Brrr! Winter is approaching quickly, at least where I live. Although we had a pile of snow earlier this month, and are not very eager for more, we know it will soon arrive. When it does, it’ll force most
people inside and probably under the cover of blankets.

Yet there is plenty to do during the wintertime and a lot of options for family-friendly activities. Here are just a few ideas.

Sing Carols

‘Tis the season for this type of thing, after all. You can find a group that goes around caroling, or just get your family together by itself, and go at it! Have stage fright? Then just keep it inside; there doesn’t have to be a big audience in order to sing. There are plenty of winter and holiday-themed songs to choose from, of course, but why limit the options to that? Find some other
kind of music that your family likes and mix it in. That should help keep things interesting.

Exercise

Whenever winter comes, it always seems like people shut out activities like exercise, especially if they live in a region where it gets really cold. It’s understandable. I myself find it difficult to stay out in really cold temperatures for more than ten minutes at a time. After all, who wants to make their face freeze? I sure don’t.

However, there is plenty you and the family can do to stay healthy, and they don’t have to be the usual suspects. You can still bundle up and take a walk around the block together. If you and the family are feeling a little braver, and there is no ice, you can run instead. Then, after you go back in, dance! That’s right, dance. Not only will it warm everybody up after that walk, it’s great for exercising the legs, the arms, and even the hands. Find or borrow some fun music CDs and get going!

Cook

The holidays are, of course, a great time to cook, but you can certainly do so during the rest of the winter as well. You can get the whole family involved – just make them each responsible for a step in the process.

The raw materials to create a platter of cookies do not cost much, and especially during the holidays, making cookies and other sweets can be a fun thing to do. Don’t limit yourselves to sweets, though. You can use the time stuck inside to involve everybody in cooking a healthy dish that’s traditional to your family.

If the kids are younger, they can assume a smaller role, like mixing something or gathering ingredients before the cooking begins. If they’re older they can be taught to fully prepare a meal.

Volunteer Your Time and/or Donate Food

Winter, especially when it’s cold, is a very harsh time, but even more so for the homeless. People readily line up to volunteer and donate their time for the holidays, but the needy don’t stop being needy, and pantries don’t stop needing food, after the holidays are over. On the contrary, this often ends up being the time pantries and shelters need help and donations the most because many of the food drives stop and donations dry up.

So contact your local shelter or volunteer organization and find out what they need. Then get the entire family involved to gather up food to donate, or to head down to a shelter and volunteer. The  shelters and pantries will appreciate the help and donations, the homeless will be able to find a warm place to eat during the hardest months of the year, and you and your family will be able to make a contribution together.

Find a Show

Between singing, running, cooking, and volunteering, your batteries will eventually run down, so you need to recharge. Instead of slouching in front of the TV, why not patronize your local arts scene? Where you live depends on what options are near you, but most towns have some kind of community theater organization or performances at a local school. If you live in or near a major city you might be able to find a symphony orchestra or band. Take the whole family and see a good play or musical, or listen to some classical music.

Museums are another option for shows, as they often have some kind of theater inside them. It is a video-based activity, but one in which you and your family are much more likely to learn something than on most TV shows. Then once you’re done you can still get some exercise and see the other exhibits. What more is there to ask for?

Michael is the concert specialist for TicketNetwork, an online exchange listing event tickets. Check out their blog for articles about live events and pop culture.

Roses are red
violets are blue
Love never crossed my mind
until the day I met you

That’s just one variation of the roses are red poem. It’s the one seen most often around Valentine’s Day. Ah yes, the Holiday that reminds all the singles exactly how single they are. This day has even been referred to as SAD (singles awareness day).

As a single myself I can tell you I’ve been in that place before where I just loathed the holiday. Every time I used to walk into Walmart around February 14th made me want to poke my eyes out. Ok, maybe it wasn’t that drastic of a feeling but it saddened me that I wouldn’t be receiving any of the pretty red roses, cute stuffed animals, delicious chocolates or a card so sweet it brought tears to my eyes. It was a reminder that yet again I was celebrating the day of love all by my lonesome.

This year I’m celebrating being single! I’m buying myself roses and chocolates. I’ll skip the card and stuffed animal because I’m not that much of a dork! I don’t need a man to make Valentine’s Day special. I can do that on my own.

