Surviving Winter

I'll be the first person to admit I dislike Winter. I despise the cold. Physically my body doesn't ever stay warm so I endure 5 months of uncomfortable temperatures. I hate bundling up my kids in snow pants, looking for matching gloves, lacing up snow boots and having to start my van 20 minutes before we want to get in it. And you know what? My kids aren't big fans of the cold either.
Unfortunately I can't just hibernate under my electric blanket, I have to go outside to get places and keep my kids entertained all winter.

Here are some things we do to survive until flip flop season:

1. Family Swims
My kids love to swim! The pool is always suffocatingly hot (which is perfect for me). If I'm not swimming, I  bring a book and relax on the bench while my kids splash around me.
My community offers 2 free swims every weekend, so there's no excuse for anyone to miss out!

2. Winter Getaway
Every Winter we plan a family get-away. It gives us something to look forward to, gets us out of the house and have some fun together. We never go very far, but try to go somewhere new or that we haven't been to in a while. We stay at a hotel, swim in the pool, eat out at restaurants (all of our favorites!) I love planning trips, and the organizing alone will keep me busy for a week.

Nova Scotia has some great Winter Vacation Ideas to check out.
We've gone to Halifax and toured museums, visited PEI for the Jackfrost Fest and last year traveled to Moncton to have fun at Crystal Palace.

3.The Theatre
Plan an afternoon or evening and take in a family movie! We don't do it often, with a family of 6 it's a small fortune to see a movie, so it's a treat for all of us. We all love theater popcorn!

4.Family Day
Plan a day of activities for you and the kids. You don't even have to leave your house if you don't want! Set-up an afternoon of board games and puzzles. Bake some cookies, or cook supper together and curl up together with a good movie to end the day.
You can read about our recent Family Day here.


Since I can't keep my kids inside all Winter, I've forced myself to embrace Winter and took in a few Wintery activities.
We started skating this year. I'm glad we did, as it was Lily and Noah's first time, and why deprive your children of milestones just because you're freezing your a-- off?

Why not take in a sleigh ride? What kid doesn't love that. Invite some friends or neighbors and get together afterwards for a pizza party!

We have yet to ski. But how much fun would it be to load up the van and head to the hill for the day? Another milestone for my kids!

I'd love to hear some of your ideas for surviving winter!