Get into the spirit of the season with some of these fun outdoor activities. After you’ve expended your energy outdoors, there is plenty to do indoors too.
Outdoor winter frolic
Take a snowshoe hike. Purchase or borrow snowshoes for the family and take a walk through some woods or a field. Take your compass and tie brightly colored strips of fabric to tree branches to mark your path. Dress warm and keep track of time to prevent overtiring and frostbite. Look for animal tracks and burrows; identify trees by the bark and shape of their trunks; learn how to tell time or direction by the position of the sun; and partake as a family in other nature and survival activities.
Visit an ice sculpture show or festival
Build an igloo or snow fort. Choose a day when the snow is good for packing. Use a square or rectangular container for building snow forts. Be sure to stagger the blocks for support.
Take a winter carriage ride. Look for horse-drawn carriages in tourist or trendy towns and quaint villages. Bundle up, take warm blankets and hot beverages, and enjoy a cozy ride through a snowy, festive town.
Enjoy a winter fest. Activities to seek include light displays, fireworks, winter sport competitions, recreational activities, exhibits and ice sculpture displays, sleigh rides, snowshoe tours and more.
Have a snow-sculpting contest, and invite your neighbors to participate. Roll a snowball as large as you can. Then fill buckets with snow and carefully dump them on top. Gently pack the snow and smooth it with your mittens. Sculpt and shape your creation using small shovels and gardening tools. When your sculpture is complete, gently pack and smooth it with your hands again.
Make an ice tree. Instead of throwing out your Christmas tree, make use of it as a winter display. Stand it in your yard, turn the water hose on low, and spray upward and toward the trunk of the tree. As ice forms, continue spraying until you achieve your desired effect.
Head to the hills with your toboggan or sled, keeping safety rules in mind for wintry fun (including helmets on heads!). For exciting and safe hills, visit calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/Tobogganing-and-sledding.aspx.
Indoor activities for blustery days
Head to a museum for hands-on science, art or natural history.
Grab your roller blades or skates and head to a nearby indoor rink. These old-fashioned arenas, updated for today’s kids, are great for parents and kids alike. If you’ve never roller-skated, take a class at the rink.
Create an indoor snow family. Purchase white and black clay from an arts and crafts store, then roll snow people out of the white clay and shape hats with the black clay. Make arms with tiny twigs, scarves from narrow fabric strips, eyes and buttons out of whole pepper, and noses from broken orange colored toothpicks.
View the winter sky. Visit a planetarium to see constellations and some of the brightest stars of the year.
Hold a winter movie fest. Invite friends over and ask everyone to bring their pillows or beanbag chairs. Don’t forget the popcorn and hot chocolate. If you’ve had enough of winter, make it a Hawaiian luau. Choose summery or vacation movie themes, serve cold drinks with little umbrellas and fruit on top - don’t forget the beach towels.
Make up funny skits, then put on a show. Choose household products and create silly advertisements. Make up goofy songs or poems about each product and dress up for the part. Be sure to record the skits for hilarious memories.
Put together a winter emergency kit. A car emergency kit should include spare hats, mittens, scarves, boots, a flashlight and other items in case you are ever stranded in a blizzard. Your home kit should include items for a snow-in or power loss. Everyone works together to create two lists and gathers items for both your kits.
String a snowflake streamer. Make snowflakes by folding white paper several times and then trimming different shapes around the edges. Open the snowflakes, string them on a piece of yarn and hang it across a room.
Visit your local library, and then snuggle up for a relaxing read. Learn how and where to find books on your favorite interests such as sports, science or a hobby and then choose several books to bring home. Don’t forget to check out the music CDs, audio books, computer games and magazines for plenty of indoor entertainment.
Get away at a weekend resort. Check your travel agency for one of the many winter resorts for outdoor enthusiasts that offer activities and accommodations for the whole family. Try downhill or cross-country skiing, snowshoe excursions and more!
Make a winter-safety trivia game. Buy a pack of small index cards, then have parents write a question on each card related to winter safety with the answers written below. To play the game, take turns reading the questions while other players shout out their answers. The first person with the correct answer scores a point.
Kimberly is an author and freelance writer. Her articles have appeared in more than 200 newspapers, parenting and women’s magazines, and other publications throughout the US.
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