6 Ways to Banish Your Family's Winter Blues
1. Get out of the house. While it may not seem ideal when you have to bundle yourself in a dozen layers, it can truly be the best medicine for a bout of boredom. Some suggestions for time spent outdoors:
- Snow forts
- Sledding
- Snow painting
- Build a snowman
- Nature walks
- Winter photography
- Ice skating
- Skiing
- Snowboarding
- Snowmobiling or four-wheeling
- Ice fishing
2. Participate in holiday activities. There are not too many things more disheartening than watching the holidays pass the same as any other time of the year. Get out with extended family or friends and enjoy some of these activities:
- Visit holiday displays
- Light tours
- Caroling
- Parties
- Community events
- Food and toy drives
- Shopping
- Finding a Christmas tree
- Sleigh rides
- Holiday themed shows, plays, ballets, and more
- Decorate with friends or extended family
3. Do something creative with your time indoors. Ending every day with three hours of TV and web time is less than enthralling. Keeping every mind busy and full of pleasurable time as a family during the winter can become the glue that holds you together during busier times of the year. Try a few of these ideas:
- Board games
- Minute-to-win-it games
- Baking and cooking
- Teach someone a new skill
- Read together
- Make and watch family videos
- Learn something new
- Visit the library
- Go to a museum
- For little ones – indoor fast food play areas, other indoor play places (Chuck E. Cheese, trampoline gyms, other indoor activity places)
- Do a few crafts
- Try indoor gardening
4. Plan and prepare for the months and year ahead. No time of the year will be more productive if you follow through with a few of these suggestions:
- Organize closets, drawers, cupboards, etc.
- Redecorate a room
- Work on family preparedness – emergency and disaster kits, winter car kits, food storage, fire escape plans, etc.
- Re-evaluate family goals and rules
- Talk about family traditions you’d like to have
- Plan a family vacation
5. Perform acts of service. Putting smiles on the faces of others is bound to put smiles on the whole family. Even the simplest acts can turn a lack-luster day into a great one.
- Shovel a neighbor’s driveway
- Write a letter to someone
- Send a package to a soldier
- Visit a nursing home
- Invite someone to dinner
- Take goodies to someone
- Make and distribute care packages for the homeless
6. A few more ideas that will go a long way:
- Eat well
- Exercise
- Spend time in the sun
- Have dinner together
- Talk
- Snuggle
- Spend time with friends
Kayla Lilly is a photographer, writer, wife, and mama making a house a home in eastern Idaho. She met her mister while working at an amusement park and married him a year later after deciding there was no way to live without him. The amusement has continued as they’ve added three kids and a passel of pets to their lives while finishing college and starting a photography business. Drawing inspiration from the whirlwinds of marriage, parenthood, and the media, Kayla blogs at Utterly Inexperienced, and spends the rest of her time chasing chickens, organizing junk drawers, diapering toddlers, and photographing everyone willing to step in front of her lens.
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