10 Simple Pleasures of Winter

Every season is filled with simple pleasures that you can enjoy with your family for little money and effort. Take a moment and enjoy some of these this winter season.

1. Snow Days

It’s easy to get frustrated when you’re stuck at home, due to inclement weather, but take this opportunity to enjoy the extra time you have with your family. We live in such a fast-paced society, so most of us are overdue for some downtime.

2. Hot Cocoa

There’s nothing like coming in out of the cold and whipping up a cup of hot cocoa or hot chocolate (yes, there is a difference). Bump it up a notch with some marshmallows, a drizzle of caramel and a leftover candy cane from the Christmas tree. My kids love to make hot cocoa sundaes!

3. Wood Fires

We have electric heat in our home, which effectively keeps us warm throughout the winter season, but there is nothing like the bone-warming heat that comes from a wood fire! If you are blessed with this option, build a fire and enjoy a game of cards with the family, read a book, or just simply have a conversation with one another.

4. Winter Scenes

Who doesn’t love the sight of a white blanket of snow or ice over a country landscape? There’s just something magical about how it coats the trees and brightens a gloomy winter’s day.

5. Soups and Chilis

Winter is the perfect season to enjoy all of your favorite soups and chilis. Switch up your dinner routine one evening when the temperatures are freezing and make a pot of something soupy to warm your family’s bellies. Be sure to add some crusty bread on the side for dipping!

6. Warm Blankets

I love slow, winter evenings, like on Friday or Saturday, when the whole family can pile in the living room and watch a favorite movie or show underneath a warm, plush throw or quilt. I keep an electric throw on my favorite chair for those extra cold winter evenings.

7. Snow Cream

If you’ve never tried this old-fashion favorite, you just haven’t lived! One of my favorite winter memories from my childhood is of my mom making me and my siblings a batch of snow cream. We were told you had to wait for at least the second snow of the season, and it had to be a good one too. Be sure to avoid the yellow snow! 😛

8. Building a Snowman

It’s a winter tradition that’s fun for all ages! After a good, wet snow, get the whole family involved and start rolling. Me and sisters used to try and guess how long our snowman would last after the snow started melting.

9. Sledding

A great way to unleash your inner child is to spend an afternoon sledding with the family. You get cold and wet, and you have to climb a hill to begin your fun, but it’s all worth the rush you get on the way down.

10. Books

I hear it all the time from friends and family… “I would love to read, but I just don’t have the time.” Winter is the perfect season for book nerds! Take that time you would’ve spent cutting the grass or tending the garden and curl up to a good book. For an even better experience, read in front of a wood fire with a mug of hot cocoa at arm’s length. 🙂