Winter Wins
/I wanted to share this working list of fun things I’ve done, and would like to do, with my family during winter. I love winter. Hats, mittens, that fresh leaf burning scent, crisp air, snow days, and an excuse to get warm and cozy by a fire. Currently there are a couple feet of fresh snow, and I had such a great time playing outside with my kids. I can’t recall the last time I actually made it outside, even though I make them bundle up and go. It felt so good to stomp around in my boots as I watched them roll around in the snow with the dog (who is half Husky and returned to his wintry roots). We seem to like our lists here on Lady Blaga. So fun to exchange ideas on this platform. Please write in if you have your own suggestions, I’d love to add your creativity to our family repertoire. Hey, it’s freezing and there’s a pandemic out there, we must band together and keep stuff warm and alive.
Make homemade hot pretzels. We like the Williams Sonoma recipe. My kids favor cheddar jalapeño and cinnamon sugar. You can set out bowls of toppings and play with shapes. Misshapen ones taste just as good.
Have each family member choose a coat they’ve outgrown to donate to a local shelter.
Find an article online about a topic your crew is interested in. Read and discuss over s’mores and hot cocoa.
Assign each family member another member and paint portraits of each other, or do this collage style with bowls of household odds and ends. The stranger the materials the better.
Have a goofy songwriting contest. The winner chooses something the rest of the fam has to collectively bake for them.
Bake cookies to bring to the local fire station with handwritten thank you notes.
Take a winter photo walk and actually turn it into a physical album (I know).
Sort through the black hole of gloves that’s accumulated over the years. Take the lonely ones without mates and turn them into homemade puppets. Yes, the puppet show comes next.
If you’re in NYC, Bryant Park offers amazing things to see and do. Bumper cars on ice! Skating at Rockefeller Center is always a classic activity.
Choreography challenge! Have each fam member choose a song and teach the others a silly dance routine. Designate someone to judge. This is also really fun to perform virtually for grandparents and have them be the judges (omg, they’d love it).
Take any type of class, alone/together or in person/online. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that education is literally at our fingertips, there’s no time to waste in enjoying life, and that opening ourselves up to new experiences is vital and rewarding. My daughter and I loved our in person macaron class, and we all enjoyed an online food art class back in Spring. We made Tigger from Winnie the Pooh out of apples, sweet potato, and eggplant. We’ve also taken samurai sword, painting, and challah baking classes online. There’s so much out there.
Do a secret family gift swap over homemade pizza night. Everyone can make their own from an assortment of toppings. Buy dough from your local pizza shop.
Have a fashion show from items in each other’s closets. Put on music and bust up your makeshift runway.
Support your local theatre community and actually leave the house to see a show. Broadway is slowly coming back!
Shovel snow for an elderly neighbor.
Chocolate fondue and movie night!
Go to a comedy club. Laughter warms the soul.
Parents, let your kids do your makeup and style your hair. I have yet to try this myself but it’s gotta be really fun (for them).
Sit down as a family and compose a legit trip wish list, day or longer. This is a great way to have kids know that their expansive desires are being heard and will be carried out.
Clean out books no longer of use and donate them to your local library or shelter.
Make food out of play dough. You can make a whole meal together, with each person creating a different dish. Take in the amazingly weird play dough smell.
Put together a family playlist for car trips and chilling at home. There’s pride in hearing our selections be enjoyed by others.
