5 Ways to Beat the Winter Blues

1. Embrace the Season

Make the most of this cold and snowy weather and go outside and try a winter activity you haven't tried before. There are copious amounts of things you can do outside in the wintertime. You can take up a winter sport like ice skating, hockey, snowboarding or skiing. Or try a winter activity such as tobogganing, ice fishing, snowmobiling or dog sledding. Or why not feel young again and build a snowman or a snow fort, make a snow angel or organize a snowball fight! All of these things are guaranteed to lift your spirits during this depressing time of year.

2. Exercise

Exercise is a great way to relieve the daily stress in your life. It is also a great way to get into shape and get warmed up! Now when it's extra cold outside why not try a hot yoga class. Hot yoga is a great for the mind, body and soul. Plus you are sure to warm up fast in that class.

3. Treat Yourself

A great way to treat yourself this winter is to head to a spa. This past weekend I went to Body Blitz in Toronto a great place to rejuvenate yourself. The therapeutic waters will not only do wonders for your skin but you come out feeling so relaxed you just want to go home and go to bed. I think going to any spa and being pampered is key ingredient to making you feel good during the wintertime.

4. Get together with Friends and Family Members

Wintertime is usually a time when your social calendar is a little slower so it is a great time to plan fun events with family and friends. This winter I have some fun little events I am looking forward to like a Superbowl party, winterlicious, martini night and a weekend away at my cottage. The winter blues can be tough so it is always good to have something to look forward to on the calendar.

5. Relax

Sometimes a great way to beat the winter blues is to do nothing at all. I went to the cottage last weekend and just lounged around and it felt amazing. Read a book or a magazine, go to sleep early or sleep in. Try meditation it seems to be doing wonders for a few of my friends. Or have a movie day when you can just veg out in front of the TV all day.

2011 Golden Globes Best and Worst Dressed

Top 10 Best Dressed

Top 10 Worst Dressed

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This year's Golden Globes were very entertaining. There were lots of hits and misses on the red carpet but for the most part everyone looked stunning. Ricky Gervais was hilarious as always and opened up with an excellent monologue poking fun at many of Hollywoods most famous actors and actresses. Although I am sure there will be some backlash today for some of his comments I think he just said what everyone else has been thinking.

Tobogganing in Toronto

This past weekend my group of friends and I decided we would take advantage of all the beautiful snow in Toronto and go tobogganing. Tobogganing is a winter sport that is cheap and a lot of fun no matter how old you are. We being a little older then most people you would see at the park decided to head out in the late evening when most of the kiddies would have gone to bed. We decided to head to my favourite hill and what I would consider to be one of the best hills in the city for this sport Riverdale Hill.

Riverdale Park has one of the steepest hills in the city and has one of the best views of the Toronto skyline another reason for making it the number one spot. To our discovery the hill was packed with people all similar in age, who all thought of the same idea. We even saw some very interesting sled ideas. There was this one group of boys who decided to take an old couch and put skis on it. As they rode down the hill they popped open an umbrella to help them stop it was a very clever idea and a pretty neat sled. Another group of people tried using an old mattress to slide down the hill, one of my sisters decided to embark on this form of transportation down the hill and said it was the most luxurious ride she's ever taken. My friends and I came prepared with some krazy karpets, the old classic wooden toboggan and some other black plastic toboggans that went exceptionally fast. All and all it was a lot of fun, I have never laughed and smiled so much! It was wonderful to feel like a kid again and I would highly recommend it to anyone at any age.

Riverdale Hill is what I consider to be one of the best for tobogganing but there are a few more that may be closer to you that you may want to try. Some other suggestions are:

Christie Pits Park

Withrow Park

High Park

Lithuania Park

Trinity Bellwoods Park

So as we prepare for another snowy day try and take advantage of it and embrace it by trying something like tobogganing. I can ensure you, you will not regret your decision.