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25 Free Things To Do In Winter

December 11, 2022 By: Sweet Frugal Life21 Comments

Fun winter activities for families!

I absolutely love the snow!  There is nothing better than waking up to a fresh blanket of new snow and seeing it sparkle in the sunlight.  The only negative thing about the snow is that it’s so cold!!  Unfortunately, I live in an area where it stays cold for many, many months!  We all get a little stir crazy around here being cooped up for so long.   Because of this, I’ve learned to get creative during these cold months to help us stay sane and stay in budget!  Here are my favorite free things to do in winter.

free winter activities - fun ideas for kids during winter

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Snow Winter Activities For Families

Do you live in a place that gets a lot of snow?  Use it to your advantage and plan some fun winter activities for families!  There are so many fun ways to enjoy fresh snow!

1.  Build A Snow Cave

You might enjoy spending the day outside building a snow cave as a family.  Turn it into a competition to see who can build the best cave.  You could even get extra creative and turn your cave into a castle.  Add some stairs, windows, or any other fancy feature you come up with!

2.  Make Snow Candy

Have you ever read the book Little House in the Big Woods?  It’s one of our favorites!  In this book Laura Ingalls grandmother made the kids snow candy, and we have been making it every year since then!

To make snow candy, just place an empty bowl outside while it’s snowing.  The bowl will collect fresh, clean snow.  Once it’s full, bring it inside and immediately pour pure maple syrup on top.  The syrup will harden to make a sweet treat!

  • Related:  Easy Cinnamon Candy Recipe For Christmas

3.  Sledding

Sledding is one of my kids favorite free winter activity.  Sleds are fairly cheap and most sledding hills are free to enjoy!

Try a few sledding hills around town and see if you can find a new favorite.  This is a fun way to enjoy spending the day laughing with friends and family.

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4.  Winter Walk and Scavenger Hunt

Get outside and enjoy the snow with a winter walk and scavenger hunt.  You can turn the scavenger hunt into a game by putting together a list of different items to find while on the walk.  A few ideas for the hunt might be:  a pine cone, icicle, boot tracks, animal tracks, a snowman, etc.

5.  Snowball Fight  

Another free thing to do in winter is to have a snowball fight with your friends or family.  Keep it light and fun so that everyone can enjoy it.  This activity is guaranteed to bring a lot of laughs and memories!

6.  Build a Snowman

Spend some time with your family outside building a snowman.  You could even go a step further and build a family of snowmen!  All you have to do is ask everyone to build the snowman that fits their unique personality!  Make it the same height that you are, and give it your scarf and gloves, or anything else that fits your personality.

7.  Snow Ice Cream

You might enjoy making snow ice cream with your kids.  Here is a simple recipe to try it out.  This is a fun way to enjoy the snow…while staying indoors!

Fun in the Snow for Families -free winter activities

 

 

Winter Indoor Activities

Don’t like going outside in the snow???  I get it!  Here are a few winter indoor activities for families!

8.  Movie Night

Snuggle up together, pop some popcorn and have a family movie night.  Watch a few old classics or try something new.  All that matters is that you are spending time together. 

Not sure where to stream?  Try Paramount+ for free for one week!

9.  Bake Bread

I love spending cold winter days in my kitchen baking something warm.  It’s the perfect season for baking bread.

After you’re done with the bread lather it with homemade butter and eat it together as a family.

10.  Homemade Cocoa

There is nothing better than a hot mug of cocoa on a cold winters day.  It only takes a couple of minutes and a few ingredients to make a big batch homemade hot chocolate mix.  Make the hot chocolate together as a family and enjoy sipping it next to a warm cozy fire.

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11.  Family Slumber Party

Haul blankets, pillows and sleeping bags onto the living room floor and have a large family slumber party together.  You can watch movies, play games and eat treats before falling asleep.  This will be a night your kids will always remember!

12.  Read a Novel as a Family

My family loves to read a novel together every winter.  I usually pick a classic and read it to the kids for 20-30 minutes in the evenings.  A few favorites have been Little House on the Prairie, Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little.

13.  Make Paper Snowflakes

You might enjoy spending an afternoon cutting out paper snowflakes and hanging them around your home.  We like to tape a few to the windows and use invisible thread to hang some from the ceiling.  You can find countless Youtube video tutorials about how to make snowflakes.  This is such a fun, cheap and easy craft!

