Beat the Blues with the Best January Activities to Kick Start 2014

  No more basking in the bliss of Christmas cheer or languishing in the slump of post-holiday denial. It’s time to make a start on that New Year’s resolution, be it beginning a new hobby, spending more time with your kids, learning a new skill, improving your health or continuing with the drinking and decadence. We’ve compiled an eclectic list of the best January activities in Hong Kong to help you beat the blues and hit 2014 head on! R&R Although the festive celebrations are all wrapped up for another year, who says you can’t still pamper yourself with some fancy cocktails and other luxurious treats? Chinese New Year is right around the corner after all! For some midweek madness, head over to Boujis on Wednesday or Thursday for two-for-one drink deals all night (including bespoke cocktails). Champagne connoisseurs Flutes will also be keeping the party going all January long with Billecart Mondays (HK$95 per flute), Free-Flow Tuesdays (7pm-9pm, HK$200 pp) and Ladies Night Thursdays (50% off Champagne cocktails for all drinking dames). So bring out your besties and celebrate like New Year’s Eve never ended! Want the Champagne with even more glitz and glamour? Treat yourself every Tuesday in January at Glow with Ceri Silk’s Beauty, Bubbles & Bling event. Sip some bubbly while picking up beauty tips and fashion tricks – in other words, pure bliss! Especially don’t miss your chance to shine with the Pretty Dangerous Bling! Bling! Bling! Tutorial on January 21st. Feel less guilty by combining a few drinks with a free health check at the Integrated Medicine Institute’s (IMI) new Discovery Clinic opening party on January 11th. Meet the practitioners while clearing the trays of bubbly and canapés in true opening party fashion. For more details, visit the Facebook event here.

Looking for a more intimate drinking affair to help you and your friends beat the post-holiday blues? Head over to etc wine shops for a private wine tasting session, tailor-made to your taste buds by their International sommeliers. Come away a seasoned wine expert, and no doubt a tad tipsy!

Spiritual If you’re more interested in improving your spiritual health this January, you don’t need to take a trip to Bali to achieve inner peace and holistic wellness. Join the Kadampa Meditation Centre for a guided Lamrim Buddhist retreat right here in the city from January 6th to 9th, and take your first step on the path to enlightenment. Meditations and teachings will be led in Cantonese with English translation. There are also various Vajrayogini courses from January 11th to 20th, and Tuesday evening Love Without Pain meditation classes with from 7:30pm – 9:15pm.

If Reiki is your spiritual healing path of choice, learn the power of the palm with Shine Body & Soul Healing Centre’s Usui Reiki Attunement Course. Shakti Healing Circle is also running Reiki Level One course on January 25th from 11:30am – 6:30pm with head practitioner Pervin Clasper.

For/With the Kids Got a future Beckham in your midst? Enroll them in a soccer programme for the upcoming term and foster their fancy footwork and shooting skills. At Brasil Top Skills’, a player of the day will be awarded at each training session, sure to boost your little kicker’s morale. Kinder Kicks is also running a wide range of toddler classes between January and Easter, perfect for the little tots just learning to trot. Check out their detailed course finder and pick the sessions that suit your kiddie’s schedule best. And last but by no means least, Asia Pacific Soccer Schools will be hosting an extensive list of lessons for girls and boys aged 4 to 13. Check them out and apply here. Are you a bit of a gym bunny? Start your child on the treadmill to healthy habits with the Youth Training Circuit course from Elite Personal Training. Youngsters aged 10-13 can explore and improve their overall athleticism in a non-competitive environment at the Wong Chuck Hang studio. Perhaps gym sessions will become a family activity in 2014. Is your child more of a show-stopper than a sports star? The new term at Wan Chai’s My Musical Studio starts on January 6th, so put them centre stage and get your kids grooving and moving with hip-hop classes, zumba classes and more. If your little one is more of a singer, sign them up for some musical theatre or Kindermusik classes and see them harness their inner vocal power in a good way. Who knows, you could have a Broadway star on your hands! If the stork recently dropped a little bundle of joy in your lap, bring yourselves even closer this year with some special baby bonding courtesy of Baby and Me Massage. They have a bunch of upcoming sessions this January in their three Hong Kong locations: the Peak (January 18th and 20th), Kennedy Town (January 23rd and 30th), and Ma On Shan (January 28th). Got a youngster with a flair for the arts? The New Year is the perfect time to nurture those talents by signing them up for some afterschool art lessons at Hong Kong Art Tutoring. The North Point studio offers classes for kids of all ages, including teens looking for some extra help with their school coursework. Best of all for Mum and Dad? You too can take lessons in drawing, painting and more while sipping on a cheeky glass of wine. What better way to get the creative juices flowing?

For some serious mother-daughter bonding time, head over to Wyndham Street’s Flawless and indulge in some dual facials. Both pampered princesses will get 30% off the first treatment, so start 2014 fresh faced and fabulous.

Culture and Learning What better time than the New Year to expand your cultural horizons? Open your mind to the idea that Italy is more than just pasta, pizza and gelato with help from the Dante Alighieri Society. This January, the Wan Chai community is offering a wide range of activities, from all-new Italian language courses, to a Grazia Deledda celebration for budding creative writers (January 17th), and a Tosca Opera Workshop (January 22nd). Sign up for 2014 Membership and get great discounts all year round. Looking for a New Year change of career? Learn a skill that can take you all over the world with the help of English for Asia. Find out what level you’re at via their free assessment and sign yourself up for the sessions that suit your schedule best. Lessons are held from Mondays to Fridays from 9:00am - 11:30am, and Saturday from 9:30am - 12:00pm and 2:00pm - 4:00pm

Update your skills and set yourself apart from your business counterparts with digital and technology courses from corporate training gurus General Assembly. Sign up for their Front-End Web Development course, beginning January 14th, or their Data Science course, beginning January 27th, and put yourself ahead of the pack this year.

 

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