These fun things to do with kids in the winter will flip those winter blues on their heads! Boring cold days can be a thing of the past with these 15 Must-Do Winter Activities for Families!
In the past few years, we have been trying to find the good things about winter, focus on our family, and take advantage of the extra time together. Here are some of the most popular winter activities for families that will have you and your family loving this season – even the coldest and most boring winter days!
15 Must-Do Winter Activities for Families!
Go Old Fashioned and Write a Letter!
Give your kids something to look forward to and a letter-writing chain with their grandparents or friends! There is nothing quite like getting a fun card or letter in the mail. It is meaningful and will strengthen relationships. Also, it helps get your kids away from their screens.
Bundle Up and Take a Winter Hike
Even when it’s cold out, one of the best winter activities for families is bundling up, getting some sunshine, and getting outside to move those little bodies. I love going on a family-friendly winter hike and it’s something I try to work into our routine. It helps me and my kids beat the winter blues and boredom. I love using AllTrials and using their “kid-friendly” filter. It has helped me find some of the best hikes for my family.
Want to take your winter hiking to a national park? Check out our Moab in the Winter post!
Play a Silly, Messy, Game
Be the one to instigate a messy game with your kids. They will think it, and you, are the best ever! One of the funniest, cheapest, and easiest indoor family winter activities is a fun silly game. Some other really fun, easy, and messy winter indoor games are a Santa Egg Drop, or bobbing for seasonal doughnuts. Yum!
Make a Fluffy White Treat
Speaking of yum, make a fun fluffy and snowy white treat. Some great options are snow cones, cotton candy, or a fun ice cream bar with winter sprinkles. We have this small cotton candy machine and absolutely love it. The kids think it is a blast!
Have a Board Game Competition
Nothing like a little healthy dose of competition to help beat the boredom on those cold winter nights. Make a family scoreboard and stretch the competition out to last the whole winter. Want to make things a little interesting? Have a fun little prize at the end for the winner. These are our family’s favorites right now – Mastermind, Connect Four, Exploding Kittens, and Uno.
Have a Family Movie Night
Pick a series (hello Harry Potter fans!) or a classic and bundle up to watch a movie as a family. We rarely let our kids eat out of the kitchen so on our family movie nights we let our kids eat popcorn all over. For some reason, they think that is the best part!
Play in the Snow!
This is a no-brainer, and go out together in the snow! One of our favorite things is to have a treasure hunt in the snow. We like to get something sweet, wrap it in a plastic baggie, and hide one for our kids out in the snow-covered yard. It is honestly one of the easiest winter activities for families and takes almost zero prep work. Kids love it and it gets them outside!
Go to a Museum
When it’s a boring cold day and the kids start saying “I’m bored” that is a good cue to get out and learn and explore at a local museum! We love children’s museums and the kids like being able to wander and experience the exhibits. A quick Google search of “kid museums near me” will list some of the best options around you. In Utah, we love the museums at Thanksgiving Point!
See a Local Play
Support the local arts and go see a local play! We have Broadway Across America right here in SLC and they always have awesome plays going. If you live somewhere that a professional play isn’t accessible check out the local city theaters or High Schools. They are cheap and can be oh so fun!
*A quick note here – try to pick a play that isn’t too long. I was drug to a high school production of Fiddler on the Roof that lasted three hours when I was a kid and I still can’t stomach any of the music haha.
Participate in Winter Sports or Go Sledding!
Go adventure together and do something new. Try to pick up skiing or snowboarding! Yes, winter sports can be expensive. However, The Traveling Mom has an amazing post on where kids can ski for free state-by-state in 2021 and it is worth a look. If skiing/snowboarding isn’t up your alley, go to the dollar store and grab a cheap little snow saucer and head out to your neighborhood’s biggest hill!
Plan a Trip Together!
Look ahead to warmer weather and sunnier days and start planning your family’s spring break or summer vacation! My mom was so good at getting us involved in the planning and letting us pick some things that we wanted to do at each destination. In fact, for some trips, we would even save up as a family and the kids would contribute to the cost. These were some of the most memorable trips for me because it wasn’t just the trip itself but the whole experience of anticipation and planning!
See our post on 5 Easy Ways to Decide Where to Go Next!
Plant Seedlings & Starters
I REALLY struggle with Utah winters. Things can get dark, grey, and just sad. One of the best things for me is to start planting little seedlings in the house during the cold months and then transplant them outside when it gets warmer. My little stepdaughter loves this! Just this year she had a garden full of pumpkins, watermelons, basil, mint, and cucumbers. It has easily become one of our favorite things to watch our little plants grow.
Read a Book as a Family
My husband really loves reading to our children and it is one of my favorite things! Most nights he snuggles up with all three of the older ones and will read a chapter or two out of a classic book. They are currently reading the Chronicles of Narnia. This is such an awesome winter activity for families because it is simple, strengthens bonds, and helps expose kids to classic literature.
Start A Neighborhood Service Chain
One of the best ways to beat boredom is to challenge the kids to give some service and do it anonymously. We have loved making cookies together and secretly delivering them or playing secret Santa as a family. We also love challenging the kids to serve and do kind things unexpectedly in our own home. It gives them something to focus on other than their own entertainment and they almost always end up getting creative and having the best time with it.
Start a Family Resolution
There isn’t a better time to start a family goal or resolution than the beginning of the year (but hey, we are all for setting goals all year round too!). Sit down together and come up with one or two things your family wants to accomplish. It could be serving a neighbor once a week, reading every day, saving money together, or a million other things. Whatever it is, write it down where everyone can see it and work on it together. Keep it easy, doable, and simple.
What are your favorite winter activities for families? Do you have any fun traditions or unique things you do together?
Xo
Kam
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