If you live in a state where winter consists of a lot of rain, ice, or snow, finding activities to do outdoors can take some creative thinking, especially when you have children. Building snow angels and snow people is fun. So is skiing, sledding, and ice-skating. Let's think beyond the normal and generate some indoor and outdoor activities that might add some novelty and variety to winter family time.

Outdoor activities to explore in the winter time:

• Take photographs while on a nature walk. Also collect some pine cones, unique branches, and dried leaves.
• Shovel snow together for a neighbor who cannot do their own
• Have an outdoor scavenger hunt
• Buy a bird book book and see how many different winter birds you can identify.
• Pack up a small grill, some easy-light charcoal, hot dogs, buns, fruit and cookies. Take along a warm quilt or comforter, and drive or hike to a beautiful area for a winter cook-out.  
• Decorate some of the trees in your yard for the birds.

Indoor activities especially for winter time:

• Make all your own valentines this year
• Put together a scrap book of the pictures you took on your nature walks
• Have a carpet picnic/movie night in your living room
• Place the dried branches from one of your nature walks in a vase or flower pot.  Leave them as is or decorate them for each holiday as it comes along
• Visit a motel for a night or two and enjoy the pool and hot tub
• Make snowflakes to decorate a stair rail or your windows
• Have a make-your-sundae night
• Try a family cooking spree where everyone pitches in
• Explore making crafts you've never tried
• Make pine-cone bird feeders (how-to below)

How to make pine cone bird feeders:

What you will need for each family member participating

Two paper plates Peanut butter Table knife Spoon Bird seed Large pine cone Ribbon or string

Put a large spoonful of peanut butter on one of your paper plates, and a half-cup of mixed bird seed on the other plate

Spread your pine cone with peanut butter or roll pine cone in peanut butter until well-coated

Next, roll the pine cone in bird seed until it is covered

Tie ribbon or string around the pine cone near its top leaving it long enough to hang on tree branches

For a lot more children/family craft ideas, visit the following site:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/birdfeeders/pineconefeeder.shtml

Karen Chaffee 2009