Stay Active with the Family This Winter -- S Post

The winter season can make you feel unmotivated to keep active as a family. In addition to shorter amounts of daylight, the cooler temperatures can disrupt your desire to spend any time outdoors. However, if you’ve been cooped up indoors, your family may be feeling the claustrophobic effects of the season with bouts of crankiness and pent up energy. The following are simple ways you can stay active with the family during the winter.

Embrace the Season

It’s difficult to embrace the winter season, especially if you live in a cool climate. It can be even more of a challenge to motivate yourself to exercise and stay active. As a family, it can be easier to welcome the darkness, snow and cooler weather when you shift your attitude. While summer can be filled with swimming, camping, cookouts and longer days, try finding things that you enjoy most about the season and write them down. When you’ve become frustrated with shoveling snow for the umpteenth time, take out your list and do something fun together.

Get Out and Play

Structured activities are nice, but did you ever just free your mind and body to let go? If you live in a warmer climate, it’s easy to find things to do outdoors. A game of tag, racing to the candy store or playing in the park can burn pent up energy. For those buried under cold temperatures, snow and ice, a fun filled snowball fight or making snow angels can be a playful way to spend some time outdoors with the family.

Community Involvement

The winter can be especially hard on those less fortunate. Community involvement can offer up some positive ways to spend some time together as a family. Chris Havlicek has some interesting holiday suggestions on how you can give back to the community. If animals are near and dear to your heart, you can teach your children the importance of helping out by playing with abandoned kitties at a shelter that are looking to get adopted. You may also want to bake holiday treats and bring them to a senior facility. Children who are ill may not be able to leave the hospital for Christmas. You can have your kids pick out presents for those who are sick and deliver them to the hospital. The joy that you see on the faces are sure to warm your hearts.

Take a Stroll

The holiday season is the ideal time to gather your friends and family together and stroll the neighborhood. Here you can get in a healthy walk, burn energy and look at the brilliant holiday lights displays provided by your community. You can also host a holiday caroling party. Send a note to your surrounding neighbors ahead of time, so they’ll be home to enjoy the music. Offer your home as a place where friends can get together afterward and have hot chocolate and cookies for refreshments.

Try Something New

The winter season is the ideal time of the year to try something new as a family. Whether your interests are of the outdoor variety or you want to stimulate your brain, get your children involved in the selection process. Assign each family member a day where they can choose what they would like to do. From museums and ice skating to snow sledding and hiking, you’re sure to find a host of possibilities.

Learn to Cook

No matter the age of your children, teaching them to cook is an important skill set that they’ll be able to use throughout their lives. Because you may be making heartier foods during the winter, they’ll be able to help you in the kitchen no matter if it’s setting the table, stirring or adding ingredients. Some ideal winter foods can include making homemade bread, stews, soups and baking cookies.