During the winter, you and your children may be tempted to hibernate in the living room with only the television for distraction. While the days are shorter, darker and colder in the winter, you can still have a lot of fun playing games, both indoors and out, with your kids. Invite the neighbors or a youth group for a merry time.
Outdoor Games
Dress warmly and plan on enjoying the great outdoors on a sunny winter day. Pack up whatever sleds, toboggans, inner tubes or snow disks that you own or borrow, and find a hill for the kids to enjoy sliding down. Have a snowman-building contest or a snowball fight. See who can build the highest fort. Go ice skating at an outdoor skating rink or, if the weather has been cold enough, a local pond. Take the kids skiing or snowboarding. Active Outdoors suggests flying kites in the winter. Visit a beach, field or other place with no electrical lines or trees nearby, and let the winter winds help your kite to soar.
Holiday Games
Around the holidays, kids are often full of pent-up excitement and energy. Help them to burn some of it off with active games that will allow them to express their anticipation of the season. Youth Group Games suggests several relay-style games. One is a Christmas Carol Relay, which does not involve racing or running, and can be played in a small area. Give each team the name of a popular Christmas carol. The goal is for each team to successfully sing their carol, one person at a time, one word at a time. Another relay race for Christmas time is to give each team a Santa suit. One child at a time runs from the starting line to the end of the gym or room and back while wearing a Santa suit. He takes off the suit and hands it to the next person in line, who does the same. The first team to get all members back to the starting position wins. Children who celebrate Hanukkah often enjoy playing with a dreidel and collecting gold chocolate coins, recommends Apples 4 the Teacher. Another Hanukkah game is to play Pin the Candle on the Menorah. Make a large menorah out of poster board, blindfold the students, and see who can get their candle closest to the empty candle holder.
Indoor Games
Winter time is a good time to pull out board games, light a fire in the fireplace and drink hot chocolate. Some popular board and card games include Scrabble, Monopoly, Yahtzee and Rummy. Have your children design their own board games out of poster board or butcher paper, markers and crayons. Use dice or a spinner from another game if necessary. For more active indoor fun, play charades, with each person acting out the title of a movie or book or a popular cliche or saying. Get out the craft supplies and have kids make glittery paper snowflakes, Christmas ornaments or Valentine's cards.
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