winter at home: a seasonal bucket list
simmer pots, homemade gifts, and carving out time to be in winter.
Winter! What a season. We often think of it as a bit of a slog. The darkest days of the year. A period to simply get through. At the same time, we think of winter as a time of retreat and staying in. I love winter - the emphasis on hunkering down, the focus on intentionally bringing light to our days. There are so many home-y activities! I love puzzles; I’m a big reader; I love cooking (and occasionally baking). Winter is a good fit for me. It’s also made for quality time. When I think of winter, I picture a cozy snow day - snuggled on the couch with family watching a movie, a flickering candle, fresh-baked cookies and a hot mug of tea.
In the spirit of savoring winter, rather than just getting through it, I wanted to share a bucket list. In my welcome post here, I share how influential seasonal bucket lists have been for me. A winter bucket list back in 2022 was the spark that eventually led to this Substack. I’m not a perfectionist when it comes to bucket lists (I have yet to complete every item on any bucket list I’ve made… ever.) but I have found value in writing out a few simple things that either I have been meaning to get around to or that I know would make me happy through a specific season of the year. My own personal, seasonal bucket lists are hyper-specific including house projects I want to tick off, movies I’d like to see and recipes I want to try.
In this post, I am sharing classic winter activities you can do indoors - this week or anytime this season. Think of this as a greatest hits tour of indoor winter activities, but not the be-all end-all. I encourage you to this use as a starting place. I’ll share more at the end of this post about drafting your own winter bucket list.
Thank you for reading! If you’d like more nudges to live seasonally, please subscribe to seasonal things.
Warming a simmer pot on the stove.
A simmer pot is peak winter cozy. Even better, I bet you have everything on hand to get one simmering right now. All you need is a sauce pan (any size works!), some water, and a handful of good-smelling items. I always include a citrus peel; I have used lemon, orange, mandarin and even lime peel all to great success. Add in some whole spices - cinnamon sticks and cloves are top contenders but the sky is the limit. You could also add fresh ginger or even powdered spices. Set the heat on low, top off with more water as needed, and enjoy the wintery scent wafting throughout your living space.
Note: cinnamon may stain enamelware. This doesn’t worry me, but if you’re trying to keep an enamel pot pristine this is not the task for it.
Cozy up with the Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking.
The Little Book of Hygge is one of several books I love to pick up and reread each winter. (I’ll be sharing several of these in my winter reading list soon!) In it, Meik Wiking shares:
Hygge has been called everything from “the art of creating intimacy,” “coziness of the soul,” and “the absence of annoyance,” to “taking pleasure from the presence of soothing things,” “cozy togetherness,” and my personal favorite, “cocoa by candlelight”.
Throughout the book, Wiking explores the connection between hygge and happiness for Danes. By intentionally creating an atmosphere of coziness, home, and safety, we can all lead happier lives. He shares lots of tactical ideas - lighting your home with warm light, hyggelig food and drink, and month by month activities designed to foster hygge (think movie night in January, a summer picnic in July and a soup cook-off in November). Above all, Wiking emphasizes the social aspect of hygge. Quality time spent with friends and family is time well spent. I love snuggling under a blanket each winter and paging through this book for helpful reminders to prioritize social time through the winter and to find coziness in the everyday.
Bake a batch (or four!) of cookies.
Baking cookies is a classic winter activity. Often associated with Christmas traditions, I would argue that cookie baking can spark joy all winter long. Heating up the oven, mixing together pantry ingredients, and filling your home with delightful smells, baking cookies is a direct shortcut to winter happiness. For me, it is almost always a social activity. “Let’s make gingerbread!” is one of the first things my nephew says whenever he visits (honestly year round, not just in the winter!) and we’ve already baked up several batches over the last few months.
If you’re looking for specific recommendations, I love the Nordic Gingerbread recipe from the Faux Martha. I have also made and love her Chocolate Cardamom Rye Cut-Out Cookies (a true testament to cookie baking as a winter-long activity). A little less social to bake, Alison Roman’s Salted Butter and Chocolate Chunk Shortbread is out of this world good. Get baking!
Knit something.
I have picked up and set down knitting on and off over the years. While I’m not a devoted knitter, winter (with its ample couch time) is the perfect season to pick up your needles and work through a project. If you’re knitting curious, Erin Boyle’s simple potholder tutorial is a great starting place. Using just disposable wooden chopsticks and a single ball of kitchen twine, it will have you on your way to a very quick entry-level knitting project. For a slightly less scrappy entry-level project, I love Wool and the Gang’s Billy Beanie, which comes with instructions, wool and needles all in one kit.
Make a homemade gift.
I love homemade gifts and winter is just the time for them! Edible gifts are always a good choice. (Three cheers for not filling up other people’s space with needless junk!) This holiday season, I made chocolate-peppermint themed gift boxes for a few loved ones - chocolate peppermint bark, a mocha syrup and homemade marshmallows. Sarah Kieffer’s Baking for the Holidays has a ton of great ideas for homemade gifts.
Crafts and knit projects are also prime for gifting. For a simple craft, Catherine Newman’s homemade game idea is so fun! Hats and baby booties are both quick knits that don’t require a ton of yarn. For a little more ambitious project, I recently made this set of hand-holding mittens as a silly wedding gift (also perfect for Valentine’s Day!)
Now onto creating your own bucket list.
Start small; listing a hundred thing is setting yourself up for certain failure. Try to come up with five to six things that you’d like to do sometime this season. Importantly, write them down, ideally in a place that you’ll see every now and then. For me, the perfect spot for seasonal bucket lists is in a little notebook I keep on my bedside table (I also note books that I’ve read and movies I’ve watched there too). You could use the notes app on your phone, a sticky note on your computer, a sheet of paper on your fridge. Whatever is most accessible for you right now, just do that.
To get your creative juices flowing, here are a few other highly specific things you could include:
Cooking a favorite food that feels very of the season (pot roast or stew in winter), that is a little more labor intensive (maybe lasagna or baking a loaf of bread), or something you’ve always wanted to cook but have never tried (I’ve had brigadeiro on my list forever).
A super simple home project. Maybe a shelf or closet declutter, hanging a mirror in that weird spot, or (dare I suggest?) painting a room.
Watching a certain movie or reading a book on your list. I’m not suggesting War and Peace here, but something you’re really interested in but haven’t made time for yet.
Now DO IT! Find a piece of paper and write down those things. Check back on it regularly and keep the list in mind when planning your schedule or the next time you’re scrolling for a new show to watch. Block out that Sunday for a home project or turn on that movie you’ve been meaning to see. By the end of winter, if you’ve completed one item, that’s a win. If you’ve completed three, you are officially a winter thriver. Don’t stress about completing every item, but rather think of it as a smorgasbord of ways to enjoy the season. Savor winter and make the most of these precious months!
Thank you for reading! If you’d like more nudges to live seasonally, please subscribe to seasonal things. I’ll be sharing an outdoor winter bucket list soon, so be sure to subscribe to receive it right to your inbox!
Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase of any of the books linked in this post.