Not everyone can afford to take expensive winter trips to tropical locales to create magical family memories swimming with dolphins, paragliding over cobalt blue waves or cruising next to breaching whales.
Heck, you may not even be able to pay for cable television, so that you can bond with your clan while watching “Home Alone” on ABC Family.
We live on a tight budget, so cable TV is not a luxury our family indulges in.
While my young daughter would love nothing more than to cuddle up with the newest Disney characters, TLC reality stars, and Bobby Flay on something larger than a 12-inch computer monitor, abstaining from overpriced channel surfing has been a blessing in disguise–in more ways than one. Not only do we avoid forking over 100 bucks a month for cable access, but we’ve also learned how to strengthen our family ties with free activities, such as:
Snow Art: Put the focus back on your family relationships by heading outdoors to have fun together. Make the most of Mother Nature’s offerings during the winter months by creating snow rainbows. All you need is some food coloring, water and squirt bottles. Mix up a variety of “paint” and color the snow to form a mural or work together as a team to create a red, blue and green snow castle.
Snow Bricks: Use old bread pans to mold snow into bricks; then, work together to construct a huge show fort, igloo or house. Depending on how many people you have in your clan, consider assigning construction tasks to teams of people, so that you can build an entire snow town complete with snow people and vehicles.
Snow Feast: During the next snowfall, make a beeline for the backyard to collect fresh flakes. Bring along a clean bowl and scoop up snow to make edible creations. Try pouring your favorite soda or juice over a cup full of snow. Or, make a feast inside with some vanilla ice cream, chocolate cookies and crushed candy canes. Place a heaping spoonful of ice cream on the cookie and then roll it in the smashed peppermint candy for a refreshing winter treat.