All the presents have been unwrapped, all the annual gift disappointments are out of the way, and winter no longer has any special meaning, now just cold and boring.

It always seems like there is such a huge buildup to Christmas holiday season, but after Christmas day itself, all of that cheer and jolliness completely disappears and it’s like Christmas never happened, and there’s nothing to look forward to or be happy about. As dreary as it seems, winter is actually one of the best times of the year to have fun.

There are so many cool, fun things to do in the winter that happen once Christmas is over, and will easily make you forget about the ugly sweater you Grandma kitted for you.

1. College Football Bowl games

This is the big one for me and probably most of us at Elder. Unfortunately I know there are a lot of Bearcats fans here, but don’t feel bad, because I got to experience the loss first hand in Bank of America Stadium. My only team left to root for is the Ohio State Buckeyes in their Orange Bowl game against Clemson on Friday, January 3^rd.

Just one time can I get an O-H-I-O from you Buckeye fans out there?

And of course there’s the big championship game coming up between #1 Florida State and #2 Auburn that, whether you’re a fan of either team or not, you’ll definitely watch to see who is this year’s champ.

So you can forget all about the third pair of socks you got this year when your favorite team brings home the trophy in their bowl game.

2. Perfect North Slopes

I know a lot of you already know that this is the biggest hotspot for winter hangouts, but for those of you who don’t this is pretty much the winter equivalent to Kings Island. This the best place in Cincinnati for skiing and snowboarding without a doubt, and even if you don’t do either one there’s always tubing that’s always fun no matter how old you are.

It may cost a few extra dollars, but you’ll definitely get the bang for your buck going down ‘center stage’ countless times, or out tubing your friends in a race down the hill. Bottom line is that this is one of the premier things to do during the winter, and if you were lucky, the best gift you got this Christmas was a Perfect North season pass.

3. Cincinnati Cyclones games

The minor league hockey team still has a ton of games left on its schedule, and a lot of them are played on Friday and Saturday nights. Tickets are reasonably priced, and the real deal sealer are the cool promotions they have with each game, such as their Star Wars Night, Puckchop Piggy Bank Night, and who could miss the Josh Hutcherson Bobblehead Night (January 17^th.)

For those of you who don’t watch that much hockey, I would give it a try and if you get into it, come out and support Elder’s own hockey team during their games at the Cincinnati Gardens. While the Cyclones might not be the first idea for something to do on the weekends, it’s definitely worth the low ticket prices, and it’s a good excuse to get out of eating the annual fruitcake your aunt and uncle made.

4. Ice Skating on Fountain Square

This is something else that often gets overlooked by most people, mostly with the reason that they don’t know how to skate. I haven’t skated since I was seven years old, but I had a blast when I went a few weeks ago with a group of friends.

All you need is a measly $6 and the rink is yours for the entire day. Plus you’re right in the middle of downtown Cincinnati and about five minutes away from Newport so it won’t be hard to find something to do once you’re done skating. Also if you do plan to go down here some time let me know because I would love to do it again, and probably will before winter’s over. Bottom line is that you shouldn’t be upset with the crummy $10 bill your sibling mustered up as a gift, because that’s worth a whole day of fun at Fountain Square this winter.

5. March Madness is right around the corner

If any of those suggestions didn’t satisfy your post-Christmas blues, then there’s no way you can say no to this awesome idea that is guaranteed to make you forget about Christmas. Just two more months until the Madness is here again!

After correctly picking last year’s Louisville-Michigan matchup, I’m especially excited for this year’s brackets. If you say that you don’t enjoy March Madness then you’re either lying or just a straight up Scrooge.

But then again if I’d picked Georgetown last year I’d probably feel the same way about my bracket this year. It’s a great way to play with your friends and is definitely a great way to put some extra cash in your pocket, if you play your cards right.

If you’ve never played it before for some reason, definitely give it a try when it rolls around this March, and start watching some college hoops now so you can be better prepared when tournament time is upon us. Whether you win or get busted yet again, this will definitely make you forget about how bad your Christmas was last year, and how stupid you are for betting all the money your Grandma gave you for a Louisville repeat.

The point is that it really, truly sucks once Christmas is over, especially if you didn’t get what you wanted so it seems like you waited all that time for nothing, but that doesn’t mean that you have to wait for warmer weather to have fun again. There are just as many awesome things to do in the cold as there are in the warmer weather, and you shouldn’t let your big Christmas letdown get in the way of that. So go out and put your new ugly sweater to work and have fun out in the awesome cold weather. Happy New Year 2014!