26 FEBRUARY 2015   BY JOHN PRICE

Winter: the darkest time of the year.  I live in Canada.  We all live in Igloos,  make fires to keep warm, and we hunt for food. No, this isn't true.  But, what is true - Canada has a long cold winter.  -30C is normal here for the months of January, February and part of March. How do we survive this?  We hibernate. No. We keep a shovel inside the house to make sure that we can shovel ourselves out.  We pray that our cars will start in extreme cold.  We set our alarms to 6am to check if schools are closed. We leave extra early because we have to drive slower.  With all that said - I think I have too much experience with winter. So here are my tips to survive a Canadian winter.

1.  Warm sweaters are a must.  Make sure to have a variety of comfy sweaters.  This will allow you to do some laundry.  I love wearing a big sweater and tights.  I don't care if tights are pants - you don't wear pants with a dress.

2.  Take up cooking.  When you are stuck at home for days on end because your snowed-in, try those new recipes you were thinking about!  Often times when the weather is bad I will gravitate towards junk food. Where I live we have a thing called StormChips.  So, instead of grabbing those chips maybe try to make your own!

3.  Have some family time.  With are busy lives we tend to drift away from our love ones.  When you're all home for the day try to do something all together.  Try a board game, play video games, or even watch a movie.  Take a break from your busy schedule and just have some fun!

4.  Go outside!  Go skiing, sledding, skating or for a walk.  Getting a little bit of exercise and changing your routine is a good thing.  I love walking around campus during the winter.  It's not so big that you're out for long and freezing.  But it's long enough to get some fresh air and a change in scenery.

5.  Catch up with old friends or make new ones! I find during the winter I don't make as many plans as I would during the summer.  It could be the fatigue or just plain laziness.

Other quick tips
1.  Keep your tub full of water in case you lose power
2.  Keep a pair of mitts and a hat in your car. You may need it
3.  Have a battery powered radio for emergencies
4.  Keep a blanket in your car incase you get stuck
5.  Have a shovel in your car just in case (Thanks Laurel!)

Photo by Leeroy