George
Another year another January. People always look at January as a rather depressing time, trying to lose Christmas weight, paying off credit card debt, and dealing with the cold chill; now that the cosy Christmas atmosphere has disappeared. Another way as humans we love to punish ourselves during January is to go 'dry' and not consume any alcohol. This one baffles me, as why would we want to make an already miserable time even worse? Surely, it would make more sense to inject some fun into January instead of extra misery? Well, luckily for you I find January an rather fun and promising month, as opposed to a boring and miserable one, so I will enlighten you on how this could be your perspective too.
To begin with, my favourite thing about January, bearing in mind I'm a woman in her twenties, and that is the January sales. The January sales are like no other sales. Yes, you have big sales events in the year like summer sales and Black Friday, but if you think about it Black Friday is a marketing trick and the summer sales get people to spend money on materialistic items instead of being in a beer garden. But the January sales, are genuine sales from when shops just want to get rid of all of their old stock form the past year; so boy are there bargains to be had! Not only in clothes and materialistic items either, but have you seen the food prices? In the current cost of living crisis, I think we should all be capitalising on this one. Chocolate tubs at a fraction of the price and the same for tree chocolate. However, my favourite is the frozen section of the supermarket. They are practically giving it away. Fifty pence for twenty tempa prawns and dip? I'll take five mate!
I do appreciate that shopping may not be everyone's thing so I will go onto a more homely activity: television choices. Growing up there were no streaming services so the Christmas guide (which normally continued the first two weeks into January) was a joyous time for everyone. Still to this day, there are so many good films and specials on the telly leading into the first couple of weeks of the New Year. Even the streaming services appear to be on board with this as normally for Boxing Day and the few days after they release a few crackers (pardon the pun). This gives a great alternative to shopping as you can just enjoy the new or popular TV shows and movies from the comfort of your own home.
The final thing I love about January, which everyone forgets, is the longer days. Yes, you herd that right. Days increase in length for the whole of January. The shortest day of the year in the UK is actually in December, the 21st to be exact. This means as soon as we head into January you are heading into longer days and more sunlight. Doesn't the thought of sunlight brighten your day?
So this January, I hope I have encouraged you to enjoy the sales, sun and special TV programmes, as this month has more to offer than meets the eye. Also if new beginnings are your thing January is a great time for that too, as it is a New Year filled with promise and possibility. And if you still aren't convinced that January is a good time, then I am sure you have some leftover Christmas chocolate you can eat, which will perk you right up.
