Seasonal Self-Care Ideas To Enjoy In Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring
Stuck in a rut with your self-care routine?
Shake things up with these simple and refreshing seasonal self-care ideas, to take you from the heat of summer to the cosiness of winter.
As I write today’s blog post it’s pouring down with rain. To think it’s the end of July, and August is just around the corner is slightly puzzling.
Throughout my 31 years, I was led to believe that July and August were meant to be the hottest months of the year in the Northern hemisphere.
But I’m currently stuck somewhere between thinking this is a bit of a joke and wondering whether we just got it wrong. And it’s not summer after all.
Honestly, the only thing getting me through this rainy summer is tuning into Love Island UK every night at 9 pm.
That summer feeling
But despite the weather, we still treat the months of July and August as peak summer.
A summer which is full of BBQs, picnics and sunbathing in the park.
Time is spent outside rather than cooped up indoors. We get out in nature and explore.
Destinations abroad call out to us. And we spend less and less time on social media because there’s more to do than scroll through endless “hot girl summer” pics.
Work becomes quieter and so does the demand for trying to keep up with everything.
We are reminded of that feeling we used to get at school when we would pack up for the summer and not return until September.
And many of us take that feeling into our adult lives.
We don’t panic or feel guilty about taking the summer off as everyone is doing the same thing.
We have the time to think and reflect on the past 6 months and prepare for the rest of the year.
And so summer becomes this in-between season where we can take a breather, recharge our batteries, and realign ourselves.
But it’s easy to get carried away in summer too.
The season of self-care
Social events seem to double. There is wedding after wedding, and we seem to get fixated on being beach body ready.
A family holiday that is supposed to be relaxing ends in you feeling exhausted and stressed out. And you desperately crave another holiday.
So even though summer signifies a period of rest and reset, sometimes it doesn’t always end up that way.
And when September arrives, we end up feeling unprepared and drained.
So I can’t stress enough how important it is to keep dedicating time to self-care regularly during the summer. Even on those hot, balmy days when all you want to do is drink cocktails with your friends.
It’s essential that you take a moment to indulge in the things you want to be doing. So you can maintain a healthy relationship with yourself, and take care of your mental health and well-being.
I also personally feel that self-care helps me feel more aligned to my overall vision and inspires my creative flow. Which is just what you need for the end of Q3 and going into Q4.
And self-care doesn’t have to feel like a chore either.
I feel like self-care sometimes puts people off because they think it’s about setting boundaries and personal growth. But it doesn’t have to feel boring or require you to do a lot of inner work.
It can be fun and exciting!
And that is why I felt inspired to write this blog post. To give you an extensive list of activities you can enjoy during summer to jazz up your self-care routine.
But that’s not all.
I’ve also listed down some of my favourite seasonal self-care ideas that can be enjoyed in autumn, winter and spring.
Because I truly believe that self-care shouldn’t just be a weekly, monthly or summer practice.
Self-care is seasonal.
And I believe that you need to indulge in it daily. Only if it’s just for 10-mins or so. Because as I’ve said before, a little bit of self-care is better than none.
Seasonal self-care ideas to shake up your wellness routine
From making lemonade to building a cosy fort, here is an extensive list of seasonal self-care ideas to try throughout summer, autumn, winter and spring.
Never get stuck in a rut with your self-care routine again!
Summer
- Head to a local street market or outside food festival
- Go punting — grab a friend and head to Oxford or Cambridge for some of the best punting spots in the UK.
- Make lemonade
- Join an outside yoga class
- Scrapbook old holiday snaps and reminisce… or new holiday snaps if you were lucky enough to make it abroad this year
- Go strawberry picking
- Grab some friends or a loved one and head to the park for a picnic
- Paint by numbers outside and feel inspired by nature
- Find an old piece of furniture and do it up
- Pick up a polaroid camera and go on an adventure
- Write a poem
- Take a trip to the beach and collect some seashells as keepsakes
- Create a fun, feel-good summer playlist that reminds you of summer all year round
- Go on a barefoot walk along the beach
- Watch the sunset while sipping on a gin & tonic
- Head to an outdoor cinema
- Explore an area you haven’t been to before (Go old school. Put Google maps away and use an actual paper map!)