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14.  Make Play Dough

Make some homemade play dough at home!  You can use your homemade playdough to build snowmen or other fun creations.  Check out my favorite playdough recipe here.

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15.  Have An Indoor Picnic

You don’t have to have warm weather for a picnic, have one at home in your living room!  All you have to do is spread a blanket out on the floor, bring a few of your favorite picnic foods and enjoy a picnic indoors!

16.  Make a Fort

Gather all the blankets and chairs in your house and build a gigantic blanket fort.  Play games, read stories and spend the day hiding out in the fort.

  • Related:  Fun activities to do at home

17.  Make a Sock Snowman

Sock snowmen are a fun, easy winter craft!  All it takes is a little creativity and a few random items found around the house to turn an ordinary sock into a snowman!

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18. Play Board Games

We love board games in our family and they are perfect to play when you are stuck inside!  You can find some cheap board games at your local thrift store, but there are plenty of fun games played with just a deck of cards or dice.

  • Related:  20 Family Board Games, all Under $20

19.  Make Friendship Bracelets

Spend a few hours with your kids making friendship bracelets.  Just braid three threads together and tie in a circle.  Be sure to make two bracelets!  One to give away to a friend and one to keep.

20.  Have A Family Dance Party

Sometimes our family (or maybe just this tired mom! 😉 ) just needs a good old fashioned dance party!  We crank up a few of our fave dance tunes and dance the grumpy faces away!  It’s the perfect way to turn a bad day into a great day!

 

Winter Activities In Town

Need to get out of the house, but don’t want to spend a lot of money?  Try one of the activities below!

21. Visit the Library

The library offers a lot of free activities for everyone in the family.  Take advantage of all the many free programs and be sure to check out a book or movie while you are there!

22.  Serve a Meal at a Homeless Shelter

There is nothing better for a child to learn than how to care for others.  Pick a day as a family to help serve a meal at the local homeless shelter.  This is such a humbling experience!

  • Related:  101 Frugal Ideas To Light The World

23.  Visit a Pet Store

Visiting a pet store is a great way to spend an afternoon.  We love walking around the local pet store and visiting the cats, dogs, and birds.  My kids ask to go regularly and I never complain!

24.  Donate to a Thrift Store

As a family go through all of the toys, clutter, and household items.  Fill up a large box of items to donate to a thrift store.  It feels so good to start the new year fresh and clutter free!

25.  Visit a Neighbor

Do you have an elderly neighbor who might need a visit?  Or maybe someone new to the neighborhood?  As a family pay a special visit to someone needing company.  It’s a great way to brighten their day and get to know someone new!

 

In Conclusion

There are some many free things to do in winter!  I hope that you are able to pick a few off of this list and have a budget friendly, magical winter spent with the ones you love!

 

Related Articles:

Fun At Home Activities For Teens

15 Free At Home Spring Break Activities for Kids

Liked what you read?  Pin it for future reference!

Free Family Winter Activities

free winter activities for kids - family winter fun ideas

fun winter activities for free - winter family activities

 

What are your favorite free things to do in winter?

How To Play Fish Bowl

July 16, 2021 By: Sweet Frugal Life8 Comments

Check Out This Fun Party Game For Large Groups!

Anyone else love playing party games?  Games are one of my favorite activities.  I love to laugh, get competitive, and enjoy time with friends and family all while playing a game together.  One of my favorite group games is called Fish Bowl.  This game is the perfect mix of Charades, Password and Taboo.  I’m excited to share with you exactly How To Play Fish Bowl so you can enjoy it at your next party!  

 

How To Play Fish Bowl

Fish Bowl is a really easy game to learn and play.  I’ve played it in many different groups and it has always been a hit.  The perfect game for a group of mixed personalities!

 

1.  Gather Supplies

One of the reasons why I love this game so much is because it’s so easy to prepare.  You do need to gather a few supplies, but you probably already have them in your house.  To play Fish Bowl you will need:

  • Blank White Paper
  • Scissors
  • Pens/Pencils
  • Bowl (this can be an actual fishbowl, but is not necessary to play)
  • Timer (I just use the one on my phone)

 

2.  Prepare The Fish Bowl

Now that you have your supplies, it’s time to prepare the “fish bowl.”  The original game was meant to be played using an actual fishbowl, but any bowl will work just fine.  Use whatever you have at home!

