If you’re new here, hi, I’m Sarah Kaetterhenry, a mom, realtor, and content creator, and I LOVE living in Central Wisconsin – Stevens Point to be exact – but if there is any month that tries me, it’s January.

Every year, around this time, I question my commitment to sharing local events on a weekly basis, because it’s about this time of year when there are none. For the last month, the only social events that have been on my calendar have been sweating with strangers at the community sauna and the Fairy Tale Ball. But as I’m sure you’ve been reminded every time you open Instagram, that’s okay, because winter is a time for rest and hibernation, and humans must use this time to retreat and regenerate the same way it is intended in nature. Hopefully it’s not just my algorithm that has determined that I’m the only soul that needs this messaging? Could very well be, though. It’s a good message, nevertheless. 

So now that we are out of what could quite possibly be the worst month of the year, it is time to look ahead to brighter, longer days. I have learned that one of the keys to getting through long winters is having things to look forward to on a regular basis. Holidays, weekly rituals, daily glimmers – make a celebration out of whatever the heck you want – and you will start to find that life will slowly start to feel a little bit sweeter, and you will find yourself wondering where those “sad, treacherous winter days” went. 

Without further ado, here are a few ideas for how I would spend Valentine’s Day (or Feburary in general) with the people I love in and around the Stevens Point area. 

With Kids:

The Children’s Imaginarium (Wausau): The Children’s Imaginarium is a museum for kids that has 10,000 square feet of interactive exhibits rooted in STEM. Their mission is to inspire discovery and imagination through hands-on exploration and educational experiences through play. The exhibits include: 

• Wind Powered Play
• The STEM Tree
• Construct It
• Drip Drop Discovery
• Farm to Fork Market
• STEM Lab 
  

Food and Farm Exploration Center (Plover): The Food and Farm Exploration Center is a new facility in Central Wisconsin that features interactive learning exhibits dedicated to agriculture. There are numerous exhibits for kids of all ages, a Maker’s Space, a Kitchen Lab, a Farm Tech Shed, and more. The Colorful Plate Cafe is a farm to table restaurant serving breakfast and lunch, and you MUSTN’T leave without snapping a selfie in front of the world’s largest potato masher. 

Building for Kids Children’s Museum (Appleton): Another children’s museum with two floors and 31,000 square feet of exhibit space with the mission to inspire discovery and build resilience through play-based learning, just an hour drive from Stevens Point. 

Clay Corner Studio (Wausau): Spend the afternoon getting creative with your littles by painting beautiful pottery pieces that will be ready for pickup within 6 days. My kids LOVE this activity, but I like to save it for special occasions because it can get pricey. It really is fun though, and we still have all the pieces we’ve ever painted and they make wonderful keepsakes. 

Iola Fitness & Aquatic Center: I have heard great things about this zero-depth entry leisure pool with fountains, water slide, and temperatures between 85 and 87 degrees. Iola has a few hidden gems like Sliced Pizza Co and Crystal Cafe’s famous pie to make it worth your trip. 

With My Spouse:

A Wausau Day: I love a day date, and these are some of the stops I would make if we were spending the day in Wausau: Milk Merchant, Object Homewares, Evolutions in Design, The Local, Forward Beverage Co, Norwegian Wood, Rib Mountain, lunch at Red Eye Brewing and/or dinner at Van Acre.

Winter Snowshoe Hike at Rib Mountain State Park: February 15 from 5-7pm, flashlights and headlamps suggested; hot chocolate, hot cider, marshmallows provided. Dinner before or after at Lemongrass, Ciao, Van Acre, Red Eye Brewing, or drinks at the new Juliett.

Father Fats + Daisy Lounge (Stevens Point): two of my favorite ways to spend an evening in Stevens Point. Father Fats is a tapas style restaurant offering small plates and craft cocktails, and Daisy Lounge is a vibey cocktail lounge tucked above a cozy bookstore right on Main Street. It would be the perfect setting for a murder mystery party IMO. 

Sundara Spa (Wisconsin Dells): If you’re a YOLO + “feed me and tell me I’m pretty” type of chick, book a spa day at Sundara Spa, order the fish tacos for every meal, and thank me later. 

With My Gal Pals:

Private Sauna (Wausau or Stevens Point): Nordic Night Sauna in Stevens Point or Northern Lights Sauna in Wausau both have the opportunity to book out the entire sauna for your own private group of up to 10 guests. The sauna session is run by a sauna host so all you have to do is kick back and relax and enjoy your company. When I tell you the best way to connect and catch up with girlfriends is at the sauna, I truly mean it. A traditional wood fired sauna is kept around 180 degrees, and is practiced in 3 rounds. One round is considered to be a max of 15 minutes in the heat, followed by 5-10 minutes of cooling your body temperature down. A cool-down round is sometimes spent around a fire, rolling in snow, or in non-winter months, cooling down with dump buckets or showers. It is a truly unique experience, and even more-so when experienced with gal pals. 

