10 Reasons We’re Obsessed With Winter

Hot cocoa. Mac and cheese. Hearty stews. Nothing says winter like curling up with your favorite comfort foods. Like a bowl full of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough with hot fudge sauce, for starters.

Ever played Frisbee golf in the snow? Or capture the flag on snowshoes? Or gone shovel racing? Or sledding on cafeteria trays when you should have been studying for chemistry? All you need are a couple inches of snow for a world of winter fun.

There’s a saying around here that the colder it gets, the uglier the outfits get. But by “ugly”, we think they really mean “awesome”. Because hats with fluffy ear flaps and hand-knitted scarves from Grandma are peak awesome in our book.

There may have been a 6-inch dump last night, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have places to go and people to see. So we get a little creative about transportation. Around here, you’re liable to see folks cross-country skiing to work, biking on snowy roads, and snowshoeing to the grocery store.

Some people think ice cream is a summer food. We think those people are closed-minded and don’t know what they’re missing. Even on the year’s coldest days, a bowl of Cinnamon Buns is an instant smile-maker.

There’s something about the first big snow of the season that brings us right back to childhood. It’s a good thing there’s no age limit for making snow angels, sledding, and building the coolest snowman on the block.

In the summertime, you might get together with your nearest and dearest to go swimming, hiking, biking, or boating. In the wintertime (if you’re not making snow angels and sledding), you’re probably gathering around some yummy home cooking. Pass the apple pie, please!

Beards and ’staches on parade! As lovers of beards, we couldn’t be happier than when the temperatures drop enough for folks to start cultivating their own little face gardens. Considering growing one? Pro: 24/7 face warmer. Con: you have to trim it now and again.

At what other time of year can you make art anywhere, anytime out of something that materializes from thin air? Only in the winter! Snowmen, snowwomen, snowdogs, snowcats, snowdragons — we’ve seen ’em all and they are glorious.

It’s fun to love something that other people just don’t “get”, isn’t it? Like when you go to the Scoop Shop and order a milkshake with Coffee Coffee BuzzBuzzBuzz and Cherry Garcia. Nobody gets it but you, you special snowflake.