Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's tip is that you don't have to stop celebrating when the holidays end, especially when it's dark and cold outside. It's fun to take steps to maintain a festive mood as long as you can so. Lots of people feel a bit of a letdown after the holiday season. Maybe things didn't go exactly as you wished with your extended family, or even if they did, that's all done now, and in the Northern Hemisphere at least, we are still in the darkest, coldest part of winter. Spring is a long way into the future, but feeling festive is mostly a mindset, and there are plenty of ways to keep celebrating through winter. For starters, as you plan each week, ask what you are looking forward to. Is there anything on your calendar that makes you genuinely excited? If not, time to get planning. Think about what would put a smile on your face and make sure that that bout of merriment has a spot in your schedule. For many people, getting together with friends is a surefire way to feel festive, so reach out to a few folks and plan to get together for some fun. It could be lunch or coffee or drinks, or a run, or you could organize a dinner party, or even a day trip or a weekend away. You could arrange an overnight at a skihouse, or a group ice skating run, or just dinner at a restaurant you enjoy. When those plans for margueritas and guacamole with friends are nailed down, winter will feel less gloomy. Now might also be a great time to pull something off your list of one hundred dreams? Are there any small items you could accomplish If you've always wanted to go to a paint your own pottery studio or see Casablanca the movie that is now could be the time, Or maybe you could start planning one of the bigger ones, like going to actual Casablanca, that will give you something to look forward to. You also don't have to get rid of all the Christmas decorations yet. I was excited to see that one of the botanical gardens in my area is keeping its Christmas displays up until mid January. I will be sure to go and keep celebrating. I will add that while colored lights or santas might feel a bit old in mid January. Little white lights are quite tasteful. You could keep these up in your house or on a plant in the corner all year long, or at least until spring, when the war weather. We'll lift your spirits too. Feel free to wear bright colors. Red and green might feel a little christmasy, but other bright colors will keep the celebration going. In any case, our mindsets are largely about what we do. We feel festive in December because of all the special events and traditions we lean into, but there is nothing stopping anyone from creating January traditions. We can keep celebrating all year long. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's tip is that you don't have to stop celebrating when the holidays end, especially when it's dark and cold outside. It's fun to take steps to maintain a festive mood as long as you can so. Lots of people feel a bit of a letdown after the holiday season. Maybe things didn't go exactly as you wished with your extended family, or even if they did, that's all done now, and in the Northern Hemisphere at least, we are still in the darkest, coldest part of winter. Spring is a long way into the future, but feeling festive is mostly a mindset, and there are plenty of ways to keep celebrating through winter. For starters, as you plan each week, ask what you are looking forward to. Is there anything on your calendar that makes you genuinely excited? If not, time to get planning. Think about what would put a smile on your face and make sure that that bout of merriment has a spot in your schedule. For many people, getting together with friends is a surefire way to feel festive, so reach out to a few folks and plan to get together for some fun. It could be lunch or coffee or drinks, or a run, or you could organize a dinner party, or even a day trip or a weekend away. You could arrange an overnight at a skihouse, or a group ice skating run, or just dinner at a restaurant you enjoy. When those plans for margueritas and guacamole with friends are nailed down, winter will feel less gloomy. Now might also be a great time to pull something off your list of one hundred dreams? Are there any small items you could accomplish If you've always wanted to go to a paint your own pottery studio or see Casablanca the movie that is now could be the time, Or maybe you could start planning one of the bigger ones, like going to actual Casablanca, that will give you something to look forward to. You also don't have to get rid of all the Christmas decorations yet. I was excited to see that one of the botanical gardens in my area is keeping its Christmas displays up until mid January. I will be sure to go and keep celebrating. I will add that while colored lights or santas might feel a bit old in mid January. Little white lights are quite tasteful. You could keep these up in your house or on a plant in the corner all year long, or at least until spring, when the war weather. We'll lift your spirits too. Feel free to wear bright colors. Red and green might feel a little christmasy, but other bright colors will keep the celebration going. In any case, our mindsets are largely about what we do. We feel festive in December because of all the special events and traditions we lean into, but there is nothing stopping anyone from creating January traditions. We can keep celebrating all year long. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.