Hey! Happy New Year! Hope you had an awesome holiday!

Here in Chapel Hill, it’s, uh, freezing. Luckily, since I’m half Canadian, I have lots of tips on staying warm, especially when you want to be outside and active.

Step 1: Stay inside and drink hot chocolate… Just kidding!

Okay, for real:

The big thing is dressing for the weather. When it gets really cold in North Carolina, we have to haul out our layers. My Canadian cousins have all this stuff down to a science!

The secret is layering. First, you need a nice inner layer to wick sweat away from your skin, like a regular long sleeved shirt. (Believe it or not, when you’re active in the cold, you can still break a sweat and get pretty hot.) Then a mid-layer for warmth, like fleece, and an outer layer, like a winter coat or water resistant jacket, to block wind, snow, and cold air.

Mitts, a hat, maybe a scarf, boots if it’s snowy, nice thick socks, and you’re good to go! See, when you layer your clothes, you can adjust a little if you’re too hot (unzip or take off a layer), and it helps keep out the cold.

The Norwegians say that there isn’t bad weather, only bad clothing. I kind of get it. I don’t mind layering on warm clothes to have fun outside. With my Labrador retriever, Ralph, I kind of have no choice. He needs exercise, and he loves walking, running, and fetching in this weather! Like Ralph, my cousins in Canada get super pumped when it snows.

So, if you can, be like my Canadian cousins (and Ralph), and try to embrace the winter! If you dress warmly enough, it’s actually pretty refreshing to get outside. Even better if you can skate or ski, or go sliding! Whenever we’re in Canada during the winter, I have a great time, because there are so many fun winter activities.

It makes this cold snap here not seem so bad! Stay warm out there!

Bye for now!

Finn