10 Fun Winter Activities for Your Kids

The winter months can come to be a dreary and dull time if you’re the type that prefers spending lots of time out in the sunshine with your kids. However, with a little creativity, you can make memories and have a fabulous time during the cold winter months just like in the summer months.

Bundle up and enjoy some outdoor activities with the children in winter, especially if there’s snow. Then head back  inside for some hot cocoa or tea and continued indoor activities.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Get cooking! Grab a child-friendly cookbook and make something delicious together. Baking and decorating can prove to be hours of fun during the day, and you’ll have treats to look forward to after dinner. Some great cookbooks for kids include the Pink Princess Cookbook and the Cookbook for Boys.

2. Craft days keep boredom away. Bring out a box of art supplies (paints, crayons, play dough, colored pencils) and make some art or winter themed crafts. You can also make your own play dough and paint!

3. Try Winter sports. There are so many fun and active things you can do in the winter from ice skating to winter hiking.

4. Read. Reading should actually be a year round activity and winter is no exception. You might try reading stories to your children that take place in the winter. Look for books about the winter solstice, snowmen, snowflakes, snowball fights, etc. Check out this list of kids winter books for ideas. Enjoy a good story together as a family and allow everyone a turn to read or a turn to act out the story.

5. Snow painting is great fun for kids. Simply mix food coloring with water to make some “paint.” You can then let the little ones go wild as they create special works of art in the snow. You can also freeze colored water in molds so that kids can make colored ice castles. Your beach molds from summer work great for this.

6. Build an indoor fort. Every kid loves to build a fort! Get creative with your blankets and pillows and build a cozy home within a home for your children. They will enjoy having a special hideout and will forget it may be too cold to play outside. Give them a flashlight and a sleeping bag and let them sleep in there too.

7. Enjoy some karaoke. You can buy or rent a karaoke machine for some indoor fun for the entire family. Feel free to get wild and crazy and join in on the fun with them. While it’s not for everyone, many will enjoy the chance to sing along to their favorite songs. Even kids who shy about performing will often love karaoke in the safety of their home.

8. Feed the birds. Kids often wonder how animals and birds survive in the winter when the vegetation is gone so they might love to make breakfast cookies for the local wildlife. Make up some dough from biscuit baking mix, cut out shapes with cookie cutters, and use a straw to punch a hole at the top of each cookie. Brush with butter and then sprinkle with birdseed (sesame and sunflower work well). Bake for 15 to 20 minutes and let them cool. After they have cooled your kids can thread ribbon or string through the holes and hang the birdie breakfast cookies from the branches of trees.

9. Take a trip to the mall. Remember that you can always go to the mall as a nice treat for the day. While you may not want spend money, it never hurts to look around and get some exercise. Mall walking is a GREAT winter exercise activity. You can even pack a quick snack for them to munch on in the food court.

10. Go to a museum. Museums are great places to visit in the winter. Inquire at the museum about special activities for smaller patrons. Many museums have ongoing programs just for the kids like family nights. Buy a season pass and you can go all winter long for a very reasonable one time price.

Remember that the possibilities for fun and adventure are endless, even in the winter! There’s no reason to stay cooped up and perhaps depressed that it isn’t spring yet. You can still keep the kids active and have a great time.

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