Gifts For People Who Are Always Cold

We just passed the five-year mark of the day we rolled into town. I cannot believe it. There has been so much change during that time. Each year feels like a separate lifetime. We will never forget shoveling snow two days after we moved into our rental house, and the following year brought eight feet of snow in one incredible November storm.

To our little California family, the instant winter felt like a punch in the face. After five years, it’s a little easier to bear the brutal weather, but the winters still feel too long.

Andy and I have laughed about all the different types of cold weather and how they affect me. For whatever reason, he seems impervious to plunging temperatures.

• Dry cold – I’m always thirsty, and my hair looks like straw.
• Windy cold – My nose runs for most of the day.
• Gloomy cold – I want to sleep all day, and I have to work hard to keep my feet warm.
• Sunny and cold – The illusion of warmth belies the true temperature. It’s a good day.
• Damp-Cold – This is the worst! There aren’t enough layers in the world for a damp-cold day.

FYI, today is a gloomy cold day.

Don’t even get me started on the different types of snowstorms. I’m a writer. I’ve got words. I’m not using them right now, but I’ve got them.

Fortunately, BHH has two perfectly working furnaces, but like many old houses, it’s a bit drafty around the edges. Remember, it was built as a summer house, not a year-round residence.

On one of my morning walks with Millie last week, I realized that after five years, I finally know how to stay comfortable most days. This is huge. The secret to staying warm is not getting too cold in the first place. Once I feel chilly, it is much more difficult to bring up my temperature. Perhaps that’s true for most people.

My dad always used to tell me that the secret to staying comfortable in miserable weather was wearing the proper gear. As a mailman, he was very familiar with terrible weather. I’m just going to come right out and say it. He was right. 

So, I know there are about a million gift guides floating around this time of year, and here’s one more. Honestly, I bought most of these items for myself, and I won’t judge you if you do the same. Slap a “from, Santa” tag on it, and put it under the tree. (I do it every year!)

Gifts For People Who are Always Cold

This post contains affiliate links.

First, I apologize in advance that several of these items are gender-specific. It’s 2018; Wear whatever you like. This blog is a safe space. We’re all about freedom of expression here in BHH.

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Special Notes:

• It looks like the space heater is sold out if you follow that link, but it’s available on Amazon: Honeywell UberHeat Ceramic Heater | The one I have is white, and it pumps out so much heat. I use it at my desk which hugs an exterior wall. I’ve even had to turn it down on occasion. It works that well.
• Uggs | I wear my Uggs like house slippers. They are my indoor shoe all winter. I had my last pair for ten years, and I’m on year three with these. If you prefer to stay away from real leather, I found this vegan alternative: PawJ Vegan Boots | When my current Uggs wear out, I’m going to buy the cruelty-free version.
• Sorel Tivoli III Boots | Last year, I bought these at an end-of-season sale. They are the warmest and most comfortable boots I have ever worn. They work well alone in deep snow or while wearing snowshoes. Before I bought the Tivolis, I had a pair of Sorel Tofinos that I bought right before we moved here. The Tofinos are arguably more stylish, but they are also more expensive. I replaced them because my feet started getting cold when I was outside longer than about 15 minutes. It is unclear how long a pair of Sorel boots should last. The craftsmanship certainly holds up.
• Honeywell Heat Pad | This item was a game changer for me. I was always cold at night until I started sleeping with this heating pad about two years ago. I keep it down by my feet. It has an auto shut-off, or it can stay on continuously.
• Smartwool Hiking Socks | These are the only socks I want to wear all winter. They wear like iron, and they don’t seem to get smelly. Sometimes I get stuck wearing inferior socks on laundry day, and I always regret it. Cold feet are the worst. (The 3-pack is a better deal.)
• Boulder Gear Coat | The first coat I had when we moved here came from Goodwill. It was never warm enough, and the zipper was fussy, but I didn’t want to shell out money for a replacement. Last year, I started wearing my dad’s old vintage REI down coat. (I found its twin on eBay!) It was warm enough, but it was hard to clean, it didn’t have a hood, and it was way too big. Last summer, I found the Boulder Gear coat at a local ski shop, and I decided to take a chance and buy it. What a find! The design is fitted, so I no longer look like a human marshmallow. It’s easy to wash, and it has a deep hood that I can pull up over a hat. That’s especially helpful on bitterly windy days. This coat works equally well for winter snow sports or walking the dog. It’s also blue which is my favorite color to wear.
• Fleece Bathrobe | I don’t have this exact bathrobe, but I have a very similar one. The robe I linked comes in many colors. It’s on this list because sometimes, on frigid days, I wear mine over my clothes all day. The cat’s out of the bag now. This will never be a fashion blog. Just think of a bathrobe as a long indoor coat. Of course, I only wear mine at home, but that doesn’t keep me from wishing that wearing robes around town was acceptable.
• Everything else is pretty self-explanatory except for the Little Book of Hygge. A book can’t keep you warm unless you burn it, but I added it to this list because reading it helped me change the way I feel about winter and cold. Last winter, Andy and both read it and loved it. If the people of Denmark can stay content during months of dark and cold, I can suck it up, light a candle, and binge-watch Netflix until spring.

What would you add to this list? Are you on the hunt for something specific that you cannot find? I have an entirely separate list for outdoor running. If that is of interest to anyone, I will post about it next week, or I can send you links privately. Let me know in the comments or shoot me an e-mail.

In general, how is your holiday shopping going? I’m nowhere near finished, but at least I know what I am getting everyone on my list. That’s half the battle.