Some like saunas in the mornings, others before bed, and most enjoy a nice sauna after a workout or running.  Not all these times are sauna party times.  However, I think a great time for a sauna party is a Friday afternoon.

• A Friday afternoon sauna party is a great time to wind down, getting your work week over and some closure to the ‘to do list’ of the week.  A great precursor to a sauna party is finishing all your work stuff!
• A Friday afternoon sauna party is a great primer for your evening plans: whether it’s heading out to dinner or over to friends or even to another sauna party!  It’s great to get clean and refreshed for your Friday night’s activities, or just wear a bathrobe over to your next sauna party.
• A Friday afternoon sauna party may just be a party on it’s own.  I’ve had Friday afternoon sauna parties that bleed nicely into the evening.  Order a pizza, or fire up the grill and invite more friends.  This sauna party AS a party is a traditional thing in Scandinavia.  Look for more information on sauna parties, and traditional Finnish style on a later post.

I love Friday nights.  Knocking off work and hitting the sauna by 4 pm on Friday is a ritual for me.  It’s a party on it’s own.

Why not jump in the snow after a 15-20 minute sauna round?

• The snow melts on your hot body and makes for a terrific cleansing wash.
• It gets you breathing and exhilarating like the coolest Hawaiian waterfall plunge.
• It makes you feel like snow and winter ain’t all that bad of a thing!

Caution: Just as you wouldn’t jump into a lake unless you knew how deep it was, I encourage you to tread lightly into the snow:

• jumping in fresh snow is preferred.  Older snow crystallizes and can cut soft sauna skin like a knife: very much ouch and an end to a great sauna party.
• I suggest sitting down in the snow, butt first, then laying back, using your hands to toss some fresh snow on your front.  Akin to making a snow angel.  It’s easier to get up from this position as well.
• The sit down in the snow method also isn’t such an aggressive immersion.  You can control how much snow and where.

A little snow on your head feels great, especially as it melts down your body.

You stand outside looking at the moon, and as steam billows off you think with a smile: “damn that felt good”, and the cool thing is that you can go do it all again.  As your body equalizes, you grab a beer and without haste, work your way back into the sauna room.