More Family Activities for Winter

6. Dog Sledding

Age Level: 3 to 5 and adult

Activity Time: 15 minutes

Materials:

• 4 large plastic tote tubs
• a drill
• four 10-foot pieces of nylon rope
• orange cones
• a referee

Before the event, drill two holes in the front of each plastic tote tub. Loop a piece of nylon rope through the holes, and tie the ends of the rope together to create a sled and harness. Create a racetrack by placing orange cones around your area.

Encourage adults to be careful with this activity. Match an adult with each child age 3 to 5. Have these partners form two lines at the starting line.

Have kids sit inside the tub and hold on. Their adult partners will step inside the nylon rope harness as the “sled dogs.” On “go,” two teams make a trip around the racetrack. Have the next teams loaded into their tubs and ready to go once the first two teams have made it to the finish line.

Continue this rotation until every child has had a chance to ride. Some adults may need to run more than once.

7. Ice Hockey

Age Level: 10 to adult
Activity Time: 15 minutes
Materials:

• 20 balloons
• 4 Hula Hoop plastic hoops
• 4 large garbage bags
• masking tape
• 4 brooms

Parents and older kids love to play this version of ice hockey.

Have each team inflate and tie off five balloons. Then have teams place their balloons in the center of the activity area where all four quadrants meet.

Teams will each create a goal by taping a large garbage bag around a Hula Hoop plastic hoop to form a makeshift net. Have each team select a goal holder to hold the Hula Hoop net at one end of the quadrant’s “court.” The goal holders must remain stationary throughout the game.

Then each team must choose a “sweeper”—someone who tries to prevent any balloons from entering the Hula Hoop net. Each sweeper gets a broom.

Next, have each team’s members form pairs and hold hands with their partners. On “go,” partners can use any part of their bodies except their hands to try to get the balloons into the three other teams’ Hula Hoop nets. Play until all the balloons have been deposited in the nets.

8. Ice Fishing

Age Level: 3 to adult

Activity Time: 10 minutes

Materials:

• plastic ice cube trays
• water
• 200 large paper clips
• 12-inch wooden kebab skewers
• four 4-foot wooden dowels
• 4 strong magnets
• hot glue gun
• hot glue sticks
• 1 plastic swimming pool

Before the winter picnic, freeze 200 “ice fish”—ice cubes with a paper clip sticking out—using these instructions:

Fill the ice cube trays with water. Insert a 12-inch wooden kebab skewer through the center of several paper clips for one side of the tray. Place a paper clip in each cube and rest the kebab skewers on top of the tray. Repeat for the other side of the tray and then freeze the cubes.

Make fishing rods by attaching a strong magnet with hot glue to the end of each 4-foot wooden dowel rod. Just before this game begins, place all the ice fish in the swimming pool facing up. Place the pool in the center of the four quadrants.

Have all four teams line up inside their respective quadrants, facing the pool. Give the first person in line the fishing rod. On “go,” the fishing begins. Team members fish until they’re able to catch a fish and place it in their quadrant. Play until all fish are caught.

Be sure to test the magnetized fishing rods prior to the activity. Make sure your magnets are strong enough to lift the ice cubes.

9. Icy Marbles

Age Level: 4 to adult

Activity Time: 10 minutes

Materials:

• plastic swimming pool
• plastic sheeting
• towels
• several hundred marbles
• one 5-pound bag of ice
• a referee
• 4 plastic containers
• cold water

Families can exercise their toe coordination with this chilly game.

Place the pool in the center of the four quadrants on top of the plastic sheeting. Fill it halfway with cold water. Add the ice and marbles. Place towels and a plastic container in each quadrant.

Have all the players from each team line up in their quadrants and remove one shoe and sock. When the referee blows the whistle, each player sticks his or her foot in the water and tries to pick up a marble using only his or her toes. When players are able to grab a marble, they then place it in their team’s plastic container and the next player in line goes.

10. Ice Village

Age Level: 10 to adult

Activity Time: 20 minutes or longer

Materials:

• water
• food coloring
• various sizes of plastic containers
• an adult supervisor

Older kids will enjoy creating an ice village in this outdoor project. Prior to the event, freeze colored water in the plastic containers.

Have participants work together outside to create an ice village using the colored blocks of ice. Create the village in an area in front of your church where people can view it. If your weather is cold, the ice village will last a long time. If you live in a warmer climate, the village will certainly be a topic of interest!