Cut your white papers into thin strips, they need to be big enough for players to write a word or phrase on.  Each player will need three strips of paper.  Once you have your strips of paper of cut, pass three to everyone playing.

Ask each person to write a noun on each one of their paper strips.  For example you could write, “pine tree”, “Santa Clause” or “rollerblades.”  You can make these words as vague or familiar as possible, but keeping mind that you want your team to be able to guess the word you wrote down.

Fold each of the papers in half and place them into the bowl.

 

3.  Split Into Teams

It’s now time to split into teams!  You will need two teams for this game, each with an equal amount of players in them.  I call the teams, Team A and Team B (so creative, I know 😉 ).  You can call the teams whatever you would like!

Have everyone sit in a circle, with teams sitting every other person.  So, players will sit: Team A, Team B, Team A, Team B, etc.

 

4. Round 1:  Taboo

Now, for the fun part!  Let’s learn how to play Fish Bowl!  This game is separated into three rounds.  Each round is played similar, but with a different twist.  The first round is the Taboo round.

Choose one person from Team A to start the round.  Give that player the bowl containing the paper strips and set the timer to 60 seconds.

Once the timer begins the player will pull a strip of paper from the bowl and describe the word on their paper while trying to get their team to guess it. first player will pull a strip of paper from the bowl and describe the word trying to get their team to guess it.  They can not say any part of the secret  word, or use any gestures.  So, if the word is, “Blanket” they can not say the word “blank” when giving the clue.  Instead they might give clues like, “something warm on your bed.”

Once the team guesses the word on the strip, set it aside and draw out another strip from the bowl.  Keep trying to get your team to guess as many words as you can before the timer goes off.

After the 60 seconds are done that player keeps the strips of papers their team guessed correctly, and then passes the bowl to the next player, who should be on Team B.

Play continues in this order until all words in the bowl have been guessed.

Once the round is over, have each team add up the amount of papers their team guessed correctly.  Each paper is worth one point for the team.

Fold the papers in half again and then place them back into the bowl.  It’s time for round 2!

 

5.  Round 2:  Password

The second round of the Fish Bowl game is the Password round.  Play continues similar to round 1, where each team takes turns trying to get their teammates to guess as many words as they can within the 60 second time limit.

However, this round you can only give a one word clue to describe the word on your paper.  For example, if the word is “blanket” you might give the one word clue of “bed.”  It really helps to try to remember the clues that were given in the first round and try to give your one word clue based off of the first round clues.

Let Team B start this round since Team A started the first round.

Once all of the papers have been guessed correctly, add up how many words each team guessed correctly and add it to your score.

Fold the papers in half and place them back into the bowl for the last round.

6.  Round 3:  Charades

The final round is the charades round (my favorite!).  Keep playing using the same routine as round 1 and round 1; passing the bowl around the circle and taking 60 second turns trying to get your team to guess the words in the bowl.

Only this time, you can’t say any words when trying to get your team to guess.  You can only use gestures to act out the clue.  So, if my word was “blanket” I would maybe act out getting into bed and pulling a blanket on me.

After all of the words in the bowl have been guessed add up the scores for each team one more time.

Whichever team has the most points at the end of the game wins!

 

In Conclusion

The fish bowl party game is so much fun.  It’s a great ice breaker to use at a youth activity or party.  I love teaching this game to new people, because everyone who plays it enjoys it!  Fish bowl is a game for all personalities and interests.

Try this game at your next get together, you will not regret it!!  Before long you’ll be teaching everyone else how to play fish bowl!

 

Related Articles:

Fun activities to do at home

25 Completely Free Family Winter Activities

 

Pin For Future Reference:

how to play fish bowl - easy group game to play

I hope this helped you understand how to play fish bowl!

Fun Family Valentine Traditions

February 18, 2019 By: Sweet Frugal Lifecomment

How to celebrate valentines day with kids and on a budget!

If you’ve been following me on Instagram you’ve probably learned that my philosophy on parenting (and basically life) revolves around easy and cheap!  Our Family Valentines Day Celebrations are no different.

