Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Guest post - winter activities by Christina Johnson




Doesn´t the picture of table makes you feel hungry?
The sweet lady Christina Johnson wrote me a guest post about winter activities. 
Here in Spain is still very cold, even in many regions in Spain it was snowing...

Activities to Bring Family and Friends Together During the Winter

Winter wind chills the body right down to the bones. Once inside your house, you really don't want to bundle up and go out again. But staying close to home can isolate and keep you from planning activities with friends or doing fun things as a family or with other families. Instead of hibernating at home, you can choose to warm up with activities that get you out of the house and enjoying time with others.

Plan a progressive meal with close friends. This can be with a group of singles, couples or families. A meal consists of an appetizer, main courses, dessert and snacks. Decide among those friends participating who will offer which part of a meal. At the first home, an appetizer is served. The group moves on to main courses at different homes. Everyone relaxes over dessert and coffee. Couples can work together at one home. A progressive meal not only gets friends and family out of the house during the winter, but also gives individuals a chance to show off their cooking skills.

For a variation, add one last stop after dessert. Include snacks and a movie at a home with a set up allowing friends to enjoy the movie together. The movie can also be shown with dessert or a kid's movie can be shown in the family room to keep the children occupied while the grown-ups eat and chat.

Plan a winter competition. As children, you built snowmen and made snow angels. You may have made snow forts and had snowball fights. Recreate those fun children's activities in a large backyard. Friends can team up or families can compete against other families. However, those involved team up, the object is to win points for your team. This does mean at least two individuals must serve as judges. This could be an older relative or friend. Teams have a certain amount of time to complete each activity or event. These events may include creating a unique snowman, making the best snow angels, winning a snowball fight, etc. Winners receive fun, little prizes. Everyone gets warmed up inside with hot chocolate or coffee and popcorn.

Get together, bundle up and take a tour to enjoy nature during winter. Take pictures of the scenery. Capture the snow on trees at a local park, skaters on the pond or delicate ice crystals forming on leaves. Discover how winter changes the scenery and capture both the ordinary and not so ordinary way nature reveals herself in winter garb. Compile the pictures in a slide show to enjoy later with snacks and something warm to drink.

With a little imagination and creativity, your family and your friends can plan memorable winter get togethers.

Christina Johnson who works remotely for Elliman Prudential in the New York City Apartments and Rentals market. She is using her journalism major to combine what she loves most, writing and her career. Her specialties include home decor design and DIY home improvement projects.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

looking at all that food has made me so hungry