Full Moon Sauna Session: February 12 at Nordic Night Sauna in Stevens Point. This is a different way to sauna, but another fabulous way to connect with yourself and spend time with a girlfriend in a more reflective setting. Full Moon sessions are intended to be more inward, but many women attend them with friends. 

Favorite Things Party: Remember at Christmas when I threw a favorite things party? Well, I truly believe that a Favorite Things Party is a great party to host any time of year. It would make a great birthday party or Valentines get together. A favorite things party is a gift exchange where  you get a group of friends together and each guest brings their favorite item x3. You can set up the gift exchange in different ways, but the idea is that each guest leaves with three gifts that are new-to-them products, that are tried and true and loved by the other guests of the party. It is a great way to discover new local, beauty, health, skin, and hair care products. I can’t recommend it enough. 

With Myself:

Salt Spa (Stevens Point): The Qi Garden Salt Spa inside The Wellness Spa in Stevens Point is a unique therapy center in which salt covers the walls, floors, and saturates the air. It is a drug-free, non-invasive way to treat respiratory difficulties, skin issues, high stress, and lack of sleep. One 45 session is $50 and is safe for every age group. This can be done with friends, as a date night, or even with your kiddos. It is a great way to battle sickness, but my favorite way to experience it is by myself. I almost always fall asleep, and it is one of the most relaxing modes of self care I have discovered. 

Nordic Night Sauna or Northern Lights Sauna: I don’t like to play favorites, but Nordic Night Sauna has become such a profound part of my life and routine that is frequently mentioned in just about everything I do. I have integrated it into my date nights, my social calendar, and my self care. It is one of my favorite ways to spend time alone, though the community aspect never makes it feel like I’m entirely alone. If I need to go inward, I can, and if I need more support, I am usually able to find it. Nordic Night Sauna almost always delivers exactly what I’m needing.  

Yoga Therapy at 5 Koshas (Wausau): A beautiful gift to give yourself this time of year is the gift of movement and mindfulness through yoga therapy. Yoga therapy offers many effective strategies, like movement, breathing, reflection, and meditation to support the whole person (body, nervous system, mind, emotions).  

With Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere:

Starks & Luce Coffee Parlour (Plainfield): A great local coffee shop for catching up over latte flights, baked goods, and an extensive food menu. Great for a solo trip and a good book, packing a few card games for the kids, or just catching up with good friends.  

Kreger’s Bakery (Wausau): The sweetest looking bakery in Wausau offering breads, cakes, and cupcakes that I can only imagine would have the most perfect offerings for Valentines Day. I may just make a special trip, because these girls have the best Instagram and make me want to be their friend, which is the whole point of Instagram, I think. So they’re doing it right. 

Main Grain Bakery (Stevens Point): A bakery and eatery in Stevens Point with a rotating menu of baked goods, breads, sandwiches, and oatmeal cream pies! If you’re looking for Valentine’s Day sweet treats to gorge yourself on, look no further. 

Zest Coffee Shop & Bakery: Zest is a funky little coffee shop right on campus that will, without a doubt, have adorable, kitschy Valentine’s Day sugar cookies if you’re in a pinch and looking for something unique and didn’t think to order them in advance. One year, they even had MINI sugar cookies attached to valentine cards, and that was my daycare valentine gift that I picked up the morning of. I felt like a superhero. I don’t know if they do those any more, but if they don’t, they should.

Evey Lane Cookies: Amazingly talented sugar cookie designer that can design just about anything, but you will need to order in advance. Which also means you will need to not have ADHD and have the capacity to think about things before they happen. And I don’t know what that’s like so this wouldn’t be the blog for you. If this blog is even posted before Valentine’s Day that would be a win. 

Milk Merchant (Wausau): A specialty cheese shop in Wausau offering Wisconsin cheeses and global cheeses, great wines, and home goods. Craft yourself a charcuterie board to bring home and enjoy at home with a bottle of wine, and that sounds to me like the perfect Valentine’s Day. 

The Chocolate Cafe (Wausau): If you’re looking for chocolates to give for Valentine’s Day, it may be a bit of a trip, but it’s a no-brainer to make the journey to Wausau for the imported chocolates offered at the Chocolate Cafe. They have a variety of high quality chocolates imported from the Netherlands, as well as drinking chocolates, pastries, gelato, and more. 

Sugar & Spice Cheesecakes & Coffee (Wausau): As a lover of cheesecake, coffee, and beautiful + unique spaces, this business speaks straight to my heart. This would be another perfect surprise to bring home. Because here’s the thing about Valentine’s Day: I just want to be surprised. I want to feel like someone put the effort into finding something new that they thought I would like, that they put the effort into supporting a business they thought I would want to support. Because when you find something new that slaps, or you support a new business that becomes a part of your family, that is the best feeling in the world. 

Best Place to get Flowers:

Evolutions in Design (Wausau): 626 N Third Street, Wausau 

Detailed Designs (Stevens Point): 3296 Church Street, Stevens Point 

Lily & Vine Floral & Gifts (Stevens Point): Previously Bev’s floral, they are now located downtown on Main Street. 1036 Main Street, Stevens Point