Cabin fever can be suffered even by those who don’t reside in a cabin. Its symptoms include irritability, boredom, lack of energy, anxiety, and impatience. Sufferers can be kids who’ve had too many snow days, individuals who are working from home, or anyone who stares out the window wondering when spring will arrive. 

Don’t fret. We’re here with a prescription to alleviate symptoms or possibly even cure cabin fever.  

Plan for Spring 

Winter is a great time to look forward to spring and the many activities you’ll enjoy once the temperatures get just a little – OK, a LOT – warmer.  

Pick Out Some Seeds 
Don’t wait until the last minute to start your garden plans. Farmers use the winter months to review their planting locations, plan crop rotation, and dream of the summer’s produce. Look back at your notes from last summer’s garden – I take photos to help me remember where crops were planted. Where were your tomatoes – you'll want to move them to a different spot this year to reduce the likelihood of blight. Did your squash do particularly well? What did you do differently to make that happen? Did you get overzealous with plant spacing? That’s one of my problems – seedlings are so small and grow to be a lot bigger . Order your seeds now or take a look at the seeds you saved from last year to begin making this year’s garden even better. 

Make Vacation Plans 
Don’t call it wishful thinking; make it a reality by planning now. Research a new destination and get the whole family involved. Maybe it can develop into a lesson in map reading (How far is the beach from home? How long will it take to drive to the Grand Canyon?). What are the museums, attractions, restaurants, hikes, etc. that you definitely want to see and enjoy? Do you need to make reservations? Where will you stay – a rental, hotel, or campground? Put a post on your social media channels to get input from friends – there might be something to see and do that’s totally off your radar! Get it on the calendar and start saving for it now.  

What’s Cookin’? 

In other seasons of the year, schedules sometimes don’t allow time in the kitchen, but in winter, there’s plenty of time to gather up ingredients and turn on the oven. 

Try a New Recipe 
You may not be an explorer ready to head outside, but a culinary adventure can bring Italy, the Southwest, or Asia to your table. Mast Store has an array of cookbooks to travel to Spain, explore your mountain roots, or to build your skills as a master bartender. Why not practice your skills this winter to get ready for hosting cookouts and going on picnics this summer? 

Host a Neighborhood Dinner 
Some years ago, progressive dinners were a thing. Neighbors would plan a menu with different homes hosting each course, so appetizers would be at House A, then everyone would walk to House B for soup and on to House C for salad before heading to House D for the main course followed by a stroll to House E for dessert. Fun in the summer, but maybe not on a 10° day in the winter. Nonetheless, you can plan to host a dinner with your neighbors or friends in one spot. Go potluck or plan it out – either way it gets people together to visit and laugh, which are the best prescriptions we can make for curing Cabin Fever. 

Oh, What a Night! 

Let’s not get too complicated with this prescription. Almost everyone has a TV that’s hooked up to a streaming service or a hallway closet with stacks of board games. Why not use some resources you already have on hand and add a little something around the edges to make it more fun? 

Movie/Game Night 
Check the movie listings on your favorite service – or see what your local library has on DVD – put them in a hat and pull one out to watch together. You may want to set some parameters to make sure the feature is appropriate for all “audience” members and then have supper at 6 p.m. to allow the movie to start at 7. Pop some popcorn, have some typical movie concession candy bars available, turn the lights down, and get ready for the show. It could be fun to “screen” a classic movie that no one’s seen before like The Sting, Stand By Me, A League of their Own, which are available on Netflix, or go really old school with these offerings from Prime – 12 Angry Men (1957), The Wizard of Oz (1939), and The Way We Were (1973). 

For games, use the same parameters as above to choose your game for the evening, pop some popcorn and add in some other finger-friendly foods like chips and salsa and snacks. Mast Store has classic board games like Monopoly and Clue along with games that can be played in teams like Pictionary and Mind the Gap. Or try favorite card games like UNO, Old Maid, and Hearts. 

Outta the Box 

Make Snow 
Snowflakes, that is. We had you worried there for a minute, right? Do you remember taking pieces of paper, folding them, and using scissors to cut paper snowflakes? They were works of art! You never knew how they were going to turn out, and just like real snowflakes, no two were just a like. Take a little time while you’re watching the snow outside to make your own snowflakes to enjoy even after the real stuff has melted. Here are some tips.  

1. Take a square piece of paper, fold it in half, then fold it in half again. This second half fold is to give you a reference point for future folds, so unfold the second one. 
2. With the fold on the bottom, take the righthand side of the paper and fold it on a 60 degree angle toward the left. Use the centerpoint from your “unfolded fold” as a reference.  
3. Take the left side of the paper and fold it on a 60-degree angle toward the right. It will look a little like a heart.  
4. Now, fold the paper in half again so you have the shortest side on the outside.  
5. Cut the paper above the shortest side off, then begin cutting all around.  
6. Carefully unfold your snowflake. It should be six-sided just like a real snowflake! 

Tape on windows or hang on fishline for display.  

Check Out the Night Sky 
Winter is the best time to take a look at the stars. We know, the temperature can be a little cooler than summer nights, but the lack of humidity adds clarity to the night sky, so it’s worth it. Winter also gives you longer observation times – and some of the most popular objects to view are visible early, including Saturn, Jupiter, Orion, the moon, etc.  

Fancy equipment isn’t necessary to get started observing the night sky. You’ll need a few basics, like binoculars, which makes it possible to see four of Jupiter’s moons (7x50 or 10x50 are ideal, but these from Celestron or NOCs will get you started). A night sky reference is helpful to familiarize yourself with where to look for constellations, planets, etc. Other references that are handy to get the most out of your dark sky observations include visiting Time and Date to check the planet rise and set times and some apps that are free and can be installed on your phone, including SkyView Lite (Apple and Google) and Stellarium (Apple and Google). If you catch the bug, your next steps might be looking for a local astronomy club that can help you learn how to star hop all over the sky.