Baby, It’s Cold Outside – Activity List

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

 

This time of year often brings families and friends together in celebration where we finally take the time to catch up. We seek out a few hours to curl up by the fire with a hot chocolate and a good book. We might even sit around the table and play board games with our kids. The cold chill in the air seems to drive us inside, where we hunker down and hibernate for the winter.  But we need a good balance, right? Especially with all the extra yummy food and treats that come along with the holidays.

 

Below is a list of fun outdoor activities that you can do with your family. Fresh air and movement is so important for us! Remember, it’s often not as cold as you think when you are dressed appropriately!

 

• Build a Snow Fort: If you get some good packing snow, build a good outdoor fortress in the yard. This outdoor haven can serve as a new place to have an after school snack.  Why not have hot cider, cookies and story time outside?

 

• Shovel Out Kindness: Make it goal to find a new neighbour on your street that you can help out by shovelling their driveway/walk-way. Each family member takes a turn picking the lucky recipient go to my site.

 

• Outdoor Skating: Find that beautiful outdoor rink, bundle up and go skating as a family (Don’t forget your hot chocolate thermos). Many public rinks will rent skates, or find a good used sporting good store.

 

• Scavenger Hunt: It’s a bit trickier when snow is covering the ground so get creative and make a list of things to find that don’t get buried; a licence plate that has the numbers 1, 2, 3 on it…. a street sign that has all the letters you need to spell your own name, etc.)

 

• Walk in the woods: Many cities have parkland that is open to the public.   Take your binoculars to bird watch, try to identify animal prints in the snow, collect the various seed pods and dried berries to create a winter bouquet, etc.

 

• Lawn Bowling: Never tried it, but it just popped into my mind. Some people make an ice rink in their backyard, can you build a building alley? Similar concept and I think it could work!

 

The point is to get creative, keep it fun, enjoy the outdoors and do it together as a family.  If your kids have fond memories of being in the outdoors having family fun time, they are likely to want to go outside more often.  When they grow up, they are more likely to do the same things with their own families. We need to model the life we hope our children will carry forward.

 

Happy Holidays!

Alyson