15 Winter Activities for Families

Last year, we began quarantine just before spring arrived. We were grateful to have outdoor escapes, more for our mental health than for exercise. I never expected we’d still need to be social distancing nearly a year later, but here we are, looking for winter activities.

Virginia is a state with four true seasons, so experiencing winter weather is part of the rhythm of our lives. Typically we adapt by moving indoors: going to the movies, visiting trampoline parks, and hosting sleepovers. I’ve even been known to go to a fast food restaurant just for its play place if it’s below 40°.

None of that is possible right now, but COVID is not going to stop us from getting out there. Here are some safe, distanced, and fun winter activities that we love and we hope will keep you occupied when the temps start to drop!

Indoor Winter Activities

If the weather outside is frightful, these activities will keep you busy while you stay toasty warm!

#1 / Bring the Snow Inside

Whenever we hear that we are going to get a big snow, we place a couple of large plastic storage bins outside to catch the snowfall. When they’re full, we bring the snow in, dump it in the bottom of our walk-in shower, and pull out the summer sand toys. It’s essentially a giant indoor snowy sandbox.

Our kids have hours of play and don’t have to worry about frostbite. We don’t have to worry about wet clothes or crying kids!

#2 / Make Cookies & Cocoa

The way our oven heats up a house is a nuisance in the summer, but it is so comforting in winter. Something about the scent of cookies baking adds to that magic, whether they are place-and-bake or scratch-made.

Sometimes we take it up a notch and use frosting and sprinkles, too. Half the fun is decorating our cookies before we eat them!

Sometimes we do the same with hot cocoa, too. Marshmallows, peppermints, chocolate chips, and sprinkles make a simple and elegant hot chocolate bar. My kids have been known to add vanilla, powdered sugar, and half-eaten candy bars to their cocoa. The results were, as you may expect, mixed, but the experimentation was a lot of fun.

#3 / Have a Movie Marathon

I’m a little screened-out, too, but something about creating your own marathon rules changes everything!

We recently did a “Sweet 16” type bracket with recent Disney films to determine our ultimate favorite. We’ve also watched our way through a couple series, each taking about a week to complete. Next we might work our way through the alphabet with movie titles, watch every Disney movie in order of release date, or watch a movie that came out the year each member of our family was born!

#4 / Explore a New Cuisine

We like to dedicate one day per week to explore new food. Sometimes we order from the local businesses around us and other times we make it ourselves. We have found that exploring a new cuisine is a great way to “travel” around the world without leaving home!

#5 / Have a Game Night

With kids of all ages, it gets a little dicey with finding a game that we can all play well. We rely on luck-based games and give everyone a choice of what game to play next.

When we’re looking to work together instead of play against each other, we pick a puzzle!

#6 / Support a Local Business

Our local shops are offering take-home cookie-decorating kits, paint nights, wine tastings, and paint-your-own pottery kits! Check around to see if businesses in your area are doing the same. Local businesses could really use the support this winter.

Outdoor Winter Activities

Brr! I’ve heard the saying that there’s no bad weather (only inappropriate clothing for the weather you have), so I make a point to suit up and head out, even on the coldest days. The fresh air and sunshine really do make a difference!

#1 / Go Sledding

It may be the quintessential childhood outdoor activity, but I’ll let you in on a secret… I love it, too! My husband and I go out for the first few minutes of snowy days and make sledding routes for our kids.

Of course, to do so, we have to sled down on the fresh snow. We show the kids where to walk up the hill so that they don’t disturb the paths, make sure they have everything they need to stay warm and safe, and head inside. We don’t see the kids again for 2 hours!

#2 / Make Snowmen & Snow Angels

Whether it’s a six-foot snowman with a carrot nose or a family of mini snow-people, decorating a snowman with veggies, twigs, and your own scarf is a rite of passage. We usually help our youngest build one, but sometimes the kids all work together. Other times they enter a friendly competition to see who can make the cutest, most realistic, or weirdest snowman of all!

Before we head in, we drop down and make a snow angel or two! We have learned to hold off on this activity until later in the day to avoid spending the rest of our time outside with bits of ice in our waistbands.

#3 / Build a Snow Fort or Igloo

If you have a budding engineer or just a kid who loves blanket forts, an igloo or snow fort could keep them busy for ours! There are snow brick-making tools that can help along the way, but you can also use any rectangular food storage containers that you likely already have at home.

#4 / Have a Snowball Fight

One thing we have learned about snow forts is that building one ensures an epic snowball fight in our near future.

We use a couple snowball makers to help even the odds between our five-year-old and his two older sisters, but it’s a handy tool for anyone looking to stockpile ammo for the next attack.

#5 / Paint in the Snow

When there’s not quite enough snow for sledding, we paint! We add a squirt of food dye to a cup of water and grab a paint brush. Dip, brush onto the snow, repeat!

Sometimes we also paint a face on our snowmen or paint murals on our snow forts. The masterpieces fade when the snow melts, but we’ve been delighted on more than one occasion to see how they’ve refrozen the next day. It’s live art!

#6 / Go Hiking

Many of the places we’ve been hiking are even more beautiful in colder weather, especially with snow. I recommend overlooks and waterfalls for the most stunning winter landscapes.

While there, keep an eye out for signs of wildlife. It’s easier to spot animals (and their tracks) when the ground is covered in snow.

#7 / Have a Bonfire

We regularly host bonfires for our pod so that everyone can stay safely connected while also staying warm.

Sometimes we roast hot dogs and marshmallows, but lately we’ve been experimenting with recipes in our campfire Dutch oven. Camp cooking is so much easier with a full kitchen 200 feet away!

#8 / Go Skiing

Our family recently took our first ski trip and we’re hooked! This is sure to be a repeat activity as there are several ski resorts within a 90-minute drive of our home.

The only downside to skiing is the price, which is considerable for a family of five. For this reason, we can only go occasionally. At the end of the season, we’ll look for secondhand skis and boots that our kids will hopefully fit into next winter.

#9 / Go Ice Skating

Ice skating rinks in our area are open! The price point is much lower than a day skiing, but there are COVID-related time restrictions. Tickets are valid for very limited timeframes and reservations are required.

Also, skaters must wear masks and stay distanced. This is easier said than done when it comes to our family of beginners!

What is your favorite family winter activity?