Productive Indoor Activities You Can Do During Winter

June 6, 2022

The still, cold, and quiet season of winter is upon us. Whether you experience lots of snow or just a shift to chillier temperatures, winter does make it difficult to get out and do all the things we are used to doing in the warmer months. Just because it’s frigid and icy doesn’t mean life has to stop and we have to hibernate. On the contrary, winter will give us just the right amount of time we need to accomplish those projects we have been procrastinating (or the ones we haven’t thought of yet). There are LOADS of productive things we can do while cold weather is outside and we are stuck inside. Whether it’s for you, your kids, or for the whole family, this cold winter season is the perfect time to become your most productive season. A little creativity, hard work, and fun ideas can go A LONG WAY!!

A Better, Healthier YOU!

The most productive thing ANYONE can do is make their health a number one priority. WIth the quiet, down time of winter, there’s no better time to make the changes necessary to be the healthiest you that you can be. Here’s a few ideas to spend the winter time indoors productive to your health:

Utilize that exercise DVD you bought way back when, and/or take advantage of online workouts and yoga.
Take a long, hot bath, whether it be a bubble bath, essential oil bath, or just hot water and a few minutes of peace.
Pamper yourself with a home manicure, pedicure and facial. Doing things to take care of yourself are good for your mental health.
Come up with clean, healthy eating plans, recipes and grocery lists to fuel a healthy diet and become and feel like a healthier you.
Clean out the sodas, diet sodas, and sugary drinks. Replace them with fruit and herb infused filtered water. Find out how many ounces of water you need to drink per day and find a cup/bottle to help you to keep track of your daily water intake.
Plan your day where you keep a solid schedule, going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, and make every effort to get a solid night’s sleep.

Kid Friendly Fun

Nothing makes life harder on mom than a house full of “bored” kids. Winter indoors with your people doesn’t have to be boring, in fact it can be the most fun time. All it takes is a little creativity. Here’s some fun suggestions and ideas to pass the time, save their fun and your sanity:

Find a jigsaw puzzle that you can do together as a family and one that each person can stop by and work on individually as well.
Have family themed movie nights and movie marathon weekends in your living room. Let each member of the family get a turn to choose, and/or put movie titles in a bowl and take turns who draws the winning choice.
Visit your local arts and crafts store (in-person or online) and get kits to decorate your own ceramic mug.
Pull out all the stops with a hot chocolate bar and include toppings they never dreamed of! Great way to use the new ceramic mugs that everyone has decorated.
Have everyone write down their favorite family meal and take turns teaching each person how to prepare it and let them help to make it.
Let your kids tap into their own creativity and write a story, then help them make it into a video/movie.
An indoor scavenger hunt will keep them busy and happy, making great memories.
Start a family scrapbook and let each person help to create their own page.
Find a family friendly video game that everyone likes and then have a family competition.
Make a “fancy” dinner, set the table with china, candles, and flowers and have everyone come to dinner in their “fancy” clothes.
Have game night (have many game nights) with your favorite board games and card games.
Encourage everyone to be reading a book. Then have family book club nights where everyone gets to share about the book they are reading.

Home Improvement Project

Down time inside can mean time to fix, clean and give your home that makeover you’ve been dreaming about. Need a few ideas? Try some of these for goal starters:

Get started with a plan and make a list on how to rearrange your furniture and change up the art/pictures on your walls.
Clean out your closets, get rid of the clothes you don’t wear or that don’t fit. The clothes you keep, organize different pieces together to create some new outfit combinations.
Organize your kitchen pantry and cabinets, throw out expired canned goods and foods, and get rid of cracked, rusted, worn out containers and pots and pans.
Decide which rooms in your home need to be painted and find new color palettes and enjoy giving some rooms a new “makeover.”
“Deep Clean” your home. Dust the baseboards, clean the windows, do all the fun things not included in your regular cleaning chores (but probably should be).
Take the time to clean your dishwasher, washing machine and dryer.

New Hobbies

Kids get bored easily but so do adults. Instead of wasting time on endless television shows, inspire yourself to take on projects you have wanted to do or learn new things you’ve never had the time to learn before, such as:

Take some winter landscape photos, start a social media page of your nature scenery or just share with family and friends. There is lots of beauty in nature, we just don’t typically take the time to notice or appreciate it.
Learn how to make a dessert you love but have never attempted to make yourself.
Try your hand at painting a picture.
Enroll in an online course on how to speak and learn another language, or enroll in an online class on topics you enjoy or always wanted to learn more about.
Try learning how to play an instrument. There is tons of content online that you can access for free.
Always wanted to cross stitch, sew, learn to knit? What more perfect time to learn and practice than during winter.
Take a look at your downloaded music or music streaming service and create specific playlists you can access. (examples: a workout playlist, a Christmas playlists, relaxing music playlists, broadway favorites playlist.)

Life To Live

There’s a bright, beautiful,fun winter ahead and it’s our choice to see it that way. Snow or no snow, icicles or sandy beach, let this winter be one where you make positive things happen. We have the opportunity to show our children that you CAN take a hard situation and use it for good things. Get creative, have fun, enjoy time together, and never stop learning! Let this winter be your most productive one ever. There’s still a lot of life to be lived and knowledge to be learned.

This article is intended to provide an understanding of and knowledge about “health topics” as expressed through the perspective and research of the author. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice or counsel, including the diagnosis or treatment of any condition. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, illness or treatment of any listed or non listed situation above. By using this site, you signify your assent to our Terms and Conditions.

Sources:

https://www.lifehack.org/599571/50-things-to-do-to-conquer-winter-boredom

https://www.wisebread.com/50-fun-things-to-do-when-youre-stuck-inside-during-winter

https://www.methodschools.org/blog/10-productive-activities-to-keep-your-child-busy-during-winter-break