When it’s chilly outside, there’s nothing better than baking cookies; Valentine’s Day allows for some creative twists on conventional confections. Are you a traditionalist? Spruce up a sugar cookie mix by adding red sprinkles or pink cream-cheese frosting, or—even better—both! Is your baking style a little more experimental? Buy an oatmeal cookie mix and add chopped dried cherries, coconut flakes, finely chopped pecans, and semi-sweet chocolate chips to make “I Love You This Much” cookies.

Kindle a fire while your cookies are in the oven—when they’re done, have a game night next to a roaring fireplace. If you’re in the mood for a lighthearted event, try Catch Phrase or Yahtzee; if you want to put your collective noggins to the test, play a few rounds of Cranium or Clue. Make it interesting by letting the winner choose the movie you watch as a family afterwards. Our suggestions: Be my Valentine, Charlie Brown, Shrek or Enchanted.

If you feel like getting out of the house, visit your local park for ice skating or a snowball fight or just go for a stroll around town. Layer up, the winter chill is still here.

Looking for something creative to do? Make your own paper floral arrangements to pass out to friends and family. For an affordable DIY version, all you need are clay pots, Styrofoam blocks, colorful pipe cleaners, mini pom poms, and construction paper. Make the flowers by cutting out various shapes in different colored paper. To create your arrangement simply attach the flowers to the pipe cleaner, then cut the Styrofoam blocks to fit the clay pots, and arrange the flowers into a dome-shaped creation. You’ll end up with a beautiful display that will perfectly adorn any area in your home.

Whether you stay in or go out, our ActiveLayer top is perfect for a day like this: it will keep you warm while wicking away moisture; plus, the hot pink top accentuates a Valentine’s Day celebration perfectly! Plus fall in love with the thumbhole as you layer with your favorite sweater.

What’s your favorite Valentine’s Day activity? We’d love to hear about your experiences with the above tips, or about your unique take on Valentine’s Day with the family by connecting with us through Facebook or Twitter

• Remember the 5 below weather that I was talking about? Don’t forget to dress warm! For a casual look, wear a cute solid colored knit dress and a pair of Softwear with Stretch Leggings, you will be comfortable and stay warm at the same time. You can dress up your outfit a bit by wearing your hair in milk maid braids pulled back into a messy bun.

• For a fancier outing, try wearing a taffeta type dress. Deep purple, navy blue, and black are all great colors, that are very flattering for the season. To stay warm, wear a pair of colorful ActiveLayer Leggings with a stylish boot. You can also wear a light sweater that you can easily slip of it you get too warm!

• Perfect for night out on the town with your friends where you don’t want to be too fancy since you know you will be out late and still want to stay comfortable, try making a dressy skirt more casual. A shorter skirt that’s hem is right above your knees, makes your legs appear longer than they are and is very comfortable! Bubble skirts or pleated skirts are perfect for this look, as they are fancier, but easy to dress down. To dress your outfit down, try pairing your skirt with a long sleeve Softwear with Stretch Top and a pair of tights.

• A tip to go by when creating a new look is not to go overboard. Choose one part of your outfit that you really want to stand out, but tone the rest down. Say you want to wear a tighter fitting, pencil sequin skirt that cuts right before your knees like those that have been so in style lately, that’s great! However, the skirt has a lot going on, so wear a simple shirt in a solid color and a pair of tights that are the same color as your shirt. That way, the attention is on your great skirt and other people’s eyes won’t feel overwhelmed!

Hopefully these tips will help you create some fun new looks while staying warm and looking great at the same time! How are you updating your wardrobe for the New Year?

Tips by Cuddl Duds Guest Blogger Reyna Meinhardt,
Out of the Notebook & Into the Blog

He’s here already! We’re not buying the “experts” that say the first day of winter is December 21, 2010.

A quick look at a weather map will look pretty enough with its blue and purple hues spread across our great nation.  Still, look at the corresponding temperatures and you’re sure to shiver, even if you’re sporting a Softwear with Stretch top and legging under your pantaloons, inside, under an electric blanket.

Usual suspects such as Buffalo, Milwaukee and Chicago already have received the joy of their first big snowfall, but now even those Southern hotspots where we usually migrate for at least a winter weekend are learning to successfully pair their car’s defroster with a windshield scraper. This week, it dropped below freezing from the Northeast all the way down to North Florida!

But with this chilly weather comes unexpected fun. Hey, it’s not every day you can build a snowman with your kids, and let’s not forget about that fire pit in the backyard that toasts marshmallows to perfection.

We know it’s not easy to look cool when you can’t feel your teeth or tell if your nose is running, but it is possible. Try coupling tweed winter shorts with a Softwear with Stretch legging when you’re grabbing hot chocolate with friends.  Add a knee-length coat, insulated boots (at least for the commute and car cleaning!) with a faux fur trim, a cute winter hat with ear flaps, some mittens and a smile.  You’ll stay warm, look hot and feel like a kid again – actually enjoying the cold a bit!

Last night, millions of Glee fans watched as the cast closed with one of our favorite tunes –  Florence + Machine’s  “The Dog Days are Over!” Of course, with December approaching, most of us don’t need a reminder that summer is long gone.

As the weather gets colder, there’s two traps that we can easily to fall into.  The first is wardrobe-change denial, which can lead to colds and the flu.  (Yes, flip-flops are comfy and convenient, and we all look fabulous in our sundresses but not when the temperature barely hits 40!)

Secondly, this “winter wonderland” can quickly turn into the deep, dark doldrums as the days grow shorter, leading to laziness and lethargy.

There’s a simple solution that will kill two snowmen with one snowball. Stick to your daily regime!  Do the same things you did in the summer and the fall to begin each day and keep you in the groove.

We prepare to fight Jack Frost – no matter the wind chill factor – by keeping the fun and effective routine of playing one of our favorite songs as we slip on our Climatesmart V-Neck for our daily walk or put on our comfy leggings and read the latest Twitter updates with morning coffee.  We promise that  if you take our advice, you’ll be tweeting about how great you feel every day….no matter what the season!

No need to readjust your screen.  You are still at CuddlDuds.com

Luckily, we’re versatile.  Welcome to the new home of CuddlDuds.com! Our new site features a shop section, so that you can peruse our collections; an events section to keep you in the know on what’s happening with us; a where to buy page in case you want to check out Cuddl Duds live and in-person at one of our retail partners; and a community page, on how to connect with us on Twitter and on Facebook.

We’re most excited about where you are now – the “Live in Layers Blog.”  Forgetting you’re wearing us – like with our streamlined Active Layer tops – is part of the pleasure for sure, but don’t forget us completely! Come back every couple of days and check out our thoughts on fashion trends, style tips, health and fitness, looking smart, feeling comfortable and advice on building a fabulous routine.

It’s our drive, amidst the foliage, towards a life well lived every day.