When the weather outside is frightful, the delightfulness of sitting by the fire is rather short-lived. After the inital excitment, boredom starts to set in, the walls seem like they’re closing in, and we just want out.

However, stepping outside is certainly not a favourable alternative. Winter is the death sentence for walks through the park, lying on the beach, or any other activities that would require you to remain outdoors for anything more than 15 minutes. So, what are we to do?

Should we slip on our Uggs (which by the way, have just launched their Art and Sole auction in collaboration with everyone from Cindy Crawford to Brooke Shields) and venture out into the biting cold looking for something to do? Or is there another option?

Well, staying inside doesn’t have to be the prison sentence it might appear to be. There can be more to do indoors than you may at first imagine. Who says that you can’t walk through the park in you own home? And, if you just use a little imagination, you can do this without the help of an expensive virtual reality game. Hop on your treadmill, put on your mp3 player, set the thermostat to high and position a fan in front of you to simulate a warm and gentle summer’s breeze. See, it really isn’t that difficult.

Or for something a little more creative, why not try landscape painting from the comfort of your own living room? Just position yourself along with your easel in front of the window, pull back the curtains and paint all that you see before you. You can even add a little home décor to the day’s activities by hanging your new painting to the wall.

And if you have neither a treadmill nor an easel, invite a few friends over for a chocolate fondue, or just go solo and treat yourself to one–before you know it, the afternoon will have slipped away into dusk.

So let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Image courtesy of Beautiful-fairytales.blogspot.com