30 Fabulously Fun and Free Winter Activities...Plus: Get Featured on TTT!

With the shorter days and sub-zero temperatures its easy to understand why your kids may have a case of the winter blues. Shake things up and prevent cabin fever from setting in with these super fun winter activities. All of them are either very cheap or FREE! They are guaranteed to beat the boredom and create lasting memories! 

**Instructions on how to enter to be Featured on this blog are posted at the bottom of this list! You get a post featured, your blog name with a link back to it, your blog button featured on my homepage and an "I Was Featured..." button for your own blog:)**

30 Fabulously Fun & Free Winter Activities

1) Have a camp out in your living room. Spread out your sleeping bags, make s'mores in the microwave (Adult supervision required). Tell spooky stories, play camp games or sing camp fire songs.

2) Make Creamy Hot Cocoa with marshmallows. (Try this Valentine's Day Marshmallow trick by Martha)

3) Build a snow fort and "paint" it with Kool-Aid powder mixed with a bit of water in a spray bottle.

4) Make a Snow Measuring Stick to track the amount of snowfall. Graph the amounts on a chart.

5) Have a talent show. Give each family member a turn to show their talents and then vote for a  winner.

6) Go sledding! Grab your toboggans and have sled races on a nearby hill. Just don't slide near traffic.

7) Visit your local public library and cuddle up for story time. Many library's also have special activity days for different age groups. Call to find out!

8) Snuggle up for family movie night marathon! Pick winter themed flicks such as Jack Frost, Ice Age or Happy Feet!

9) Bake some cookies together! Designate each child a job such as dumping ingredients, mixing,
     spooning onto cookie sheets. Try this great recipe HERE. When they are done dip them in milk and enjoy!

10) Take your kids to try a class such as tumbling. Call around, many places such as My Gym offer a free trial class with no conditions.

11) Have a treasure hunt!! Place clues around these house with each one leading to the next. Clues can range from a simple picture to a riddle they must figure out. Have a small prize at the end such as a treat or new coloring book, it can be anything really...The real fun is in the chase! Smaller children may need a bit of assistance to stay on track.

12) Make a bird feeder from a pine cone. Directions HERE. Hang it up in your yard and bird watch. See how many different species of birds you can spot.

13) Go skating!! Play a game of hockey..Designate kids too small to skate as the "cheerleaders" or score keepers.

14) Make your own snow cones with REAL snow! Here is a great recipe for Snowcone Syrup. Keep it in the fridge in a squirt bottle and poor it over fresh snow or shaved ice whenever you want a treat.

15) Build a snowman together. Or even a whole snow family!!

16) Have an indoor snowball fight with wadded up paper! You could even make paper snowflakes to make it "snow"!

17) Go viral! Make a funny home video. Have the kids put on a skit and then post it on Youtube!

18) Have a family game night! Play classic family board games like monopoly or snakes and ladder. For some real laughs try Twister!

19) Play an interactive video game such as Rock Band or Dance dance Revolution. Have a friendly competition and crown the winner as the "Video Game Champion."

20) Give each other silly makeovers then have a fashion show at the end to show off your new looks. Take "Before" and "After" pictures.

21) Have an indoor picnic. Spread a blanket on the floor and have your lunch there! Don't forget dessert, too!

22) Make homemade valentines with your kids to give out to their classmates. Get some inspiration HERE.

23) Go swimming!! Let the kids put on their bathing suits and go swimming in the bathtub! Washing is optional!

24) Make Edible Play-doh and have fun making (and eating) sculptures.

25) Make a countdown to Spring paper chain and remove one link per day! Have a spring activity planned for when you reach the last link.

26) Get a huge empty box such as one from a refrigerator and transform it into a rocket ship (or whatever you want). Use your imaginations to act out different scenarios like pretending that you have just landed on the moon. (Ask around at local furniture stores to see if they have a box they were going to throw out that you can have...Most will be happy to give you one!)

27) Bundle up and go on a nature walk in a local park. Look for animal tracks, acorns, fallen leaves and whatever other treasures you can find. Bring them home and make a nature collage or scrapbook of your findings!

