14 Fun Winter Outdoor Activities

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in the Midwest. We’ve already had a few inches of snow and a couple of ice storms. And it’s not even officially winter yet. When I was a child I loved living in Iowa. My friends and I would play in the snow for hours coming in to go to the bathroom and sip some hot chocolate and then back outdoors. But now that I’m an adult I prefer curling up in a blanket on the couch over building a snow fort.

Even though I really want to stay indoors all winter long, I do understand the importance of the outdoors. We all need a little fresh air (now that the windows are sealed with plastic) and Vitamin D (from the sun). Plus we all saw what happened when we were crammed together in the van on a two day trip to Disney World. Clearly we need to give ourselves some elbow room.

But last year we went outside to play in the snow and didn’t know what to do with ourselves. I usually spent 20 minutes crafting the perfect snow chair and then I plopped my butt in it until the kids were whining about being cold and wanting to go back inside (which was about 10 minutes later). So I’ve decided this year we need a plan. Going outside to play in the snow requires some preparation…and I’m not just talking about the 15 minutes it takes to get on all of our winter clothes.

To help with the planning I’ve made a list of fun things to do outside in the snow so you too can have a plan.

1. Create a snow chair. It’s the perfect snow activity for us lazy bums. Just dig a whole for your rear end and then build up the back and sides to create your chair. If you’re really talented you can even make a recliner. Now that’s the life.
2. Make a snowman (or watch your kids make one from our snow chair).
3. If you’re looking for a family vacation, go skiing.
4. And for a real adventure, go snowboarding.
5. Satisfy your need for speed with snowmobiling.
6. Lace up your skates and go ice skating.
7. Head to the lake for some ice fishing.
8. Build a luxurious snow fort (around your snow chair).
9. Play a game of snow golf. Smooth out the greens (whites?!?) with your hands, shovel, or butt (or anything else you can find to smooth out the snow) and use a tin can for the cup.
10. Find a steep hill and go sledding.
11. Have a good ol’ snow fight. Use food coloring to make it a colorful snowball fight. Everybody gets their own color.
12. Catch snowflakes with your tongue.
13. Make snow angels.
14. Shovel. Ok, so that’s not exactly fun, but it has to be done.

Don’t forget to bundle up with your winter coat, stocking cap, gloves or mittens, snow pants, and snow boots before you battle go out in the cold.

Photos courtesy of stock.xchng.