Being as it’s winter here in Iowa for at least 4 months (seems like wayyyy longer) we have to come up with fun things to do, both indoors and outdoors. I always laugh when I meet people from outside the Midwest and they ask what we do in the winter. Like what do you mean? So this is for all those not from the Midwest wondering how we deal with winter for so long. There is so much you can do fas winter activities!

Outdoor Winter Activities

• Play in the snow. As a kid I loved building snow forts and trying to build a snowman, even if my brother always kicked the head off.

• Ride snowmobile. I unfortunately have never done this because my family didn’t have one as a kid, but my friends did. There is such a thing as a snowmobile certification for those under 18, at least in Minnesota and Iowa.
• Go Skiing. Both downhill skiing and cross country skiing can be fun if you know what you are doing. I went downhill skiing with my 5th grade class and THAT was an experience. I could not get my ski back on halfway down the hill so I started WALKING down the ski hill. To say the least, I was mortified. Really haven’t gone skiing since.

• Go tubing or sledding. I went tubing last winter for the first time and had an absolute blast! I would say it is more fun than sledding because I didn’t have to walk back up the hill. The only benefit to sledding is when there are jumps and colliding with people, if you like that sort of thing. This is the place I went to for skiing and tubing, Buck Hill.
• Go ice skating. I am not very good at this and it makes my skins hurt (maybe because I always use rental skates?) but either way it isn’t my favorite thing to do. But can be fun if you know what you are doing.

• Go hunting or shoot clay pigeons. There are a lot of rules about hunting no matter what you are hunting so make sure to read up and get the correct certifications needed. I have never gone hunting, but have shot at clay pigeons before and I think it is so much fun. Make sure you have earmuffs though or you will hear ringing for the next day!

Indoor Winter Activities

• Binge watch on Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime. Whenever I get to do this I feel like I’ve wasted my day, but I love it at the same time. I don’t have very much free time, but binge watching is always a good idea. Want to watch scary movies or Christmas movies, I got you covered!

• Play board or card games. Every holiday my family will play 500 (the card game) and Phase 10. Hands down what I look forward to most for holidays. Now that everyone is working and has their own lives it’s hard to catch up and have that quality time.
• Make a new recipe. If you love to cook or bake this can be a blast and a perfect opportunity to try new food. I have recently started cooking for myself (finally not on a meal plan at college) and have learned how much you can mess up simple things, like enchiladas. But that is half the fun!

• Pamper yourself. Draw a hot bath, add a bath bomb, light some candles and pour some wine. Enough said.
• Avoid the weather completely. I did a whole blog post on this one when it first snowed!

Are you from the Midwest? What else do you like to do in these cold winter months? Have you done any of these winter activities?