This is a guest post from Katie Bugbee.
Who wants to go outside?!
If this question is often met with chilling silence in your home, you’re not alone. These freezing cold temperatures can make everyone want to hibernate. But outdoor play — even in cold weather (as long as it’s above 20 degrees, per our preschool rules) — is good for kids and their grownups. It energizes, refreshes, provides room for healthy exercise and tuckers them out for bedtime.
Below are seven fun games to inspire kids to rush for their hats and mittens. Game on!
1. Sled Sprint
Here’s a fun game to keep the holiday spirit alive well into winter. Pretend you’re all reindeer on a mission to get stuffed animals home safely. First, take lightweight plastic sleds and tie them to the waist of a child. Then place 3-5 stuffed animals on each sled (the same amount for each child). Create teams with however many sleds (and kids) you have.
Each kid is required to race from one end of the yard to the other, without letting any animals fall off. Whichever team finishes first — with the most number of animals still on their sled — wins!
2. Snow Spray
Fill squirt and spray bottles with water and food coloring. Then head out to your snow-covered yard and make some art! Take turns with the colors, and let each child have his or her own “canvas.” Once done, make a snowman and give him a tie-dyed T-shirt.
3. Beginner’s Quidditch
Love Harry Potter? Then this muggle’s take on a wizard’s game is great for you. Think of it as a tag/soccer hybrid game. First, set up hula hoops on opposing sides of the yard (snow just makes it all the more fun). Explain that there will be Chasers, Taggers and Keepers, as well as one Golden Snitch.
Chasers try to throw a ball through the opposing team’s hula hoops while Keepers defend their hoops like a goalie. Taggers use soft foam balls to tag Chasers and make them give up the ball. The child acting as the Golden Snitch runs as fast as possible while the Seekers try to catch him.
4. Frosty’s Hat Toss
Build a snowman and then take turns trying to throw hats onto his head. Whoever gets closest to his snow dome, wins.
5. Reindeer, Reindeer Cross the Roof Top
In this take on “Fishy Fishy Cross My Ocean,” you have a bunch of reindeer trying to cross one side of the yard to the other. But a mean Reindeer Hunter is between the two sides. When the Reindeer Hunter says: “Reindeer, reindeer cross the roof top,” all the reindeer run.
Anyone who gets caught becomes a Hunter. The last reindeer standing is the winner.
6. Winter Scavenger Hunt
Create a list of all things winter: icicle lights, icicles, wreaths, yellow snow, bunnies, a lost mitten, etc. Then either go as a group or break up into teams and take a walk through your neighborhood to see how many items you can cross off the list.
7. Mini Junior Olympics
The winter Olympics are coming, and kids can get inspired by some of the winter games ahead: skiing, bobsledding, ice skating, hockey and curling. Create your own reenacted versions of these games.
For skiing, recreate a slalom course with closely placed obstacles they have to run in between. For ice skating, have them slide around the driveway, creating a special choreographed dance. For curling, just roll a ball on the yard, similar to Bocce. For hockey, set up goals and use sticks and a ball to try to score. For bobsledding, have two kids run down a course while holding on to each other.
Let your kids find ways to get inventive with the sports they love, too. You can time them and have a mini ceremony for each winner.
What other games are favorites in your family for outdoor winter fun?
About the Author: Katie Bugbee is the senior managing editor and resident parenting expert of Care.com. A busy working mother of two, she’s an expert on many parenting dilemmas from appeasing picky eaters to finding the perfect babysitter.
