Unleash your creativity with a winter hobby

Safeguard your mental health during the winter months and build your sense of personal achievement and happiness by staying busy with an engaging new hobby

MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP

Creative writing, digital journaling and blogging are excellent ways to take your mind off how SAD or winter blues makes you feel. Microsoft’s versatile laptop offers 14.5 hours of writing time per charge – perfect for immersing yourself in a novel-writing session. From $1,499, microsoft.com/ en-au

SONY RX10 IV

Sunshine and fresh air are vital in treating SAD and winter blues, but if you need inspiration to venture outside, try nature photography. Sony’s high-speed compact camera has a 25x zoom for capturing close-up shots of wildlife and wintery landscapes, so you don’t need to tramp across cold fields to get up close! £1,799, sony.com.au

APPLE iPAD PRO

Drawing, painting and illustrating are all therapeutic activities, so why not try them in digital form with the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil? Load it with apps such as Artrage, Pigment and Procreate to enjoy drawing your own images or even sketching a comic book. From $979, apple.com/au

PICADE RASPBERRY PI ARCADE CABINET

A fun DIY project can help you overcome winter blues by giving you something to focus on other than how crummy you’re feeling. This kit has all the parts you need to build an arcade machine – just bring a Raspberry Pi. $264, shop.pimoroni.com