Outdoor Winter Activities
If you’re anything like me, basically once the holidays are done & over with, I’m pretty much done with the snow. It’s not something that I hate, and can’t deal with, but let’s be honest here - January and February are the worst months during the winter season. The next coming holidays are relatively far away, so there’s not much to look forward to, and the temperatures are most definitely at their lowest. Basically, all I want to do in these months is sit in bed in my flannel PJs, wrapped in a blanket sipping a cup of tea. Alas, I can’t stay cooped up indoors all winter long, and unfortunately I do have to go to work… boo. But I do somewhat struggle to figure out some fun stuff to do with people on the weekends where we are going to be so busy having fun, that the cold is at the very least tolerable. If you’re like me, and want to get outside in the winter, but don’t really know what to do, here are some suggestions:
Go Skating Or Skiing
This is probably my favourite thing to do in the winter, so I had to start off with this one. At least once during the season, I like to take my skates out of storage, get them sharpened, and go to an outdoor skating rink. If you ask me, there’s something extra magical about skating outside, rather than indoors. As you may or may not know, I live in Canada, so we’re very lucky to have tons of awesome outdoor skating rinks to take advantage of, and lots are even free to use! If you’re into it, skiing or snowboarding is also a great thing to do to spend time with some family and/or friends. I personally don’t ski or snowboard, so I can’t say that it’s something that I personally do, but those I know who do it, love making time to go skiing/snowboarding every winter. These are great activities that are not only fun, something you can do with friends and/or family, but they’re also exercise which can be somewhat difficult to get a good amount of during the colder months when all you want to do is stay in bed.
Go For A Hike
There’s really nothing quite like going for a hike in the winter, when the trees are covered in freshly fallen snow, and everything is all white & glittery. You definitely want to make sure you’re dressed warmly for this, but a hike is another great activity that you can do by yourself or with a group of friends. It’s also another form of getting up and doing some exercise in the winter to help keep you in shape, and will definitely give your lungs a good winter exercise as well given that walking through the snow can present some challenges. To make it easier on yourself if a heavy duty hike doesn’t strike your interest, you could even just take a walk around your neighborhood, or wherever strikes your interest where you live.
Check Out Some Winter Festivals
If you live somewhere that hosts any winter festivals, you should definitely pop by them and check them out! This is something that I’m trying to make an effort to do more of in my own city, not just in the winter, but any time of the year. There’s usually tons of things to see and do, as well as food & drinks to try out. One of my favourite things to do is check out winter beer festivals. They’re usually indoors, and warm enough for you to take off your coat (and leave it with coat check!). It also gives you a good opportunity to find some new breweries in your town or city that you haven’t tried before, and is much less wasteful than buying some at the liquor store, to come home, open it and find out you’re not a huge fan.
Talk A Walk To A Local Coffee Shop
An easy, relatively cheap option is just to get out and take a stroll in your town or city, and pop by a local coffee shop. I actually quite enjoy doing this with my boyfriend, and I love taking photos of the streets as we walk too. It makes for some really lovely photos to keep in your back pocket for Instagram, haha. Once we’re in the coffee shop, we’ll grab a coffee, hot chocolate or a tea to warm up, and just chat. It’s a very low key, simple thing to do, but can keep you busy for hours, and gives you time to catch up with people that you’re meeting up with.
Winter Camping
Alright, I am not going to sit here and tell you “I love to camp, camping is my favourite!” because that is absolute, bold-faced lie when it comes to me. I don’t camp, it’s not my thing at all. Too many bugs, and wild animals… no thank you (as much as I do love animals, I’m not trying to come face-to-face with a hungry wolf or bear, haha). However, if camping is your thing, then a great way to spend some time with your family is doing some winter camping! I don’t know if I’d necessarily recommend doing this if you aren’t already a seasoned camper or outdoors enthusiast who knows how to properly keep warm in the middle of the winter, but if it’s something that’s up your alley, getting off the grid & disconnected from technology for a little while to reconnect with your loved ones seems like a great thing to do this winter season.
And there you have it! I hope this blog post gave you some ideas on fun things you can do with friends & family during the cold winter months that may make you forget about how frigid it is… okay, maybe not forget, but at least tolerate it, haha. See you next Tuesday for a new post! Xo.