Did you know that the average person spends around $140 on Valentines Day.  This shocked me!  I understand that it’s fun to splurge a few times a year and I am a big fan of celebrating love and budgeting for joy.…but, I really believe this can be done without spending a lot of money.

Our Valentines Day is a celebration that includes my husband and I, and our three children.  I like to include my children because I love them too!  Valentines Day doesn’t have to only be about romantic love, it can be about all types of love!  We have a fun family day on Valentines day and then a frugal valentines date the next night.

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Family Celebrations

Our Valentines Day may be frugal, but that doesn’t make it any less special.  Even though I spend very little money, our day is still just as lovely and fun as ever.  My 6 year old has actually been counting down to the day for weeks (not joking).

Mailbox Love

Technically our valentines day traditions begin a couple of weeks BEFORE February 14th.  Years ago I bought these darling tin mailboxes at the Target dollar spot (I love Target!).  They were about $5 a piece, so not super frugal, but they have lasted us for years, and have been one of my favorite purchases ever (for reals).  I found a similar mailbox on Amazon here.


We use these mailboxes to “deliver” little love notes and handmade gifts to each other in the days leading up to Valentines Day.  It warms my heart every single time I watch one of my kids put a kind note into their siblings mailbox.  Real talk…..my kids fight a lot…..so these moments of kindness are just so so special to me.  I like to surprise my kids in their mailbox with small little gifts, such as a pencil, eraser, or some type of treat and a few love notes.  They love this!

Morning Love

Valentines day at our house always begins with heart shaped pancakes.  These aren’t fancy by any means….but guess what!  My kids never care.  They love their heart pancakes, misshaped and all (kids are pretty awesome this way, aren’t they??).

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School lunchboxes are packed in the morning as usual, with the exception of a few extra goodies.  I like to throw in a 25 cent box of conversation hearts and a little love note from me.    Now that my oldest is 13 I’ve started skipping the extra goodies in her lunchbox….I have learned that teenagers aren’t the biggest fan of mom notes in their lunchboxes….go figure!  😉

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Dinner Love

Decorating is not my forte, but I try to make our valentines dinner table a little extra special.  I use our nicest tablecloth (which is actually just a cheap one that I bought from Walmart 8 years ago), I always light a few candles, and cut out some red paper hearts to place around the table.  So easy right!?!?  But the kids love it!

 


Valentines dinner is simple, yet fun.  One year we had a heart shaped pizza, this year I will be making a chicken pot pie with the top crust decorated as hearts.  The amount of money I spend on dinner is always in my regular weekly grocery budget, so no excess spending here!  Woo!

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Frugal Valentines Gifts

Every year on our dinner table I include a small gift for each of my kids, and something for my husband.  This year I bought each of them a small box of chocolates from the Dollar Tree, my daughters both received a small necklace and my son received a stuffed animal from the Dollar Tree.  My husband is getting a larger sized box of chocolates and a love letter.

 


In Conclusion

These easy Valentine traditions aren’t anything fancy and hardly cost me anymore, but the gesture means a lot to my kids and I have found them trying to follow my example.  The past few years my kids have been making their own little valentine gifts, and then secretly placing them on the table before dinner.

If you are needing a more Valentines Day Gift ideas, I have a few guides listed below:

10 Valentine Gifts for Her under $10

10 Valentines gifts for him under $10!

Gift Ideas for Teen Girls under $25

25 Gift Ideas for Tween Girls; all under $25!

25 Gift Ideas for 5-7 year old boys under $25

Mothers Day Gift Guide: 15 FREE Gift Ideas

 

This is what Valentines Day is all about!  It’s about spending the time and thought to give service and love to someone you care about.

I was going to buy some strawberries and chocolate for an after dinner dessert and activity, but it honestly didn’t fit in this weeks grocery budget, so I didn’t.  Maybe next year!

Don’t forget to pin this article for future reference!

frugal valentines ideas for kids

family valentine traditions - fun ways to celebrate valentine day as a family

You might be interested in a few of my other Valentines Posts:

Yarn Hearts: An Easy Valentine Craft for Kids

Chocolate Dipped Valentine Cookies Recipe

What are your family valentine traditions?

Hello! I’m Melanie!

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