6 Things That Should Be Mandatory For Moms Every Single Winter

If you've ever done the impossible dance that is getting small children in and out of coats, hats, and gloves (once to get in the car, once to get out of it; repeat until you lose your mind entirely), you understand that adding some additional childcare help to your life is a must during Winter — even if it's just so you can get to the grocery store. Do yourself a big favor and add a regular babysitter to your life for at least a few hours a week. You'll appreciate the chance to get out of the house without having to put anyone's coat on but your own. Your kids will also love being under the care of someone who hasn't exhausted her tolerance for toys, games, and crafts.

Your skin is chapped, your hands are cracking from the 20 times a day you wash them to try to prevent getting sick (good luck with that), and it's too cold to even walk around the block, meaning your main form of exercise is picking up the same toys at least twice an hour. You need a break from the Winter mom life and a chance to reconnect with your own body in the way that best speaks to you. Whether it's a massage, facial, hot yoga class, or an hour in the steam room, find the time to focus just on you.

Moms can feel like caged animals during the Winter months, with nary a park, backyard playset, or school pickup conversation (it's too darn cold!) to keep their kids or themselves occupied. It's time to release all that pent-up energy and frustration with a wild girls' night out. Round up your best friends or just the moms in your neighborhood, go to a wine-heavy dinner, and then find someplace to dance it out afterwards. Sure, your head might hurt the next morning, but your soul will feel great.

Remember Winter mornings before kids? You'd look out the window, see ice and snow, and hunker back down in bed with a book or a Netflix queue. Those were the days, and sure, they're pretty much a thing of the past now that you have little ones demanding you make them breakfast before the sun rises, but where there's a will to chill, there is a way. Make a deal with your partner (you get one morning; they get the next), beg your parents to take the kids for a night, or really go for it and check yourself into a hotel (you don't even have to make the bed!), and let yourself enjoy the best part of the cold months: feeling no pressure at all to get out of your jammies.

Sometimes all you need to get through the Winter months is a plan to get excited about, even if that plan won't come to fruition until the last snow is long gone. Amp up your happy by planning a girls' trip, researching a new endeavor you're excited about (a new job, a move, or a new pet, perhaps?), or even figuring out how to make it the best Summer ever.

If you have a few kid-free hours every week, thanks to preschool or a parents' day out program, it can be tempting to fill them all with running errands and cleaning your house. Instead, add a regular mom date to your Winter schedule. The adult socialization is a must to keep you feeling sane, and it doesn't happen as regularly during the colder months as it does when you and your kids are naturally out and about in the world more often. A post-workout coffee date, a standing meeting time at your favorite brunch spot, or a rotating play date is the perfect time to catch up, commiserate, and count down the days until Spring.