10 Easy Winter Activities to Enjoy with Your Family

When winter arrives, it brings a unique opportunity for families to slow down and enjoy different activities together. Here are ten easy family activities to make the season special, whether you’re indoors or outside.

1. Wrap Up and Go for a Walk with Hot Chocolate

Winter walks can feel magical when you’re cosy in your favourite hat, scarf and gloves and carrying a flask of hot chocolate. Head to the park, the woods or the river bank. At the halfway point of your walk, pour out mugs of hot chocolate for everyone to wrap their hands around and watch the steam rising into the crisp air as they sip. It makes a simple winter walk feel like an adventure – and it will give your children fresh energy for the walk home.

2. Bake a Favourite Recipe Together

Nothing warms a home like the smell of freshly baked treats. Choose a family favourite recipe –  brownies or flapjack or cookies or even a cake and get everyone involved. Measuring, mixing and decorating together not only makes for delicious results but also creates memories and traditions you can look forward to each year.

3. Build a Cosy Indoor Fort

For a winter activity that’s especially fun on cold, dark days, gather blankets and throws, pillows and cushions and build a cosy fort together in the living room. Tables, chairs, clothes airers and clothes pegs can be used in the construction along with other items around your home that can be used creatively. Once your fort is complete, climb in with a few books and toys. This is a wonderful way to bring a sense of adventure indoors!

4. Stargazing

In the winter, when the skies are dark, stargazing can be mesmerising—especially with the family snuggled under a blanket. Download a stargazing app such as Stellarium, grab some warm clothes, a cosy blanket, a pair of binoculars if you have them (but it doesn’t matter if you don’t) and head out to the garden or a nearby park for some winter night magic. For best results, try to find somewhere away from too many street lights and other bright lights. Children will love spotting the different constellations. 

You can also identify the planets that are visible and other things too – some apps will tell you when the International Space Station will be visible in your area – you have to watch carefully because it moves across the sky quite fast. You might be able to see the Milky Way which is a wonderful sight, or even a shooting star! With starlink satellites and night-flying aircraft there is plenty going on up there to see – from a few hundred metres above our heads to thousands of light years away!

5. Movie Night with Homemade Popcorn

Nothing says cosy like popcorn and a family movie night. Popcorn is such fun for children to make with you – whether you make it in a lidded pan with a little oil, in the microwave or in a popcorn maker you’re only a few minutes away from a great snack that is loved by all.  Add a simple sauce made with butter, sugar and golden syrup melted together and you’ll have a new family favourite.  To make sure that your evening runs smoothly, agree on the movie in advance (so that the evening doesn’t start with an argument!) and settle in under a blanket. This simple tradition is a great way to relax and enjoy each other’s company during winter evenings. 

6. Memory Jar

Find a large jar and start by decorating it together.  If you have any Posca pens they are perfect for drawing straight onto the glass, or you could use PVA glue to stick tissue paper on.. Encourage everyone in the family to think of a few favourite memories from the past year and put something in the jar as a reminder.  This could be a written note, a picture they’ve drawn, some shells from the beach, a postcard, tickets from an event or train journey or anything else that brings back happy memories of good times spent together. Once everyone has contributed, look through the memories together and keep the jar where people can add to it as time goes by.  It’s a perfect jar to bring out when anyone needs a bit of encouragement and the reminder of happy memories you have created together.

7. Light a Fire or Play a Fireplace Video and Play a Game

There’s something incredibly comforting about gathering around a fire. We use the top down method of fire lighting: put a couple of logs in the grate, criss-cross a couple of layers of kindling on top, put a natural firelighter on the top and light it.  If you don’t have a fireplace, try putting on a fireplace video and gather around the screen. Just as pretty, no lingering smell of smoke and no ashes to clear up in the morning! Bring out a family board game and enjoy a cosy evening of friendly competition and laughter.

8. Go for a Walk with Friends

Bundling up for a winter walk with friends makes a family walk that much more exciting. The children will enjoy playing with each other and you might even get to have an adult conversation!  Make the most of daylight hours during weekends as it can be more difficult to find enough daylight as the days draw in during the week. 

9. Go for a Night Walk with Torches

Seeing familiar surroundings in a new light—literally—is both exciting and a little magical. Charge up the torches and head out for a short night walk. You’ll notice how different everything looks in the dark, and children often love the novelty of an evening adventure. Standing in the dark watching a brightly lit train thunder past is quite a moment. Remember it’s a good idea to wear light colours or reflective clothing when heading out at night.

Winter is full of simple joys that invite us to slow down and reconnect. Whether you’re looking for outdoor adventures or cosy indoor moments, these family activities in the winter are sure to create lasting memories with your loved ones.

10. Snuggle Up for Story Time in Pyjamas

There’s no better time to slow down with a good story than a winter evening. Put on your pyjamas, pick up a favourite book, and cuddle up for some story time. Whether it’s a chapter book for older children or a picture book for little ones, reading together is a soothing way to end the day.

Favourites in our family:

For little ones, books by Mick Inkpen, Nick Butterworth and Shirley Hughes, not to mention Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

For older ones JK Rowling, Jessica Townsend, Alex Bell, Vashti Hardy, Eva Ibbotson, MG Leonard and Thomas Taylor. 

Bonus Tip: Remember that weekends aren’t just for the summer

For a peaceful and scenic winter weekend away as a family, consider staying at Daisy Chain, a lakeside holiday home set within the private Lower Mill Estate within the Cotswold Water Park. Daisy Chain is fabulously family friendly and has stunning lakeside views, sleeps 9 in 5 bedrooms and is perfectly located for exploring the Cotswolds.  With all the facilities of the Lower Mill Estate available to guests including the swimming pools and spa, it’s the perfect way to relax and unwind after a day of exploring. The autumn brings wonderful murmurations over the lake and you might even spot an otter exploring. The log burner is certain to be a hit in the evenings as you gather round at the end of the day.

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