By Lisa Neff

Contributing writer

Nine-year-olds seem to know how to beat the winter blues in Chicago.

The cold comes on, the wind gets brutal, the snow piles high and kids see time for play, not hibernation.

First aid for fighting the blues that come on with the frigid Fahrenheit temps? A toy. The Swiss Bikeboard is the kind of toy a kid might dream up, but it’s made for adult play. In the cold season, the Bikeboard can be a snowboard for sledding into Chicago ravines or racing down Wisconsin slopes. In warmer weather, the Bikeboard can be a three-wheeled scooter for off-road or street riding. In the warmest weather, the Bikeboard can be a boogie-board for riding the waves. The Bikeboard is an adaptable product, with interchangeable parts—and now even available with an electric motor. www.swissbikeboard.com

Other freeze-fighters…

Refresh and refuel: You can go into hibernation in January with the “Combat Endurance Training” DVD to keep you entertained and active and emerge in April with the physique of a Navy SEAL—maybe. The film provides a fitness routine for improving core strength and the upper body, flexibility and cardiovascular fitness. The trainer, Fred Nicklaus, works with college and high school athletes who say the drills get them in shape for team play and with adults who say they feel like they found the secret to staying young. www.combatendurancetraining.com

Botox is now the most popular non-invasive cosmetic procedure in the country, with injections up about 33 percent this past year from the year before. There are a lot fewer older adults with furrowed, folded brows. Now expect to see sales of Juvederm spike. Juvederm dermal fillers fill in and smooth out those wrinkles and folds that look like parenthesis around the mouth and nose. The treatment lasts for as long as a year. www.juvedermusa.com

Head cold? Men’s Rogaine Foam—not tested by this writer—is said to take seconds to apply, once in the morning and once at night, and Rogaine is still is the only FDA-approved ingredient proven to help regrow hair. www.rogaine.com

Melt away and moisturize: When you first look at the Cellulite Smoother from Home Cellulite Therapy, you’ll be reminded of the horror stories about men and vacuum cleaners and private parts. The Smoother looks very much like a vacuum cleaner attachment and, in fact, that’s what it is. There are two rollers on the underside of the attachment, and when hooked to a vacuum cleaner, the Smoother rolls away the cellulite. Does it work? Surprisingly yes, but be sure to wear tights or Spandex to keep the skin from getting sucked into the rollers. www.homecellulitetherapy.com

FarmHouse Fresh sounds like a product line you might find in the grocer’s dairy section. Not quite. You’ll find it among the skincare products. FarmHouse makes a fun-filled strawberries and cream moisturizer in an old-fashioned jam jar that’s both nostalgic and nourishing. www.farmhousefreshgoods.com

Comfort: Looking for that 25th hour in these seemingly short winter days? You’ll get it while sleeping on a Tempur-Pedic mattress—or at least feel like you’ve found an extra hour. I tested one and, missing that snuggled down feeling, want it back. www.tempurpedic.com

Home cooking brings comfort, especially slow-cooking with a Crock-Pot. The newest items from the brand include the Dip-Master for keeping dips and sauces warm, the portable slow cooker for house parties outside your home and the countdown slow cooker for programming the pot to operate throughout the workday. www.crock-pot.com

The Pure-Go device is a wearable hand-sanitizer. It looks like a watch—in lollipop colors—but it really is a silicone device that can be filled with any alcohol-based hand sanitizer solution. Not quite secret agent stuff, but very useful in fighting off infections. www.purgo-creations.com

Summer feeling: Moscot Original’s Nebb sunglasses come in so many hues wearers might want a different pair for different days of the week—olive, flesh, tortoise, peacock, golden olive, cerulean and orchid. www.moscot.com

Foster Grant’s sunglasses are 100-percent UVA/UVB protective. They also have that celebrity thing going. Will it be easier to get through February in Elvis style or wearing Daytona drivers’ shades? www.fostergrant.com

And, finally, have winter give you lemons. From physicians to counselors to gardeners, experts will recommend that indoor plants can be a cheerful way to fight seasonal affective disorder. Citrus trees, which tend to blossom and produce fruit in the winter months, can be perfect indoor plants. One recommendation is the dwarf Meyer lemon tree, small enough to nurture indoors, affordable, and capable of producing lush leaves, fragrant white flowers and bright sweet-tasting lemons. www.meyerlemontree.com