Journaling the Season: 20 Winter Journaling Prompts
If you follow this blog, you might know how much I love to journal. I find writing to be a calming exercise. It helps me explore feelings and allows for creativity through words and sometimes art media.
In recent posts, I have recommended setting intentions for journals (see link here) and have even shared this year’s journal stack (link here). I like to have different ideas for journaling in these books, so I often turn to journaling prompts for inspiration.
Although I sometimes include journaling prompts in some of my articles, it has been a while since I was inspired to journal about a particular season. In fact, it was last summer that I provided a season-themed set of journaling prompts (here is a link).
Summer was easy to incorporate in my journals. The warm weather inspires me to travel and have new experiences. And, I have many fun memories of summer vacations and days home from school.
Winter can be a different experience. Marked by chilly weather, shorter days, and gray skies, I can find myself feeling the winter blues. This is especially true after the fun of the winter holidays has passed, and I’m just slogging through the daily grind wearing heavier clothing and bracing myself against the cold weather.
I grew up in New York, where sometimes several feet of snow might accumulate during a snowfall. One year, when I was very young, there was so much snow, my dad built me an igloo. I now live further south, so winter weather rarely results in more than a few inches of snow. And, what does accumulate doesn’t last long.
There are so many feelings this season can bring. So, although winter is slowly slipping away in parts of the USA and may be seasons away for other parts of the world), it still feels like a good time to reflect on this chilly season before it melts into spring.
Below are some journaling prompts to help you to think about all the best parts of this season as well as help work through some of those winter blues. It always helps me to write about my experiences, using my past as well as my present to work through the feelings.
Disclaimer: Although these prompts may be helpful in exploring our feelings about this season, this is not intended to take the place of mental health treatment. If you are experiencing depression, anxiety, or other serious mental health condition, please seek the advice of a professional.
20 Winter-Themed Journaling Prompts
As I always recommend, it helps to get in the mood to journal by setting yourself up to write. Set aside time for yourself. Make sure you have a comfortable place to sit. For these winter journaling prompts, I recommend wearing comfy clothes and having a warm beverage by your side. Perhaps listen to music that inspires you and reminds you of winter. Have a seat, relax, and dig into some prompts that will help you explore the winter season. Here are prompts to get you started:
- When you think of the winter season, what mental images come to mind?
- What is your favorite thing about the winter season? What is your least favorite?
- What are your most vivid childhood memories of winter? Were they happy? Why or why not?
- What did winter look like when you were growing up?
- What does winter look like for you now?
- What are your favorite winter activities? (These can be outdoor or indoor activities)
- Do you go on trips in the winter? If so, where? How do these places make you feel?
- What are your favorite winter meals? Who typically has made them and how do they make you feel when you eat them?
- What are your favorite winter beverages? What about them makes them unique to the season?
- How did you feel about the winter season when you were a child? How did that compare to how the adults in your life felt about this season?
- When you were a kid, did you live in an area where your school might close due to winter weather? If you lived in a warmer climate, were there ever days that were unseasonably cold during the winter season? What were those days like?
- If you had snow days as a kid, how did you typically spend those days?
- What was the most unusual winter you can recall? (Was it unseasonably warm? Cold? Did something happen that makes that winter stick out in your mind?)
- Have you stared any new winter traditions now that you’re an adult?
- Are there any winter activities you have never tried but would like to? Make a winter activities bucket list. How might you make these happen?
- What are the colors that remind you of winter? Describe them and consider using them in creative journaling spread. (For more on creative journaling, check out this prior post).
- How do the shorter days and colder weather affect you?
- How do you feel when pondering how nature appears during the winter? Do the trees go bare where you live? Are there different birds that frequent your area?
- Do you change out your wardrobe for the winter? If so, what do you like about your winter wardrobe?
- What scents remind you of winter? When you smell them, how do they make you feel?
Are you still journaling during the winter months, or has your journaling gone into hibernation? Have these prompts encouraged you to break out one of your journals and explore the topic of the winter season? Any prompts you can add to the ones above? Share them below in a comment!
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