8 Fun Winter Family Activities That Are Earth Friendly

1. Make it a Snow Day: One of the greatest things about winter is waking up to a few inches of fresh powder on the ground. My son will look out the window with wide eyes and ask, “Can we play outside?” The snow brings all kinds of fun activities with it. You can pack a warm lunch and cocoa and spend the day sleigh riding or snow shoeing. You can even spend the entire day in your own backyard building a snow fort, snowman or having a snowball fight.

3. Plan a Make your own Pizza Movie Night: At least twice a month, my family has ‘Make your own Pizza Night.’ My husband makes a fabulous pizza dough, sets up a topping buffet with sauce, cheeses and veggies and then each member of our family makes their own pizza. We always make sure to pick up a great family movie from the library and enjoy a nice yummy evening at home snuggled up together in our family room. 

4. Cook Together as a Family: My husband loves to cook and my son is starting to show a big interest in cooking as well. Cooking as a family is a fun activity because everyone learns something new. Kids love cooking because they like to use their hands and taste test recipes. Cooking is also great for helping children to learn math and direction following. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy a fresh, warm muffin straight from the oven?

5. Start a Parent/Child Hobby: Find a hobby that you and your child can learn and enjoy together. Not only will you both learn something new, but the amount of time that you will spend together learning it is priceless. It also gives you something that your and your child will have in common. My son and I have been taking guitar lessons together for several months. It is a hobby that we have both always wanted to learn and it has made us even closer as Mother and Son.

6. Support your Local Arts: Winter is the perfect time to support your local arts. The entire family will enjoy an evening at the theatre, seeing a play, musical, ballet, or other type of performing art. My family has enjoyed season tickets to the theatre for three winters now and it is a lovely thing to look forward to all winter long. You can also visit your local art, history, nature and science museums. Museums are always a hit with any age group.

7. Start a Dinner Party Group: My family has joined with other families that we are very close with to start a dinner party group. Each month, one family chooses a dinner theme such as; Mediterranean, Italian or Mexican and plans a menu based on that theme. Then, each family will bring a designated dish to share. It is a fun evening for the adults and children alike. Everyone gets to enjoy a fabulous meal that everyone helped to create and it is a great way to stay connected to our closest friends throughout the cold winter.

8. Start Family Story Time: This is a tradition that my family keeps all year long, but for some reason, it is so much more fun in the winter. Possibly because it is already dark when Family Story Time rolls around. We always choose a book that will captivate the entire family’s imagination. Some of our favorites have been; “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” and “The Invention of Hugo Cabret.”
What are your favorite Earth Friendly Family Activities to enjoy in the wintertime?