Fun Things to Do During Winter

Having fun in summer is easy — just get out for a walk or ride a bike and you are all set. But what if it’s cold and snowy? For those who consider cuddling in bed and waiting for spring to come, we’ve created the list of fun winter activities to do to ring the changes into your usual cold season routine. Take our ideas, add a couple of your own and get the best winter you could even imagine.

Hiking

Going to the countryside is not the most obvious way to spend time when it’s cold but it can become one of the most exciting winter adventures if you do everything right. The first thing to do is to choose the location. Don’t get too far — better find a nice place near the city or even make a hiking trip to the city park. Don’t forget to take some food and warming drinks.

Go for the turkey sandwiches and tea for children and a flask of hot wine for adults. To make it more entertaining than exhausting, think about the outdoor activities. You can run a «make a fire» competition if you are spending time with kids, play the word games, feed the birds or whatever you feel like doing.

Try escape room games

If you’d rather stay inside the room (literally) then go outside, escape room can be a nice option. This is where you can turn your video games experience into the real life adventure. In the real escape game, you are being closed in the room where you need to solve the hidden riddles to escape before the time runs out. But don’t get scared — for the whole time, you will be watched by the game masters who will help if you are stuck.

For those in Calgary, we suggest going to the Escape Hour where you can travel in time to find the lost jewel of Zanzibar, reverse the curse of the evil genie or make a trip to the outer space — all these within one hour. This is one of the best things to do in Calgary this winter and it can bring a lot of fun to both kids and grown-ups.

Comfort food marathon

When you are tired of fun winter events and want to spend the whole weekend at home, bright it up with the cooking marathon. Winter is the best time for warm comfort food cooked by the loving hands so why don’t you make it a new family tradition? The choice of recipes is huge — you can find one in the old cookbook of your grandma, take a fancy one you’ve learned on the cooking class or try one of our favorite comfort foods — Mac and Cheese with a bit of butternut squash for extra deliciousness. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients for 4 serves:

• 300g macaroni or any other pasta you like;
• 1 peeled butternut squash;
• 50g butter + 2 tsp olive oil;
• 50g flour;
• 1 tsp powdered mustard;
• ½l milk;
• 200g cheddar + 50g Parmesan(or any veg. alternative you prefer).

Steps:

• Cut the butternut squash into 2-3 cm pieces, toss it with olive oil and any herbs and seasonings you like. Put it on the baking sheet and bake 15-20 minutes in the oven preheated to 220C. While squash is in the oven, cook the pasta according to the pack instructions.
• Mix mustard, flour and melted butter in a pan. Slowly add milk and stir until it gets thicker.
• Take a third of the squash and mix it with the butter sauce, cheddar and half of the Parmesan. Stir, add macaroni and the rest of the squash. Put the whole stuff in the dish, sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and bake for 15 minutes.

Family cooking is definitely one of our favorite fun things this winter season as it makes you feel all the love and warmth of family evenings. Add the tasty food and you will get the perfect mix of winter fun activities.

Museum run

Museums are always among the most popular winter attractions for families. While in summer we’d better spend time outdoors, in winter, going to the warm museums doesn’t seem to be a bad idea. Make a list of the museums and galleries of your city that you would love to visit, read about the most interesting showpieces to be prepared and get for your winter museum run. Even if you are living in a small city with no huge and famous museums, there is definitely at least one small venue where you’ve never been before and this places can hide amazing things — you just need to look closer to discover them.

Winter sports

Well, the last point is the most obvious and at the same time the most entertaining one in the whole list. There are no better places to go on winter holiday than the ice rink, the ski-track or just a hill to go sledding. There is no a better feeling than a light exhaustion after you’ve spent a day doing winter sports and can finally relax and drink a cup of hot chocolate.

Take a group of friends or family and go skiing for the whole weekend day or even go alone to wind down after a long week of work. Don’t forget to wear the warm and comfy clothes and follow the safety instructions so you’d get only the great impressions and no injuries.

Whatever activity you choose, remember that there is no bad weather, there are bad clothes. Winter is the wonderful time of the year and there is no point in spending it under the blanket — get ready for the winter adventures, take your warm beanie and a cup of hot tea and don’t forget that the spring will be here very soon.