Three Easy Ways to Prolong Holiday Cheer

Condé Nast Digital Studio
Condé Nast Digital Studio

Already feeling nostalgic for the hustle and bustle of the holiday season? Now that December has come and gone, and we've rung in the New Year, many of us may be faced with a bit of the post-holiday blues. The good news is that feeling out-of-sorts for the first few weeks post-New Year is totally normal and usually easy to remedy. Try these tricks to make the long, cold days of January a little less blah!

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1. There's no reason that merrymaking needs to end once the holidays do - extend the good stuff and schedule a date with a close pal ASAP. If you're feeling down and out, talking over what's causing your blues may help you recognize the root of your problem, giving you a better chance at pulling yourself out of your funk. At the very least, your night on the town will be a mood-boosting distraction from whatever is getting you down.

2. Wish holiday cards with their messages of cheer were still flooding your inbox? Receive a similar boost with the PhotoFortune app ($0.99, iTunes). You'll get gorgeous travel images (from photographer Margaret Hyde's portfolio) sent straight to your phone each day, paired with a feel-good motivational message. Even more: during the month of January, all proceeds from the app will be donated to The Go Campaign, which helps fund grassroots projects benefitting needy children in 19 countries worldwide. What could feel better than that?

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3. And if your calendar is looking bleak after the 1-2-3 punch of Thanksgiving, December and New Year's Eve, get started on planning your next vacation! It's no secret that the sunlight-deprived days of January, February and March can feel a little bleak, so there's no better time than now to prep for a getaway to a (preferably sunny!) new locale. Setting up a savings plan, researching your destination and putting your itinerary in place gives you goals to work towards, which is guaranteed to help you feel good.

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