A few days ago I wrote about the common thoughts everyone has when winter is approaching. These can range from excitement over holidays to depression over short, dark, icy cold days. Lets be honest, winter is not the best season, but you should definitely not be dreading it in a state like North Carolina. Wondering why?

  1. Festival of lights

Flickr / vertigo235

Flickr / Susan Smith From ‘Christmas town USA’ Mcadenville, or right off the coast, you’re sure to see a beautiful array of lights that will put you in the holiday spirit!

  1. Unlimited hot cocoa!

Flickr / meg What goes great with a cold, grey, winter day? A cup of hot cocoa to warm you up.

  1. Snow days!

Flickr / Zach Frailey North Carolina takes their snow days seriously, meaning, you might get out of work anywhere from a day to a week. Everyone needs the mental break.

  1. Snow on the mountains.

Flickr / dangerismycat The Blue Ridge Mountains become especially beautiful in the winter. With snow capped branches, frozen ice formations, and even frozen waterfalls, the mountains in winter become a whole new world.

  1. And that means ski/snowboarding season.

Flickr / Jeri Gloege Sure, we’re no Colorado, but after a fresh snow conditions can be pretty awesome.

  1. We can still have a beach day.

Flickr / Zach Frailey Sure, you might not be able to splash and play in the water, but the beach is gorgeous and totally serene in the winter. Plus, the price of rentals goes way down!

  1. Basketball season is in full swing.

Flickr / switz1873 Our favorite sport is back!

  1. Abundant dark craft beers.

Flickr / Christopher Lehault Around this time, all the local NC breweries start unveiling new as well as tried and true favorite ‘dark brews’ to wrap us in a warm beer blanket through the winter.

  1. Comfort food is OK

Flickr / Reese Derrenberger In the summer you might have gravitated more to that salad than a piece of fried chicken (also, it can feel a bit gross to eat a heavy meal when it’s 90 degrees outside) but winter is all about the comfort food favorites, slow cooker meals, and hearty warm dishes! Personally, my favorite.

  1. Laziness is OK

Flickr / praline3001 ‘It’s freezing outside’ is the perfect excuse to spend a Saturday in your jammies near a roaring fire.

  1. The holidays are awesome!

Flickr / Savannah Sam Photography We all love the holidays because they revolve around our favorite things: togetherness, festivities, giving and receiving, being merry, seeing the ones we love, and giving thanks.

  1. Because no matter what season, North Carolina is always the best!

Flickr / Kim Seng Sure, winter is cold and dark but I wouldn’t want to spend it anywhere else than North Carolina. Ok, maybe an exotic island paradise, but still, North Carolina isn’t so bad 🙂

And really, just like how quickly fall has ended, I’m sure we’ll find ourselves waking up in March wondering where the last few months went. Time really does fly and the seasons really do ‘turn turn turn.’

Flickr / vertigo235

Flickr / Susan Smith

From ‘Christmas town USA’ Mcadenville, or right off the coast, you’re sure to see a beautiful array of lights that will put you in the holiday spirit!

Flickr / meg

What goes great with a cold, grey, winter day? A cup of hot cocoa to warm you up.

Flickr / Zach Frailey

North Carolina takes their snow days seriously, meaning, you might get out of work anywhere from a day to a week. Everyone needs the mental break.

Flickr / dangerismycat

The Blue Ridge Mountains become especially beautiful in the winter. With snow capped branches, frozen ice formations, and even frozen waterfalls, the mountains in winter become a whole new world.

Flickr / Jeri Gloege

Sure, we’re no Colorado, but after a fresh snow conditions can be pretty awesome.

Sure, you might not be able to splash and play in the water, but the beach is gorgeous and totally serene in the winter. Plus, the price of rentals goes way down!

Flickr / switz1873

Our favorite sport is back!

Flickr / Christopher Lehault

Around this time, all the local NC breweries start unveiling new as well as tried and true favorite ‘dark brews’ to wrap us in a warm beer blanket through the winter.

Flickr / Reese Derrenberger

In the summer you might have gravitated more to that salad than a piece of fried chicken (also, it can feel a bit gross to eat a heavy meal when it’s 90 degrees outside) but winter is all about the comfort food favorites, slow cooker meals, and hearty warm dishes! Personally, my favorite.

Flickr / praline3001

‘It’s freezing outside’ is the perfect excuse to spend a Saturday in your jammies near a roaring fire.

Flickr / Savannah Sam Photography

We all love the holidays because they revolve around our favorite things: togetherness, festivities, giving and receiving, being merry, seeing the ones we love, and giving thanks.

Flickr / Kim Seng

Sure, winter is cold and dark but I wouldn’t want to spend it anywhere else than North Carolina. Ok, maybe an exotic island paradise, but still, North Carolina isn’t so bad 🙂

What would you add to the list? How do you get through winter in North Carolina?

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