Fifteen days until Christmas and only 11 until the Winter Solstice! Today I wanted to share a few fun ideas for cheap or free winter activities that you can enjoy this season without breaking the bank. These are great when you need a last-minute plan with friends, family, or even a date and don't want to spend a whole lot, but still have a meaningful winter/holiday experience.
ONE | Go sledding somewhere in your town when it snows. As a kid, whenever it would snow, we would all get together with our friends and drive to the high school, which had a really big hill next to the soccer fields. We would spend an hour or two sledding and then go back to someone's house for hot chocolate.
TWO | Have a holiday movie marathon and watch all your favorites in one day! This is especially easy to do if you want to watch the older classic films because they are all decently short. They also can all be found online for free, which makes this such an easy indoor activity.
THREE | Bake a variety of holiday cookies and then have a taste test to determine your favorites. There is nothing better than the smell of warm, freshly baked cookies during the winter season, and there are so many yummy types to try (post on that coming soon!). Get a group of friends together one night to bake, or host it as a cookie exchange instead and crown the Cookie Queen!
FOUR | Drive around to see Christmas lights in your town or state. Every state has one or two towns that are known for their outrageous Christmas displays. Find one near you and drive around looking at all the lights one night. The same thing goes for hotels, resorts, amusement parks, and malls - some really go all out with the Christmas decor!
FIVE | Host a gingerbread house competition. You can purchase ready-made gingerbread houses at stores like Costco and set up teams to decorate each house, then have a panel of judges choose winners based on different categories, like the best theme, neatest decorations, and most unique.
SIX | Embrace your inner child and build a fort. Combine this with Idea #2 and make a cozy blanket fort to watch all your holiday movies in.
SEVEN | Make your own ornaments using art supplies that you already have at home, or can purchase at a dollar/craft store. There are so many unique homemade ornament ideas on Pinterest to try out to fit whatever budget or Christmas tree style you want.
EIGHT | Get out all your favorite board games for a game night! Break out the classics like Scrabble and Monopoly, get active with Twister, or go for a full-on girl's night and play some Mall Madness (comment below if you also had this game and LOVED it)!
NINE | Host a wintery talent show. This is especially fun with young kids but can work for all ages. When I danced throughout high school, we used to have an annual dance-off where we were split into teams and had to come up with a themed dance set to holiday music. We had to choreograph, sing, and stage the entire production and at the end of class, we would present to the other groups. This normally resulted in the wildest, most imaginative dance productions yet, including our own renditions of the Nutcracker and tales about going over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house for Christmas. I highly recommend this for an activity that will result in belly laughs, happy tears, and the best ab workout you'll have all year.
TEN | Go caroling! This is something I've always wanted to do and I think it is so magical when you do see carolers out and about during this time of year. Arrange for a group to carol around town, at a holiday event, or even visit a nursing home or children's hospital, if it is allowed, to spread some cheer this season.
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