Having Sober Fun in the Winter Months

Winters are tough ⎼ days are short and cold, nights are long and colder. Most of the holidays include partying and drinking. These factors can make it tempting to turn to the comfort of drugs and alcohol to make it through, but there are so many activities that can make the long months seem a lot less daunting and a lot more fun.

It may be cold, but there are a lot of great activities that you can only do outside in the winter. Get some exercise with your friends by ice skating outside at a local rink or take some Thermoses with soup and hot chocolate and go to the park together. Being out in the cold air can be invigorating and is a lot more fun with friends. If there’s snow on the ground, you can channel your inner child and have a snowball fight or a snowman building competition! You can also plan ski and snowboarding trips, whether for the day or as a weekend getaway. If you’ve been before, it’s an opportunity to do something you enjoy, or if you’ve never done it before, a great time to put your energy into learning something new!

You can also do some more relaxed activities outside your house. Go visit a museum that you’ve always wanted to go to, or take a class at a local rec center. This is a great way to foster a targeted sober activity. Take part in things that you might have been putting off because they’ll help to keep you occupied. Who knows, you might find out that you’re really good at yoga, or painting, and it can become a lifelong hobby for you!

If it’s just too cold for you to want to go anywhere, there are some great things to do inside as well. Have you been looking for an excuse to re-watch all the seasons your favorite show on Netflix? Or maybe there’s a new series that you want to watch that you’ve been putting off? The winter is a perfect time to cuddle up and lose yourself in a Netflix marathon. When you’re done with the TV, you can invite some friends over and have a potluck dinner or a sober game night and enjoy each other’s company. When you invite them over to your place, you can set the tone for the interaction and make sure that you’re comfortable.

Make a list of things you’d like to accomplish this winter, whether they’re by yourself or with friends, and keep it somewhere easily accessible. That way, if you find yourself feeling bored or wondering what to do with your time, you can reference the list and choose a fun, sober activity to partake in!