Weekly Winter Activities

Like sipping a snow cone way too fast, thinking of things to do in the winter can cause instant brain freeze. Here are some great winter activities to help get you outside. Come back each Monday for the new weekly activity! Try one or try them all! The whole idea is to stay active by getting creative with your time. Have fun!

Get creative! A little snow and water, and you’ve got all you need to let your inner artist shine. Packing snow is easy to work with, so get outside, soak up some sunny Vitamin D and get to work.

Share your masterpiece #belowzero

Just because we’re adults, it doesn’t mean the fun has to stop! Get all geared up, head outdoor and build yourself a snow fort! All you need is some snow and some imaginations, let’s get started.

Here are some tips to build a great snow fort:

1. Trace out the size of the fort – not too big and not too small
2. Start building up the fort walls – can be by hands freestyling it or you can also use some Tupperware container to make snow bricks.
3. If using snow bricks, think like a bricklayer. Leave a few inches between each brick and fill with packed snow.
4. Sculpt the walls with more snow and smooth out with a shovel
5. Turn it into ice! Poor some cold water from the bottom up on the outside of the walls to create an icy finish.

Warm heart can keep away the cold when you plan a romantic outdoor Valentine’s Day rendezvous. Avoid the rush and competition of making reservations and the long lines at dining restaurants this Valentine’s Day, the outdoors has gifts for you and your loved ones! We often think that picnics is reserved for summer only, this is not true. Wear some warm winter gear, bring a cozy blanket sipping on some hot chocolate, hot apple cider or some hot mulled wine, with some snacks and enjoy the fresh air and starry night.

Colour your world and bring a rainbow of inspiration to your outdoor play. Add food colouring to water in a spray bottle and you could have the most unique creations on the block!

Show us your art! Share your masterpiece #belowzero.

Pick a unique theme. Capture a special winter image you can frame.

There’s nothing better to release your inner Canadian than to find an outdoor sheet of ice to skate on. Dress warm and enjoy!

Set your camera to black and white and go capture images using natural light and reflection on the snow. Print them up and colour the images. Create unique photo art as a result. And don't forget to add your photos to the CWF Photo Contest!

Combine seeds, berries and other bird-friendly edibles.

In a sauce pan, boil 1/2 c water and 3 tbsp corn syrup. Reduce heat and add 2 1/2 teaspoons unflavoured gelatin, such as Knox. Heat until dissolved.

In a mixing bowl, add liquid from saucepan to 3/4 c flour (any type). Mix then add 4 c bird seed (whatever suits your backyard birds).

Mix then add clumps to non-stick sprayed cookie cutter shapes. Allow to cool. Cut small hole for twine then hang outside for your feathered friends!

See what species you can attract and track your bird visitors using the free iNaturalist app (download at iNaturalist.ca).

Pokémon Go has nothing on our free iNaturalist Canada app. Use it to turn your winter hike into an educational experience – your app instantly identifies all the wildlife you see along your way!

Winter screams hot chocolate! And what better way to enjoy hot chocolate than it being accompanied near a winter fire making some s’mores. Here are some of our favourite s’more recipes:

• Marshmallow
• Graham crackers
• Chocolate candy bar

• Marshmallow
• Graham crackers
• Peanut butter

• Marshmallow
• Graham crackers
• Nutella

• Marshmallow
• Graham crackers
• Banana slices
• Peanut butter

• Marshmallow
• Rice crispy square cut in two
• Chocolate candy bar

• Marshmallow
• Oreo cookie (take the top biscuit layer off)
• Chocolate candy bar

Get creative! A little snow and water, and you’ve got all you need to let your inner artist shine. Packing snow is easy to work with, so get outside, soak up some sunny vitamin D and get to work.

There’s a whole world of stunning photography waiting for you outside this winter. From trees frozen with crystalline ice to glorious sunsets across a frozen plain, there’s a photo opp waiting to happen everywhere you look. You can always enter your photographs into the CWF photo contest too.

A few ideas:

• The perfect snowflake
• A squirrel's nest
• An icicle
• A silhouette of a bare tree
• Light refracting on snow or ice
• A wild animal track (mouse, squirrel, fox...)
• A leaf still stuck to a tree
• Birds at a birdfeeder
• Frost on a windowpane

Follow these simple design plans and also provide a winter shelter for birds toughing it out in Canada.