Author Niamh Hargan has found an antidote to the sense of flatness that can come for all of us once the decorations are down and the fairy lights switched off. Jolly January might just be the mindset shift we need.
Ugh. January. We’re deep in it now, incontrovertibly the worst time of the year. Right?
Well, probably yes, if you simply leave this month to unfold as it will, with its short days and freezing temperatures.
And almost definitely yes, if you’re taking active steps to make things even more bleak. Maybe you’ve taken up a punishing exercise regime, or you’ve totally sworn off cake. Or cheese. Or perhaps you’ve even decided, as a self-imposed penance, to do Dry January.
But what if I told you there was another way? The exact opposite way, in fact. Several years ago, a friend introduced me to the concept of Jolly January, and I’ve been a devotee ever since.
The whole endeavour is very simple, and involves doing exactly what you’d think it might – that is, rejecting the privation we’re told this time of the year must naturally bring, and planning instead for more more joy, not less.
Sure, that might involve, in December, purchasing some needles and wool, so that by the time the new year comes, you’re all ready to learn how to knit (mindfully). It might involve pre-ordering a new book that you just know you’re going to love, or saving a fancy bath oil that you can look forward to cracking open. In other words, you might plan for the types of cosy, at-home activities that I believe now come under the umbrella of “wintering” (and yes, I confess I have personally done all the above this year; knitting results are, thus far, variable).
However, here’s the thing. An even more important part of the Jolly January equation, if you ask me, involves planning on going out. That’s right: seeing people, and doing things, outside of your house. And if you fancy having a glass of wine along the way, then I am here to tell you that you must absolutely have one. By all means, lay off the booze if you want to, but in my humble opinion, there’s no need to do so merely because it’s January. Again, if anything, we’re aiming to go easier on ourselves, not harder, during this time of year. Right now is when we most urgently need to find the fun, whatever that looks like for us.
Across the remainder of the month, for example, I’ve got a karaoke party lined up, a Burns Night supper, a cinema trip, a lunch date at my favourite taco place… Just scanning this little series of bright spots on my calendar feels warming and hopeful – a real antidote to the sense of flatness that can come for all of us once the decorations are down and the fairy lights switched off.
Speaking of the festive season, here’s another added benefit of Jolly January. Committing oneself to it can, I’ve found, hugely reduce the risk of pre-Christmas overwhelm. I’m not sure what comes over people around late November or early December. Somehow, a lot of us seem to be seized by the urge to reach out to friends (including those we may have barely seen all year) with the immortal words: “we must get a date in the diary before Christmas.”
Should you be on the receiving end of such a text, a very simple response will swiftly solve all your problems: “I’m actually doing Jolly January – can we plan something then?”
Hey presto. You’ve avoided crowbarring yet another thing into that hectic schedule of festive merriment and instead, you’ve filled up one of the yawning, empty evenings on your new year’s calendar.
Now, admittedly, I’m naturally a night owl. It doesn’t take much, at any time of year, to talk me into a little post-work soirée. My latest novel is entitled Nothing Good Happens After 2am, but I’m not sure I entirely believe that statement myself – and I’m not sure my main characters do either. Robbie and El are high-end cocktail bartenders. The novel follows them from 2005 through to the present day, tracking all the late-night hijinks that go down inside a tiny Shoreditch speakeasy. Within the velvet, sepia-toned surroundings of Love and Death, it’s all ambition, betrayal, passion…
This January, maybe you’re not looking for that level of drama (other than inside the pages of a novel). And maybe post-Christmas, your liver – and/or your bank balance – really could do with at least a little bit of a break.
But here’s a suggestion, from me to you: before the month is out, why not treat yourself to just one excellent cocktail? You can go out early – that way, you could still easily be in bed by 8.30pm, if you like. The important thing is to savour the experience, make a bit of an event of it. Maybe choose a place that you’ve never been to before, or order a drink you’ve never even heard of when you spot it on the menu. Really, it’s not about the alcohol at all. It’s about the spirit of a cocktail bar (no pun intended). It’s about the glamour and the fun of something arriving just for you in a dinky little glass. It’s a chance to remind yourself that even though Christmas is over, there’s still room for a bit of sparkle on these dark evenings.
And if you should end up ever-so-slightly tipsy on a weeknight… fine. Where’s the problem? It’s Jolly January, after all.
Nothing Good Happens After 2am by Niamh Hargan is on sale January 29.
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