How To Enjoy Valentine’s Day When You’re Single

1. Make a list of all the reasons being single isn’t so bad. As you start to write your list I bet you will find that it’s really not so bad (being single) after all. A few things I included on my list were (1)no one to tell me what I can and can’t spend my money on and (2)no one to ‘answer’ to.

2. Go Out With Your Single Friends. Just because you’re single and don’t have a honey to share a romantic dinner and drink with doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate. Gather a group of your single friends and head to your favorite restaurant. Make it a celebration of singles.

3. Pamper Yourself. Get a manicure and pedicure. If you can’t afford having it professionally done, do it yourself at home! Buy yourself flowers, a CD, book, new dress…something you’ve been wanting for awhile.

4. Volunteer. Visit a local nursing home, food pantry, soup kitchen – anywhere volunteers are needed. There’s nothing like showing love to someone else less fortunate than you!

Those are just a few ideas to help you enjoy this Valentine’s Day if you’re single. Most importantly, think positive and remind yourself that this Holiday isn’t just for people with significant others! Singles can enjoy it just as much as couples.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Winter definitely isn’t my favorite time of year. I shared in a previous post about snowshoeing that there used to be a time you couldn’t get me off the ski slopes or in out of the cold. But now that I’m older I don’t enjoy the cold all that much and I’d rather ‘hibernate’ all winter long.Which, when you have a 12 year old child that loves being outdoors no matter what season it is, hibernating isn’t an option!

I made a decision that this winter was going to be about getting out there and enjoying some fun activities. I started thinking about the things I did as a kid and young adult during the winters that I really enjoyed. Sometimes you just have to go back to the basics.

The first thing that came to mind was when I used to play outside with my friends. We would build snowmen and have contests to see who could build the biggest one. Or who could make the tiniest one (that is challenging let me tell you!). We used to have a ton of fun getting as creative as we wanted when it came to ‘dressing’ our snowmen. Sometimes our parents would let us take food coloring outside so we could snazzy things up with a little color. Food coloring doesn’t go a long way on a big ole snowman though! And of course we always named them too!

The best part of this winter activity? Kids of all ages – young and old – can enjoy it. So why not bundle up your family and head out to roll some snowballs? It’s a fun way to ‘shake’ off some of that cabin fever that this time of year brings. The fun doesn’t have to stop once you’ve built your snowman either. Once you go back inside get out some games or cards and sit around drinking hot chocolate and playing games while you warm up!

Are you suffering from the winter blahs? Tired of being cooped up inside all the time? Bored because there’s nothing to do in the winter?

If that’s you, I challenge you to embrace winter by the horns and take up a new activity – snowshoeing!

Let me first start by saying that I don’t snowshoe…not yet anyways. It’s on my ’2011 new winter activities to try’ list. There used to be a time when you couldn’t get me off the ski slopes. Now, you can barely get me to step foot outside during the winter months. But, this year that’s all about to change!

Life is short, winter is long so it’s time to start enjoying it! And considering Northern Michigan has an over abundance of snow it’s time to make use of it and start having some fun.

What is Snowshoeing?

a contrivance that may be attached to the foot to enable the wearer to walk on deep snow without sinking, esp. a light, racket-shaped frame across which is stretched a network of rawhide. -Dictionary.com

I’ve been doing some research on it. There’s definitely a bit of a learning curve – if you don’t make your strides bigger than a normal walking stride you’ll more likely find yourself tripping over your own two feet. Literally.

Beginner Showshoeing Tips

• use poles – The use of poles can help give you a little extra ‘stability’.
• guided tour – Do a Google search and see if you can find somewhere in your area that offers a guided tour. If not, go with someone experienced your first time out.
• rent snowshoes – Nationally known retailers like REI and Eastern Mountain Sports (although these are supposed to be nationwide I’m not familiar with either one of these chains) will rent snowshoes out. Locally, do a search and see where you can rent from. This way you can find test snowshoeing out before you invest in an expensive purchase (you’ll find they run from $100-$300 to buy).

Where To Snowshoe?

Anywhere that has snow on the ground! Of course, it might be more fun to check out any snowshoe trails in your area.

Those are just a few very minimum basic tips for someone looking to get out there and give snowshoeing a try. If you have any tips for a beginner, please share by leaving a comment!