28) Get active and play some energy burning games indoors (or outdoors if you don't have enough room) such as Hide & Seek, Freeze Tag or Red Light, Green Light.

29) Go outdoors and blow bubbles in the cold. If the temperature is below zero or colder, the bubbles with harden in the air and then shatter when they hit the ground! Make your own Bubble Solution.

Frozen bubbles are SO cool!

30) Try to make a list of 30 MORE fun winter activities!! Post it in the comments her e or email it to me at babygurljrl23@gmail.com. I will  publish my favorite list with the most creative ideas as part two of this blog post! Don't worry you will get the credit for it, a link back to your blog and have your blog button posted on my homepage:) You will also get an "I Was Featured..." button to post on your own blog!So start brainstorming!!

A Very Merry Christmas 2011

Phew! Another Christmas has come and gone.


I feel like the past year has just flew by so quickly. This Christmas was a great one and I am sure my kids will agree! I won't lie, I am a little sad that it is over. There is just something so magical about the holidays. Everyone just seems a bit more cheerful. With all the Christmas lights and the choruses of "Merry Christmas" from passerbys and neighbors, it is such a joyful time of year. Now that it is over I am a bit bummed, although we still get to relax and spend time together as a family for another couple weeks. Coder doesn't go back to school until the tenth of January and I must say I am thrilled. Because hubby leaves for work at 7am and I do not have my drivers liscence (I wrote my test once...and failed by one measly point...but thats another post) that means that I have the ever-so-fun task of bundling up Nelly and walking Coder to and from school each day. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE walking, just not in minus 30 degrees celcius (that is -22 F in case you were wondering). I feel bad waking up the baby and dragging her out into the cold every morning..but it is my only option at the moment. We are too close for Coder to be a bus student yet just far enough to be freezing by the time we get there. So yes, I am  beyond phsyched to have a two week hiatus from freezin my ass off twice daily.

Anywho, back to Christmas...We spent a lot of time with our families, drove around oohing and ahing over Christmas light displays, built a snowman, feasted on turkey dinner, decorated a gingerbread house, and of course opened a TON of gifts. On Christmas Eve day we spent the afternoon at hubby's grandmothers house with all of his family (his two sisters and their hubbys and children...six kids in total not counting mine)...The kids had a blast playing with their cousins while the adults sat around listening to Christmas music, talking and laughing at the kids antics.

Chanel enjoying some appetisers

The kids playing downstairs

After supper most of the party moved to hubby's mother's house where the festivities continued until almost 8pm.When we finally got home on Christmas Eve the kids were thrilled to find a note from Mrs.Clause on the bed along with a new pair of jammies for each of them.

I forgot to take a pic of the note but it basically said that Santa had left for his journey so they should put on their new jammies and get to bed...And not to forget to leave out milk and cookies. That was the most excited they have ever been to go to sleep. Well not so much Nelly, she didn't totally get it yet, but she was thrilled to put on her new jammies. Before bedtime we allowed them each to open one small gift. Chanel was thrilled with hers...Coder, on the other hand, was not. He opened a small one which happened to be a dollarstore toy four-wheeler and lets just say he was less then impressed. "I don't want this one" he whined as tears ensued. It was from Nana, who had also given them bigger gifts and tickets to Crystal Palace, but he didn't know that yet) I was so ticked off at his rude behavior that could have throttled him. After a breif lecture on why it isn't nice to say you don't like a gift and how some kids get nothing for Christmas and how it hurts peoples feeling, etc it was off to bed.

Kids in their new jammies

 At five in the morning Coder woke up bugging to open his gifts...I told him it was still nighttime and he had to go back to sleep for a little longer...Needless to say this elicited whines and cries on his part, thus waking up Nelly briefly. Thankfully, they both fell back asleep until almost 9pm (Thank god because mommy was pooped). I'm pretty sure that Christmas morning was just as much fun for me as it was the kids. I was so excited to see their little faces light up. Hubby and I woke up to choruses of "Mommy! Daddy! Wake up!!! Santa came!! He ate the cookies!!" I dragged myself out of bed and stumbled down the hall to see. Sure enough the milk and cookies were gone, as was the carrot left for Rudolph. There was also a rather charming letter from Santa.

