10 Days of Winter Activities for the Whole Family!

Reprinted with permission from Watersheds Canada. Blog by Amy DeBoer, Riparian Habitat Restoration Intern  

Canadian winters can be cold and dark, but that just means we get to be more creative in how we enjoy the outdoors! Here is a list of 10 activities to inspire you and your family to enjoy all the winter season has to offer. 

1. Decorate the Windows 

A Canadian winter tends to be less colourful than our other seasons, so why not add some ourselves! Using washable paint or markers you can create temporary window designs. This craft can also reduce birds colliding with your windows. 

2. Go Snowshoeing 

Canada has many winter trails best explored with snowshoes, so strap some on, explore how that work and let's see what's out there! 

3. Make a Snow Cake

Do something nice for your local wildlife and "bake" then a snow cake! In winter, there tends to be less food available for our beautiful creatures, and this activity helps to feed them. You may also be able to see more animals this winter. 

4. Create Winter Wind Chimes

Go exploring outside to find your (fallen) materials, then add to the music of winter with homemade wind chimes! 

5. Build Bat Boxes

Bats need our help, and one thing we can do it build and install bat boxes. These boxes provide safe roosting places for bats to sleep and raise their young. The bet time to build them is late winter and early spring, while the bats are hibernating, so they are ready when the bats are searching for summer homes. 

6. Explore Yeti Tracks

While walking through the snow, you leave prints behind. Look around outside and see what kind of tracks you can see in the snow. Do you see any animal prints? Be creative and create the tracks of the mythical Yeti! 

7. Make Snow Ice Cream 

Even though it's cold outside, ice cream can be an anytime treat! This recipe is highly customizable and creates a fun, fluffy textures ice cream. 

8. Design a Snow Maze

It's time to get outside and challenge yourself and your family and friends with a snow maze! See what designs you can make and how fast you can make it through the maze by walking, running, crawling, or blindfolded as someone gives you directions (with adult supervision!) This activity can also be fun for pets. 

9. Build Snow Lanterns 

Why not light up the long nights this winter with snow lanterns! They can decorate your yard or line your walkways, adding unique art to your yard. 

10. Go on a Polar Picnic

Picnics are not just for the warmers months! With a little extra planning , you can have a cozy picnic any time of the year. 

Missed the past four years of 10 Days of Winter activities? Access more than 40 ways to enjoy winter wit your friends and family by clicking on each year: 

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For more than 20 years, Watersheds Canada has been working with landowners, communities, a vast network of lake and river associations, municipalities, schools, and organizations to keep Canada's freshwater healthy, beautiful, and available. - today and for generations to come. Through shoreland plantings, fish habitat restoration, municipal policy work, children and youth education programs, and more, Watersheds Canada is equipping communities to protect their lakes, rivers, and shorelands. You can support this critical work by make a tax-receiptable donation today:  watersheds.ca/donate