99 ways to SMASH the January Blues

We've got 99 problems but the January Blues ain't one - pick and mix a few of these puppies and you'll be bouncing through winter.

Friday 18 January 2013
posted by Oliver Brann
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January's tough. It's the anti-climax month. It's a wet and cold month. It's a poor month. It's a bloated, lethargic month. But STOP! Before we bring you to your knees with this terrifyingly depressing intro we need to tell you the plan;

WE'RE NOT GOING TO STAND HERE AND TAKE IT, JANUARY.

F**k you January with your misery and your poverty!

We’re gonna take you down. We’re gonna get busy. We’re gonna pro-actively bounce up in your FACE and then hop, skip and a-jump right through you, smiling all the way...

BOOM! We may have 99 problems,
But with these 99 solutions,

The January Blues ain't one.

We're giving away first class InterRail tickets, lunch at PizzaExpress, tickets to Bestival, and loads more... For a chance to win click below.

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1.) Indulge in January sale therapy
Nothing cheers you up like a bargain. And to get you going we've found some HUGE 2013 January sale reductions.

2.) CELEBRATE ALL THROUGH JANUARY
We give you a reason to celebrate for EVERY SINGLE DAY of January. Click now for the January party schedule!!

3.) Look at 18 reasons why there is always hope
Did you know Robert Pattinson did a RIDICULOUS Japanese underwear advert before being in Twilight.?True story. Check out the cringe inducing pics - there is always hope that things will turn around.

4.) Make incredibly fun cakes
We know ALL cakes are fun but these are reeaally fun: Mini Twix and Oreo cheesecake, Chocolate mug cake ready in minutes and 7up Cookies... oh wow.

5.) Get into one of the 10 most amazing boxsets of all time
There is NOTHING cosier, more enriching, more satisfying, more cheering than getting into an incredible boxset with your friends. Here are ten that will make you shiver with anticipation at each episode, they're so good.

6.) Go for a night out, dancing, flirting and merry making - SOBER!! It can be done! And if you persist through the difficult opening hour or two, you can end up having a surprising amount of fun - AND THEN THERE'S THE CASH SAVED. INCREDIBLE. Click through to check out our 9 tips for surviving a sober night out. Go straight edge!

7.) Eat the ten best brain foods

8.) Have a karaoke night
It is proven that singing your heart out cheers you right up, no end. Here's how to karaoke for free.

9.) Volunteer for a summer festival
If you wanna get into a festival for free as a volunteer, now's the time to sign up. How cheered up are you going to feel, knowing you've already got your pass into a decent festival or two this year?

10.) Go out and use one of 69 chat up lines guaranteed to work
Go on. Use at least one of these. It will definitely put a smile on your face.

(11 - 20) Make yourself a delicious winter warmer drink

21.) Play poker
If you're just playing for pennies or match sticks, you can't get depressed about being completely cleared out and you could WIN BIG in bragging stakes...

22.) Make your own Nandos!

23.) Make gummy shot glasses
Yes, these are awesome. Yes, we tell you how to make them.

24.) Improve your study skills

25.) Visit mates at other unis
A change is as good as a rest and there's nothing like an old friend..we tell you how to visit 'em on the cheap.

26.) Decorate your room on the cheap with one of our 18 genius DIY interior design ideas
Nothing cheers you up more than making your immediate environment beautiful. Especially when you can do it for minimal cash spend.

27.) Go to a gig
And of course, we tell you how to get your hands on cheap gig tickets. Please, don't mention it.

28.) Have a drinking games night
And all you need is the official studentbeans.com rule guide...Oh! Here it is! And you can make number 29 for the occasion...

29.) Make cucumber shot glasses

30.) Improve your employability

(31- 40) Get yourself fit - the lazy persons way!

41.) Make your own booze

42.) Springclean early...
Almost nothing will make you feel better than completely clearing out all the dirt and crap from that place you call you home. And your first port of call for doing this on the cheap is vinegar. Yes vinegar. Why dontcha click to find out?

43.) ...whilst simultaneously making money selling your unwanted old crap!
Oh! And whilst you're clearing out all the crap, you may as well sell it and get cash, because we all know getting cash for crap cheers a soul up.

44.) Go busking
Seriously. Why not?

45.) Do some volunteering
It's proven that doing something good for someone else makes you feel better. FACT. Ahem, it's good for your cv too..

46.) Get your work organised with the ten best free apps for improving your studies

47.) Play cards
No one was ever depressed playing a good card game. Unless they were Sh*thead, of course, but then the glee of all the others rubbed off and cheered them right up in the end.

**48.) Go on a date or two using 6 dating methods you never considered **

(49 -58) Cook yourself up some lovely winter warm food

59.) Plan and book a holiday for the summer The advantages of booking your summer hols now are oh so many... - maximise looking forward to it/getting all excited time - Make early booking savings AND choose the best places - Book it while there's still cash in your account - Book it before everyone gets all tied up doing other things and it becomes literally to impossible to find a free week or get anyone to commit to anything...

60.) Watch the ten most uplifting movies of all time
To help you cope with those long winter evenings we bring you our top ten blues busting feel-good films. Requiem For A Dream only just missed the cut...

61.) Celebrate Burns night

62.) Hold your own Come Dine With Me
A cheap way to provide hours of amusement, banter and a bunch of extremely pleasant evenings (because you don't have to do it with strangers) - do your own Come Dine With Me.

63.) Apply for jobs

64.) Listen to the honest, uplifting beauty of The Laughing Heart by Charles Bukowski

65.) Follow 7 simple steps to becoming a fitness god From supersize to Superman (or woman) in 7 easy steps. God we're good to you.

66.) Have a stretch

67.) Forgive someone

68.) Join a new society
And to get you going, click to see the Top 20 amazingly weird university societies

69.) Have an 'old school' video games night

70.) Sleep

71.) Browse 15 great part time jobs to get you through 2013! And then apply for some!

72.) Listen to the top ten songs to put a massive smile on your face

73.) Go to the theatre

74.) Partake in Hydrotherapy - also known as a very long hot shower or bath

75.) Apologise to someone

(76 - 85) Take up a new hobby!

86.) Remember to breathe

87.) Blow up a balloon and play if it hits the floor we all die.

88.) Give your hair some TLC with 8 DIY miracle hair treatments that cost pennies

89.) Go bowling

90.) Play some classic board games but with drinking rules
A bit like the cornflakes thing, have you forgotten how much good wholesome fun playing a classic board game can be? Well it can be, but it can also be terribly good unwholesome fun as well. Check out our Top ten genius drinking board games.

91.) Eat porridge for breakfast

92.) Make a bouncy egg

93.) Dream about going to these 14 pools you NEED to swim in before you die, sometime soon...

94.) Throw a party
Oh and we just happen to have the ten best party themes to choose from...

95.) Be a tourist in your own town

96.) Read one of the saddest, sweetest and funniest stories of all time

97.) Make your own 'Turbo Cider'

98.) Get some quality doggy time in for free
Hanging out with pets, stroking them, playing with them (actually getting on the floor and goofing around with them in particular) reduces stress hormones noticeably. We show you how to sort out free hang time with a pick-me-up pooch.

99.) If all else fails, wallow, wallow in your misery
We've got a whole wallowing in misery evening planned out for those that need to get more miserable before they can get happy again.

We're giving away first class InterRail tickets, lunch at PizzaExpress, tickets to Bestival, and loads more... For a chance to win click below.