9 Creative Ways to Erase the Winter Blahs

Now that the holiday dust has settled, your family calendar might look a bit bleak. Add winter whimsy to your life by planning some unexpected family fun. These cool ideas that will help brighten the rest of Old Man Winter’s stay.

Design a wintry scavenger hunt

A favorite activity for young and old alike is participating in a scavenger hunt. The creative possibilities are endless, and depending on the type of hunt you plan, you’ll have the bonus of eliciting problem-solving and teamwork skills.

You can create individual, family, or even a neighborhood scavenger hunt. Ideally, your adventure will take place outdoors, but for those buried in snow, an indoor hunt is also a blast.

Here are a few scavenger hunt tips.

• First, brainstorm a theme for your scavenger hunt. (Valentine’s Day is coming!)
• Create a list of items or locations your family members must hunt. You can mix practical and imaginative objects and places and even assign a point value—easy items receive a lesser value than those that are more difficult to find. You’ll discover tons of ideas on Pinterest for both your winter-based or indoor scavenger hunt.
• Be mindful of the age of all participants so all clues, locations, and prizes are age-appropriate.
• Do a walkthrough in advance to make sure you have the clues appointed correctly and try to gauge how long the hunt will take.
• If your hunt is outdoors, make sure the kids stay together. Pair younger kids with an older buddy if necessary.
• Have fun bags available to hand out at the beginning of the hunt so participants can collect the goods. 

Two years ago, my family enjoyed the most incredible scavenger hunt ever. After finding a dozen pet-related objects throughout our local discount store, they came home to discover their new Valentine’s Day puppy!

Create a family obstacle course

When freezing temps limit outdoor play, why not build an obstacle course for your kids? They'll love the challenge of having to complete each task, and you'll love how long they'll stay occupied while burning off excess energy. Best of all, you can build the course with things you already have around the house. 

A good friend...

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