As we settle into fall and winter quickly approaches over the horizon (you know we’ll be complaining about the cold in no time), there’s a mixed feeling of happiness and loss. The colder months bring cozy sweaters, rich colors and hot chocolate with all the trimmings. But we leave behind the sun and heat of summer. For those of you who live in a warm state year-round, you probably don’t feel the same. But it is sad having to say goodbye to summer, packing away all your cute shorts and crops and saying goodbye to any open shoes for the next six months.
There are ways to keep summer alive through the colder months without looking weird in your sandals in the snow.
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Clothes
With Vogue promoting shorts and knee-highs as one of the trends for this season, you can keep on wearing yours through the winter. They are also saying that printed and woolen tights are back – so keep out your skirts and pair them up with a more seasonally-appropriate under garment. You’re going to want to trade in your slip-ons for boots soon, but that can be really effective when paired with your summer ankle-dusters. And, as it has been all this year, it’s all about the layers. Don’t discount your crop is you can layer on a shirt, scarf, and jacket to go with it.
Hair
Waves are still cute in the winter, so don’t store your salt-spray just yet. The fashion trends might be calling for ponytails and messy buns, but those hair styles aren’t going to keep your ears warm, nor will they accommodate a hat. Beach waves are a year-round style. As is pastel hair and mermaid dyes. Winter is also a great time for you to care for your hair after the heat and sun damage it will have had over the summer.
Makeup
In the summer, we tend to go lighter on the makeup, and darker in the winter. But you do you. If you want peach tones instead of burgundy, then apply them. And the festival glitter that has rocked the nation this summer? What time of year is better for extra glitter than Christmas? Amp up the glitter if you want to. Do think, however, that with the loss of a natural tan, you may need to swap out your foundation and contour kit for a lighter shade.
Tans
Who said a tan is a summer thing? Luckily that golden glow is achievable year round and completely accepted by everyone. You may want to tone it down a little, but you can still look sun-kissed in the snow. There are many options, from self-tanning to spray-tans and sunbeds. Obviously, you need to take care of your skin, so if you opt for the sunbed option, use sunscreen, and don’t believe those people who say you can’t get a tan while wearing SPF – if you need more convincing, ask the expert: can you still get a tan while wearing SPF? Some of the best tans over winter are gradual ones, pick up a gradual bronzing moisturizer and use it a couple of times a week, or as little as you need to get the color you want. You can probably pick them up cheaper now than you could in the summer too.
Mid-season Sun
If you’re craving beaches and sunshine, why not book a weekend getaway to somewhere hot? You can take a road trip to the south, or fly out to anywhere south of the equator. Airbnb has some amazing winter getaway deals. Try the canary islands for a beach holiday, Miami for a city break, or Australia for a little bit of everything.
Food and Drink
For some reason, a lot of food is dictated to being ‘winter’ or ‘summer’ food. Like hearty pies in the cold, and BBQs in the heat. The fact that lighting the BBQ in the frost doesn’t appeal to anyone shouldn’t stop you having a BBQ-esque party inside. The same goes for tapas and sushi, which are other dishes more common in the summer. If you want to enjoy sake nigiri in your sweater and fluffy socks, then do.
The same thing applies to cocktails – you don’t have to trade them in for whiskey and baileys just because the temperature dropped. If you want a cosmo, then you have a cosmo. But if you want to try a warmer cocktail and combine the winter and summer then why not try a winter cocktail.
House
The house tends to get more decorated in the fall and winter do to Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. But there is a gap between summer and Halloween when you’re trying to keep the summer going a little longer. There are a few things you can do to achieve that. One of them is a sunlamp. A sunlamp can be used on its own or as an alarm clock, it replicates the dawn and wakes you up gradually without disturbing your REM sleep. Depending on when you get up in the morning will depend on whether it’s still dark outside – but with the winter solstice quickly approaching, the nights are getting longer. The sunlamp helps you keep the morning sun year round. They also help to combat SAD (seasonal affective disorder) which is where a person can become depressed due to a lack of vitamin D.
You can also introduce some houseplants to your home, keeping the place green throughout the year. Most plants will naturally die off in autumn, but things like succulent grasses will stay the same all year. You can also use winter blooms to replace the summer plants.
Garden
The replacement of plants applies in the garden too, but rather than ripping things up by the roots, try and mix up the summer and winter bulbs and seeds, that way your garden will always be in bloom with minimal effort. You can keep using your garden in the winter too – obviously, when it snows it’s the perfect place for snowman and snowball fights. And the longer nights give your fireworks a perfect backdrop. But to keep the heat, install some outdoor heaters around your seating area, you may need a blanket or two, but you can still enjoy the night outside. And during the day, your garden needs just as much care as in the summer – you need to protect the plants that might not make it, and leaving feed out for the birds and squirrels is more important than ever.
Next Year
And if you are completely at a loss with winter and just want next summer to roll around sooner, then start planning ahead. Most festivals release dates if not tickets and lineups super early. Start plotting your festival calendar, call up your friends and get them as hyped as you are. You can also start planning holidays – the early-booking can get you some amazing deals.
Enjoy
At the end of all of that, there are some amazing parts of winter you should be enjoying. Fall brings Halloween, which means scary movies cuddled up on the sofa with popcorn. Dressing up and going out with your friends. Thanksgiving is a great time to spend with family, and it’s all about food and fun and who can eat the most turkey. Christmas is a glitter-fest of presents, love, food, and family. And then New Year’s Eve rolls around with some of the best parties of the year.
As well as partying your socks off – you also get to wear the fluffiest pairs you own. With thick sweaters, bobble hats and scarves that look more life blankets. You can stay in an eat as many marshmallows you want purely because they are either in your hot chocolate or on a chocolate dipped wafer. You’re more likely to spend quality time with friends and family because you’ll stay in and chat rather than laying out by a pool or going to a club – which is fun but not the best place for a conversation.
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