The heating is on at work, Santa has taken his throne in Albert's Square, and the Christmas Markets are so close you can almost smell the bratwurst, which all means winter is definitely here. This can only mean one thing - the ice rinks are coming. A good old fashioned festive ice skate is one of the best ways to enjoy the season, but if still need convincing, here’s why everybody should get their skates on this winter.
It'll burn off some of the festive calories
OK, it may be not the most persuasive argument but it's true that skating is a top form of exercise. You can burn up to 500 calories an hour on the ice. This obviously implies that you will spend more time on your feet than on your backside - there are no guarantees of this - but still, it sounds like a pretty cool way to lose those lbs (see what we did there).
You can dress in some snazzy outfits
Mittens? Check. Bobble hat? Check. Oversized cardi that you really should throw away but can’t? Check. Ice skating is cold so it is therefore perfectly acceptable to dress head to toe in wool and not feel like the pigeon lady in 'Home Alone'. Unless you want to go for the Lycra and sequinned option in which case, we salute you!
You might fall in love
You’ve seen it in the movies or cheesy dating website adverts: couple go ice skating, they are forced to hold hands, she stumbles, he catches her, sparks fly, a choir starts singing, yada yada yada. Odds of this happening are slim to none, but what a story to tell the grandkids.
You'll ROFL (literally)
One thing to bear in mind is that ice skating is a pretty hard thing to do. This is not something you will be able to master in 30 minutes - after all, Torvil and Dean trained for hours every day. That said, ice skating also means you can fall over in public and people are not allowed to judge you. When on the ice, you can literally roll on the floor laughing, which is a welcome change for those of us with balance issues the rest of the year.
You can eat and drink like a king afterwards
A general rule when it comes to Christmas ice skating is that wherever there is ice, you are likely to find mulled wine, a hog roast or both. Nothing soothes those bruises like a mug full of delicious hot alcohol. But take care and don't overindulge before you get on the ice - drunken skating is definitely not advised.
See Time Out's guide to ice skating in Manchester.