Happy Groundhog Day! 9 Things To Do Now That We Are Halfway Through Winter

Happy Groundhog Day! I hope you are doing well this lovely Friday morning.

I have posted about Groundhog Day before. I even met Punxsutawney Phil in 2012. Here is the link to a post that I wrote in 2018 about Punxsutawney and meeting Phil in the flesh.

Groundhog Day is celebrated as the halfway point of winter.

However, if you were to check the Farmer’s Almanac for 2024, you would find that in 2024, February 3rd is the halfway point of winter. We are one day off from the winter midpoint. So close!

Still, today I hope to give you some ideas of how you can celebrate Groundhog Day as well as take advantage of this 2nd half of the winter season.

9 Things To Do Now That We Are Halfway Through Winter

1. Buy that winter coat you have been eyeing up for half price. Sure you might have been cold up until this point but at least you are saving money. Treat yo self!
2. Do something different this year! Instead of cheering on an old standby, support one of those Punxsutawney Phil rip-off groundhogs like like Haryleysville Hank or Secaucus Steve. It could be fun. It might even get those people who think the world revolves around the northeastern megalopolis off your case.
3. Perhaps, you should really lean in to winter and make a list of all the soup, stew and heavy cream sauces that you have not prepared or eaten yet this winter. Then make them or buy them. Eat them until the top button of your pants won’t close.
4. Give into hibernation. You can’t hibernate in June or July, the sun goes down too late and comes up too early. In February, try getting in bed by 9 pm every night. Sleep till at least 7 o’clock on weekdays and 9 o’clock on weekends. Dose yourself with a hot toddy or spiked hot chocolate before going to bed at night. The month of February is really your last shot at taking advantage of this kind of hibernation until at least late October. Real life is for March!
5. Get yourself a cake. Any kind of cake. It can be homemade, grocery store or bakery cake. Eat all the cake! Give in! Eat it. You know that you want to.
6. You could also swing the other direction and follow the advice of department stores. The holiday season is over so obviously it is time to get out your spring and summer clothing. Check out this first look of fashions on the Target website. Then take your winter things out of your closet and drawers. It is time for spring break. It is time for sleeveless tops and apparently Canadian Tuxedos (jean shirts paired with jeans). The warms temperatures are almost here, are you ready?
7. Get your skin and hair ready for summer. Time to start applying your daily dose of self-tanner! Time to get your bottle of Sun In ready to go. If you think it you can manifest warmer temperatures by thinking about them and pretending that they are already here. (It seems like I am joking here but one of my favorite late winter rituals is using Jergens Natural Glow Moisturizer which I rarely use in the summer).
8. Be prepared! Be proactive and set your clocks ahead. People Daylight Savings Time is almost here! We spring forward in 2024 on Sunday, March 10th. Are you ready?
9. Is your garden ready? It is time to save so many paper egg carton and plant a bunch of seeds that you may or may not ever put in the ground. It is fun and it makes your feel like you are doing something. Sure, you feel bad about killing tiny seedlings when you forget to water them or don’t plant them in time but it makes you feel like spring is almost here.

How are you celebrating Groundhog Day?