Needless to say, the kids were awestruck. There was a crapload of gifts and they wasted no time tearing into them. I had to help Nelly because after she opened each gift she wanted to play with it, so it took a while to open all of hers..This did not fair well with Coder seeing as he tore through his in record time and then proceeded to try opening everyone elses. They both got tons of stuff, and the the hubs and I got some nice stuff as well, including a new pot and pan set, a knife block and knife set, an awesome red slowcooker that matches my other red pots and pans and much more.

Before the chaos ensued...

After all the gifts are open

I was running around like a crazy person trying to clean up wrapping paper and boxes, thinking about where the hell I was going to put all this new stuff. Then I recieved a call from my mom and her fiancee saying to come over for turkey dinner and that they had a bunch MORE presents for us and the kids. 'Oh dear god, now I'm going to have ten times as much toys to clean up. After all the gifts were opened and each was played with we all curled up for a nap until around lunchtime. Then we got up and played some more until it was time to go to "'Nother Nanny's." (The kids call hubbys mom and step-dad 'Nanny and Papi' and my mom and step-dad 'Nother Nanny and Gampy'...as in the other nanny and grampie.)

Ready to go in her new clothes...

 When we got to nother nanny and gampys there were a bunch more gifts for all of use from them, my sister and my grandmother. The kids got a bunch more toys including about a million Lego's...the REALLY small ones...I am not kidding like a HUGE storage bin FULL...I swear my mom did that on purpose to torture me. I got some really cute stuff to including some new perfume and an adorable hat and mitton set from Aeropostale (from my sister), a Tommy Hilfiger hoodie, a super cute Clinique makeup bag and makeup (from my grandmother), a 50$ Giant Tiger gift card (from my mom) and hubby got an MMA track jacket from my mom and an H & M hoodie from my sister. We got other stuff too but I am too lazy to list it all.

More gifts at "nother Nanny and Gampy's"  house...

One of Nelly's faves...Vtech Zebra 3in1 scooter/ride-on toy

After the second round of present opening we sat down for a delicious turkey dinner with mashed potatos, homemade stuffing and gravy. It was honestly one of the best meals I have ever tasted courtesy of "Gampy." He's one of the best cooks I know. We talked and laughed while the guys had a beer (Hubby was limited to one because he was driving us home later). A few hours later turkey burnout had set in and all I wanted to do was crawl under my covers. We drove the long drive home, carried two sleeping kids into the house, brought all the gifts inside and climbed into bed. Lucky for me I got to sleep in a bit because the kids were so preoocupied with all their new toys the next morning that they left me alone for a while. Unlucky for me I awoke to what looked like a tornado had crashed through my home.

Boxing Day morning...they only LOOK innocent

 The last few days were full of fun and laughs and memories that I will always cherish, and while I am sad to see 2011 come to a close, I am also excited for the future. Who knows what 2012 will bring..I am sure there will be struggles and challenges but I also know there will be triumphs and milestones and overcoming obstacles. I am looking forward to a clean slate and the chance to start fresh in the New Year. A chance to both grow as a person and also watch my kids grow even more. What did you do for the holidays? What do you look forward to in 2012?

Sunday Snapshots: Cold Weather Doesn't Stop The Fun!

The kiddos had a blast playing soccer and wrestling around with their cousins (my nephews) at Nana and Pappy's house (Aka my hubby's mom and step-ish-dad *long story*). Love those kids so much<3 The cold weather did not deter them at all, in fact, I think it made them even more hyper o_O

My oldest nephew (The one in the plaid shirt and shaggy hair pictured directly above) is the only one who didn't join the outdoor festivities. He was much happier on the computer watching Youtube videos of talking oranges (?!). He is going to be in high school next year so I guess i can't really blame him for not wanting to play with his little brothers. I wouldn't have been caught dead in public with my little sister during my high school career. He did take minute for me to snap a pic of him and Nelly though. He really is a great kid though:)