For many Stardew Valley players, the first winter can be extremely boring. Without a greenhouse very limited crops can grow, namely the wild forage items. Unless you have done extremely well and amassed a significant riches, winter is best left to sleeping. However, there are many things a player can do to be productive in the winter, regardless of having a greenhouse.
Mining
Heading into the mines, battling monsters and collecting ores can be done regardless of season. Quests can revolve around reaching certain levels of the mines, collecting certain amounts of ore or defeating a set number of enemies. With time freed up from having little to no crops to water completing these quests becomes significantly easier. 
Fishing
Not only is fishing great to get ingredients for cooking, it is also a great way to pass the winter. Certain fish only come out in the cold waters as well as during different times of day. Not only that, but each season has a legendary fish. In winter, the legendary Glacierfish can be found to the South of Marnie’s Farm, where the river meets the ocean. This fish is great for using in your harvest stand as well as needed to complete Steam Achievements.
Building Friendship
Since you have more time during the winter, running around town completing quests and giving gifts becomes easier. When you complete quests for a towns person, their friendship goes up. Over the course of time you will receive gifts from people you are friendly with. This can range from a fish to recipes to resources. Friendship also leads to marriage, which brings you one step closer to getting another Stardrop Fruit. 
Working on Community Center
The community center and its completion is one of the main goals of the game. Working on gathering the items needed in each of the bundles can be quite time consuming. From farming, to fishing, to tracking down the Traveling Merchant, completing the community center can be a bore. Winter is a great time, however, to find the items you are missing and make a game plan on how you will get the rest.
While these are not all of the things to do in the winter in Stardew Valley, these are some of the larger and more time consuming items. I personally liked to upgrade my farm tools in the winter as I didn’t need them so they were not missed for the couple days Clint had them. Mining, however, was my main go to. Being able to get to the mine early and work my way down made completing mining quests much easier.
What are your go to activities for winter? Let us know in the comments!