- Go on a country walk and then relax in a pub afterwards
- Take yourself on a date!
- Go stargazing!
save your summer self-care ideas on Pinterest
Autumn
- Decorate and carve pumpkins
- Make a colourful collage with autumnal leaves
- Put on some wellies and jump in the puddles
- Get stuck into a jigsaw puzzle
- Re-watch your favourite TV show
- Play a game of chess
- Spend the evening getting inspired by watching old Ted Talks
- Buy yourself some autumnal flowers and spend the afternoon arranging them
- Buy some crayons and a colouring book and tuck in
- Make a chunky vegetable soup and enjoy it with some toasted bread
- Go apple picking
- Bake an apple pie or very British crumble
- Enjoy a wine tasting tour
- Treat yourself to a luxurious massage
- Dig out your winter pyjamas and blankets and start getting cosy
- Have a lazy day
- Go away for the weekend to a remote location and completely unplug
- Create a vision board for the new year
- Hang out in your favourite coffee shop for the day
- Borrow a dog for the day and go on a lovely, long walk
save your autumn self-care ideas on Pinterest
Winter
- Bake! Blueberry muffins, gooey chocolate brownies, banana bread. The possibilities are endless!
- Do something you loved as a kid
- Cosy up in front of a fire or with a blanket and read an epic fiction book
- Watch a movie trilogy marathon — my absolute favourite is The Lord of The Rings
- Go ice skating
- Embrace the hygge lifestyle and hibernate for the day
- Build a cosy inside fort with pillows, sheets and blankets
- Take up a new hobby like knitting or cross-stitch
- Cook a comforting food recipe — one you haven’t tried before
- Put on some chilled jazz music and dance around the kitchen
- Create a comfort or memory box
- Take a walk in the snow, and go sledding if possible
- Make a yummy hot chocolate with marshmallows
- Have a long hot bubble bath with a glass of wine and a good book
- Play a board game from your childhood
- Write a bucket list for things to do in spring and summer
- Create a winter acoustic playlist to help you unwind
- Switch off the lights for the evening and light some candles
- Take part in a mindfulness challenge. I highly recommend this free challenge from Best Self Co.
- Take a walk in the rain and “feel the rain on your skin, no one else can feel it for you, only you can let it in, no one else, no one else, can speak the words on your lips, drench yourself in words unspoken, live your life with arms wide open, today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten”
save your winter self-care ideas on Pinterest
Spring
- Open the windows and air out your home
- Spring clean your house, wardrobe, inbox and social media “following” list
- Colour co-ordinate your bookshelf
- Declutter and clear out your make-up and toiletries
- Spruce up your garden or buy plants to hang around the house
- Put on some cheesy 90s music and have a dance party
- Get out in nature and enjoy the fresh spring flowers
- Make daisy chains
- Give your feet a break and go on a bike ride
- Take a trip to the park and feed the ducks
- Join an online cooking class. Some of my favourite cooking classes to join are with Yuki’s Kitchen
- Make rice crispy cakes with mini-eggs on them
- Go on an Easter egg hunt
- Make a seasonal fruit smoothie
- Get lost in an art gallery or museum
- Try out a new exercise routine
- Go roller skating around the park
- Give yourself a moisturising facial
- Do a spring-inspired water-colour painting
- Disconnect from social media for a week and spend time with friends
save your spring self-care ideas on Pinterest
Before I go
Just like with all of my tips, I suggest testing out these seasonal self-care ideas first before fully committing to them and finding out what works for you.
As what I love doing, might not be something you love doing.
Try putting together a self-care calendar or tracker to help you track which seasonal self-care ideas you enjoyed and which ones you would do again.
Rate each ritual out of 5 stars. Ask yourself, “how did this activity make me feel?.”
And why not go one step further and use the Wellness Planner.
This 18-page planner provides you with the accountability and structure you need to plan rest & self-care so you can wave goodbye to burnout.
Use it to:
- Build a morning & evening routine that works for you
- Successfully build better habits
- Track sleep
- Map out your meals & exercise for a healthy week
- Reflect on the day and practice gratitude
- Plan out a week of self-care activities
- Journal your thoughts & feelings
- Plus much much more.
Until next week,
♡ Thalia xx
