If you ask most Londoners to describe January, they will respond with: long, grey, wet, miserable, dreadful, depressing, wish I was in the Maldives kind of vocabulary. But January doesn’t have to be the worst month of the year. Though it does not have a particular theme like many other months in the calendar, January in London has a lot going for it: new jobs and opportunities as companies put new budgets forwards, promotions announced, bonuses received, salaries increased, massive sales on almost everything, light festivals, and new year’s purposeful resolutions. It is a significant month on so many levels to say the least.

In this article, we list few tips to help you embrace the season and flip your January blues into happy vibes. Based on experience, taking in some or all of the below suggestions will support you to weather the year’s darkest days, stay positive, and enjoy the month of hope.

1. Dress the inside

Oh yes! The month of opportunities and self-rebuild is here: new budgets, new company structures, fertile job market, promotions, bonuses, and salary increases, anything can happen and change your year right from the start. For achievers, January is when you reap the fruits of your last year’s hard work. For anyone whose been disappointed, January is the month to raise like a phoenix, regroup your thoughts, and rebuild yourself.

If you have set up a new year’s resolutions, so you are lucky January has 5 weeks for you to kick off your fresh start, test your goal’s viability, reflect, and improve.

2. Leverage the long nights

If you are a night owl like me who consciously prefer to work at night, then January’s long evenings are a blessing. Just think how much can be done in the late hours. Leverage the darkness and get all that outstanding reading done. Learn something new, take an online course, practice a new skill, or reflect on your resolutions. If you are into fasting, or aiming to lose few leftover pounds from December, then the short January days are here to make your dreams come true a bit easier.

Wake up to warmth, there is nothing worse than waking up in a cold room and walking up to a cold bathroom or kitchen. For me, if the room is cold, I won’t even be able to get out of bed let alone dress up to go to work. I would just hug my duvet and hide below it while repeating to myself that I will wake up in 5 minutes. To overcome this, schedule the heat up your flat. There is nothing you can do about the British weather, but there is a lot you can do in your home, your closet, and your attitude.

3. Dress up your house

Happy space, happy vibes! Theme your rooms with cosy and soft throws, huggable big pillows, and fluffy rugs. Understand the art of cosiness and indulge in the warmth and the comfort food. Think of all the sleepy afternoons and long Sunday naps as opposed to the cold Monday mornings.

Dress up your bathroom with winter scented soaps and candles such as gingerbread, cardamon, cinnamon, or roasted nutmeg. Warm, comforting, and spicy fragrances represent the quintessence and cosiness of the winter season.

Dress up your kitchen in a nice tea towel and get yourself a cosy looking mug for that hot tea, coffee or chocolate. And maybe get a daily positive quote calendar for your kitchen or fridge.

4. Shop the January sales

If the festive month has left your pockets dry, then January is where you get your saving’s account mojo back. It has the biggest sales of the year, with some items going up to 75% off as brands try to get rid of last year’s stock. Unless you care about dressing up from the last runways’ season, this is an opportunity to fill up your closet with anything you need from coats to bikinis, electronics, and even furniture.

Make a wish list and shop for upcoming seasons including that tablet you were eying in the electronics store and didn’t get for Xmas, that sexy underwear that will triple in price during valentines in February, or those kids summer cloths for that holiday you are planning in July. January is the month that saves your wallet big time, making it a superhero in a bad economy, so use it.

5. Dress the part

Fluffy Russian hats, high heel boots, centred coats, merino wool jumpers, and cute socks. To me January is fashion heaven, particularly that it hides all those extra pounds gained from the December festivities. Show off the spoils of your sales shopping frenzy and stride into the perfect winter look fantasy.

6. Socialise indoors

Plan few fun indoor outings, below are few ideas:

• Invite people for a home cooked meal or order some food to share.
• Check out one or more of the immersive experiences.
  • St Martin-in-the-Fields parish church
  • Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience
  • Dopamine Land
  • Bubble Planet
  • Monet: The Immersive Experience
  • Frameless: London’s Immersive Art Experience
  • Disney 100: The exhibition
  • Paint in the Dark
• Check our temporary exhibitions such as The Art of Banksy
• Go for an activity such as indoor mini-golf, bowling, skating, go-carting, or even indoor sky-diving!
• Explore the free indoor museums and galleries, even if you have already been, many will have temporary seasonal exhibitions
• Check out the countless plays, musicals, and shows in the west end and other cultural centres
• Explore the hundreds of instagramable café and restaurants London can offer.

7. Enjoy the lights

In many European cities, with London at the top of the list, it is becoming a tradition for the long January nights to be broken with open air light festivities exhibitions. Designed by artists to inspire hope and brighten up the long month and tame the darkness of its long nights.

If you fancy a stroll outside alone or with friends or family, why not check out the January lights festivals such as the ones in Canary Wharf, Southbank, and Battersea Power Station. Soak up the energy of the creative installations that are designed to inspire all ages of visitors in spectacle and wonder.