when summer is already fast approaching, which doesn’t leave enough time for results. By starting a regular workout routine or exercise plan during winter, you should have plenty of time to see results by the time summer starts.


Related: These Are the Perfect Beach Color Palettes, and Here’s How You Can Use Them


Green and blue paint chips fanned out on a table.

There’s always a home project to work on, am I right?! But working on a home project during summer is a bummer,  because it keeps you stuck indoors when you really just want to be enjoying the beach, splashing around in the pool, or dining on the deck of a favorite restaurant. Winter is the perfect time to dive into home projects, whether you’re redecorating your living room, painting your bathroom, installing a new kitchen backsplash, or hanging new window treatments in your guest room.


I love going through all of my clothes after a season has passed to take an honest look at what I wore, what I didn’t, what I want to keep and what I should part with. So the beginning of winter is the perfect time to clean out my summer and fall clothes. If I went through the entire summer without wearing certain items, there’s probably not a need to bring them with me into the next summer. Then I donate the items I no longer need. As I get older, I find that I’m moving farther away from trendy clothes, meaning that a capsule wardrobe is more appealing and useful for me. Here are tips for starting a fall and winter capsule wardrobe.


Books can be the best way to escape when you wish you were somewhere else — like on a beach in the middle of summer. Get some reading ideas with these beach book lists:

Seaside Stories: 12 Must-Read Beach Books
Enjoy a Quick Escape With These Short Beach Books and Audiobooks

Or maybe you’d rather cook your way to summer with 11 Irresistible Coastal Cookbooks for East Coast Seafood Lovers.


When it’s too cold to be outside, it’s the perfect time to get cozy on the couch and catch up on the TV shows and movies you’ve been hearing about for the past few months. For ideas for how to choose movies and make your at-home movie nights more exciting, click here.


Is that beach blanket still in your trunk needing to be washed, your bike chain needs to be fixed, or maybe your water shoes were on their last leg and really should be replaced? Now is a great time to assess all of your summer gear, clothing, beach toys, and other items for your favorite summer activities, and either clean them and put them away so they’re ready to go when warm weather hits, or shop for replacements. I recently stocked up on UPF clothing so I’ll be all set when spring arrives. The good thing about shopping for replacements during the winter season is that you can still catch some of last year’s items on sale, before the new full-price items hit stores in the spring.


If all else fails, head south to the warmth and sunshine of a beach location such as an island in the Caribbean, Florida, or Mexico. Even a long weekend lying on the beach can be rejuvenating and remind you that summer isn’t too far away.


There are so many ways that you can make the most of winter, even if you’re a summer person! The best way to get through the long winter months is to try your best to enjoy it. If you can’t find a way to enjoy it, at least take advantage of this time to benefit yourself in some way so that you can enjoy the summer season that much more.

Everything in this list is something that I focus on during the colder months, to different extents depending on the year and what I want to prioritize. I actually spent this past weekend going through my summer clothes and deciding that a few items will be donated, and making note of what is looking worn out and should be replaced. Now, when summer rolls around, I’ll be ready to go. I also have some home improvement projects lined up to tackle in the coming months so I’ll be ready to host family and friends this summer.

When you do your best to make the most of winter, you end up doing a bunch of little things that all add up to improve your life in some way, whether reconnecting with a hobby you enjoy, or clearing out the closet clutter that had been adding stress to your mornings when trying to get dressed. Winter is also an opportunity to plan exciting vacations and activities for the year ahead, or even escape from the cold on a warm-weather getaway. Like many things in life, winter is what you make of it, so make it a great one!

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A graphic showing a skier and a snowboarder going down a snowy mountain trail. Text over the image says: How to Make the Most of Winter when you're a summer person, by Stars & Anchor.

How to make the most of winter when you’re a summer person


Do you feel inspired to make the most of winter while you wait for summer? How do you plan to make the most of winter? Share your ideas in the comments.


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