5 ways to keep busy indoors during Winter
As many of you know by now, I am not a fan of Winter. It’s cold and I can never seem to get warm enough.
This naturally means I actually spend less time outdoors during Winter and more time trying really hard to turn into a mamma bear and hibernate.
Hibernation is great. My house is warm. There are endless cups of coffee and I don’t need to put a bra on if I’m not leaving the house, however, as someone who loves to be busy, Winter can often be a depressing, lonely and boring season for me. ( All self inflicted by me not wanting to feel cold)
Over the years, I’ve discovered that embracing my inner creative over Winter is usually the best way to get through this season.
Here are 5 of the things I do to keep entertained whilst hiding under another layer of warm clothing.
Granny crafts
I entered my granny era in my late teens when I learned to knit and crochet small Barbie doll clothing for my eldest daughter with the help of my ex mother in law.
Later, in my 20’s a good friend gave me some sewing lessons and I started to sew my children’s clothing and toys.
In my 30’s I discovered how much I loved cross stitch, embroidery, quilting and hand sewing.
These are all still firm favourites and it’s only in Winter that I seem to break them out. Currently I’m busy with a beautiful bird embroidery and contemplating buying some knitting needles and knitting my little grandson a jersey.
Winter granny crafts are a wonderful way to learn new skills and get creative. You could get the girls together once a week and start a Winter mom craft group.
Puzzling around
I won’t lie, I love the benefit of puzzles and have always surrounded my kids with puzzles, encouraging them to learn to build but I struggle to build puzzles.
I, however, have a rather short attention span with a large puzzle, get bored and frustrated as I try match colours that start to all look the same.
This winter I invested in a few puzzles to plop onto the downstairs counter for the family to build and have found myself enjoying putting them together. I think what’s making it easier is that there is no pressure to finish the puzzle in one setting, and everyone adds a piece as they go.
Puzzles make a great family activity, and you could include them in choosing which puzzles to build next. Some libraries still rent out puzzles. You can also thrift puzzles from charity shops.
Photo perfect
As a photographer, I always encourage people to keep the memories. Over winter, you could build your skill with a short online course, take a photo challenge or practice photography in your own home. I usually get some of my best photos in Winter.
This is also a wonderful time to start sorting those family albums, build photo books, take those family portraits or start scrabbooking to preserve the memories.
Arty party
It goes without saying that breaking out the arts and crafts on a cold, Winters day is simply the best.
Younger kids may enjoy play dough and older kids can try sculpting with clay, papier mache or wire.
You could have the small kids colour in or draw or give bigger kids some paints and an easel. Teens may like craft kits to try something new like candle making or macrame.
Hosting your own paint and sip with a glass of red wine and a group of friends is the ideal Winter activity.
Journaling
And lastly, a journal to look back at is always fun.
I started outing journals and holiday journals with Hamish a few years ago. These are like diaries where he can write about his day, the things he has done and how he feels. He adds drawings, stickers and things like movie stubs. The beauty of these is that he can look back and see how much fun he had.
Today you can also purchase beautiful journal kits and stickers to add to your journal.
With two months of Winter left. I hope these ideas ignite your creativity and keep you entertained whilst you hibernate, like me, from the colder days.
