As the temperature drops, there’s no denying the winter season is here. Some may not look forward to the change in season, but I know the great things that come with the cold.
From Christmas time with all the family fun and decorations to wintry activities like building snowmen and baking cookies, there are a million reasons to love the winter season.
I think when the world around is changing it’s the perfect time to change things in other ways, too. There are a lot of fun things to do in the winter you may not have tried yet, and trying new things is how you find out what you love.
• Help out around the holidays. Christmas is a time for helping the people around you have a merry holiday season. You could sponsor a soldier and send small gifts, cards or letters to put a smile on someone’s face. Animal shelters, toy drives and nursing homes are always in need of helping hands. If you’ve never volunteered at a soup kitchen before, winter is the perfect time to take your family. Even if you’ve done it before, it’s a wonderful wintry good deed. Check with your local Salvation Army, Chamber of Commerce, or church if you are looking for a place to make a difference.
• Get outside and enjoy the season: As long as you’re properly prepared for the cold temperatures in thermal layers, the outdoors can be an amazing place in the winter. Rent snow shoes and try your luck walking some snowy trains in the woods. Look for animal footprints in the snow and bring hot chocolate in a thermos with you. Make birdfeeders with pine cones, covered in peanut butter and sprinkled with bird seed. Winter bonfires are the best for enjoying fresh air and keeping warm. Sledding, skiing and ice skating are great exercise and exhilarating fun. Build an igloo, either by hand or with a snow block maker, and fill it with blankets on top of water-proof trash bags to make it cozy.
• Stay warm and cozy inside: When I think of indoors during winter time, I think of crafts and decorations. Filling your home with seasonal décor is the best way to get excited about the holidays. I love to make frozen ornaments by filling a small dish with water and placing things like leaves, berries and twigs along with a string for hanging it, and then freezing it overnight. In the morning, you’ll have a pretty decoration for your trees outside.
• Create homemade gifts for friends and family: An easy, practical homemade gift for yourself or someone else is a hand warmer. Simply fold a thick piece of corduroy in half and sew all but one side closed. Then fill it with uncooked rice and sew the remaining side closer. To use it to warm up cold hands, toes or neck, warm it up in the microwave for about one minute.
Editor’s Note: Allison Ervin is the 17-year-old daughter of Lehman’s VP of Marketing Glenda Lehman Ervin, and granddaughter of Lehman’s founder Jay Lehman.
