It’s likely you are in postholiday hibernation mode. With temperatures in the teens, credit card bills in the mail and a daily route that takes you from work to the couch, entertaining may be the last
thing on your mind.

People get through New Year’s and socializing stops for a while – or at least slows down.

Still, with Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 3 – and Valentine’s Day less than three weeks away – all that may change soon.

Local event planner Lisa Redino calls it “banishing the winter blahs and blues.”

You don’t have to wait until St. Patrick’s Day to get off the sofa and socialize again, she said.

Mind you, here is the woman who recently joined other women from her belly-dancing class for what they called “Mediterranean Night,” complete with food related to the theme.

Everyone brought a dish, she said. Now they’re talking about a Spanish Night.

Getting together with people during the winter is a fun way to keep connected. Doing so with other families keeps the kids involved, too.

“In winter, we all get together and go ice skating and have a big ice cream sundae-making party after,” said Jodi Casseri, a Getzville resident and mother of two daughters, ages 9 and 11.

Friday game nights also are a regular activity, she added, and last week’s included another family — also with two daughters.

“We all got together, made our pasta, hung out at the kitchen table and played games,” she said.

Such get-togethers can be fun and economical at the same time, Redino said.

She rattled off several ideas for getting families together:

•A progressive dinner where each family is responsible for a portion of the meal, said Redino, who owns Party Harty, in the Georgetown Square Plaza Courtyard at Sheridan Drive and Evans, Williamsville.

But the recipes need to be a family favorite.

“Every family has a recipe that is the best this or the best that, so they can talk about where the recipe came from, bring out family pictures and talk about why that recipe is so special to them,” she said.

• Any gathering that combines an activity with food, just like the skating/sundae outing the Casseri family attends. It can be roller skating, sledding, stargazing, bird-watching, a nature walk, a trip to a museum — anything a couple families will enjoy doing together.

“So if you choose tobogganing, you can make a day of it by having everyone back to the house for chili,” Redino said.

Or if it’s stargazing, you can bake star-shaped cookies. With hot cocoa. Yum.

• Indoor picnic. Go all out with checkered table cloths, paper plates, picnic-style foods.

“Depending on how picnic-y you want to go and the ages of the children, you can even make indoor tents,” Redino said.

• Cultural night. “Have the families investigate other cultures and, again, tie it into food — like an India night,” she said.

Potlucks are another good idea this time of year, when people are keeping an eye on their wallets. By having everyone pitch in, no one is stuck with the big expense of having a party.

Or take turns hosting a monthly movie night with friends and neighbors.

Suggests designer Kate Spade in her book, “Occasions”: “Watch ‘Love Story’ and make it an all-American evening complete with college food such as macaroni and cheese, pork chops and Rolling Rock beer. Don’t forget potato chips and a box of Kleenex.”

Lisa Redino also is a fan of get-togethers with girlfriends.

Usually, her group picks a color and turns it into the theme for the evening. If it’s peach, the menu for the evening may include peach drinks and desserts with peaches in them.

She also recently attended a White Elephant Party, where friends arrived with kitschy household items to give away. Among the “prizes”: an apron with “Don’t kiss me when I’m cooking” printed on it.

Nor does your party have to be on a Friday or Saturday night, when people are tired after the work week and don’t feel like going out in the cold.

If a Saturday night dinner sounds like too much work for everyone, take this advice for a winter party from Ina Garten, in her book “Barefoot Contessa Parties!” (Potter, $35): Invite friends for lunch on Sunday.

“People are rested from a day off on Saturday, and they have more energy during the day than at night. Everyone comes for lunch around noon, and they’re off to do something else by 3 o’clock,” writes Garten, who recommends serving chicken chili with a green salad and grated English Cheddar at such gatherings.

Dessert is simple: chocolate chunk cookies and vanilla ice cream.

“I’ve spent a wonderful afternoon with my friends, and the whole thing wasn’t nearly as daunting as making dinner on Saturday night,” she adds.