Well, well, well WINTER is here and she’s a beast. There are days when I’m convinced I have some type of frostbite after standing in the winter cold at 3 AM…It’s New England after all…

There are some items I’ve found to help me stay as warm as possible. In general, I’ve also found that there are items that work well in the field, no matter what Mother Nature throws in my direction.

Some items are the basics: Advil and hand warmers. For the winter months, I highly recommend layering up with long johns underneath your clothing. I wore them one day and it was 45 degrees out and I was SWEATING. They work wonders when temps are below freezing. Mine are from Amazon and 30% off right now. I’d also highly suggest reporters in the winter season get mittens where the top folds over. WHY? A lot of the tech-friendly gloves aren’t strong enough to scroll on my phone during live shots. These allow me to expose my fingers only when I need to use or read off of my phone. You also can’t go wrong with a winter hat, if you’re worried about professionalism, the beanie below has a detachable puff.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. The Lululemon fanny is a game-changer for running around. You can have your lav, chapstick, mints, and hand warmers with you wherever you go, especially if you’re quickly jumping out of the car to breaking news.

Other more basic must-haves (but items you may not know you need) are a planner, Aquaphor (for them chapped winter lippies), makeup touch-up bag, phone tripod (I often use this for live shots below me so I don’t have to hold my phone) and a more healthy energy drink. I love Alani Nu packets for a pick-me-up in the morning! You can see some of my favorite “healthier” options, here. 

– Winter must-haves for reporters in the field –