13 winter family traditions to try this year

Last Updated on April 4, 2024

Winter is the perfect time to start some winter family traditions, because you’ll want to make the most of your family time, before the craziness of a new year starts.

If starting some winter family traditions is something you’re interested in, here are 13 winter tradition ideas that you may like to consider.

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Set some family goals

Winter is a great time for goal setting, which can be done as a family.

Choose a date in December where everyone can talk about what their favourite thing about the year was, what their least favourite thing was, and something they’d like to achieve next year.

Start a winter activities jar

There’s a lot of opportunities over winter to do something as a family, but often it can be hard to think of something to do, especially on days that are really, really cold.

To avoid having to think of things to do, start a winter activities jar that has many ideas to choose from.

This involves each family member writing down things they’d like to do over winter on pieces of paper, which they put in a jar.

Then whenever you have a day to do something, someone in the family can choose an activity from the jar, and that’s the activity that you’ll do that day.

Try some snow themed winter family traditions

There are many snow based winter family traditions that you can do, some include:

• Tobogganing
• Sledging
• Pretending to be snow angels
• Building snow men
• Having snow fights
• Making a snow fort
• Constructing snow castles

Celebrate the Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice is the day of the year where there’s the least amount of daylight, and the longest night, which many people celebrate in different ways.

You can make Winter Solstice part of your winter family traditions by doing any of the following:

• Sitting by the fire and telling stories
• Going for a morning walk
• Playing board games
• Cooking your family’s favourite meal

Light candles

Candles are perfect for creating a cosy, warm atmosphere, and over winter each family member could take turns lighting their favourite candle scent.

Some winter scents you could try include apple, cinnamon, orange, ginger, and cocoa.

Catch up with your reading

For me a perfect winter night is drinking something warm, snuggling on the couch, and catching up with my reading.

This is a fantastic winter tradition to do on your own, but can also be done as a family by snuggling up together, and reading some winter themed toddler books or kid’s books.

Some fun kid’s winter themed books are:

• Brrrr: A Book of Winter, by II Sung Na
• Walking in a Winter Wonderland, by Tim Hopgood
• Snow Bear, by Tony Mitton, illustrated by Alison Brown
• Soup Day, by Melissa Iwai
• Ten Ways to Hear Snow, by Cathy Camper, illustrated by Kenard Pak

Have a family movie night

Family movie nights are a fantastic winter family tradition because who doesn’t love family snuggle time and winter friendly snacks?

Some family friendly winter themed movies are:

• Frozen
• Ice Age
• The Polar Express
• Elf
• The Nightmare Before Christmas

Arts and crafts station

There are many easy arts and crafts activities for kids of any age to enjoy, as well as Christmas craft ideas that can double up as festive home décor.

Indoor camping

Another winter family tradition that you may like to try is holding an annual indoor camping night.

To do this you could set up a tent, fort, or beds in the living room, eat camping food like hot dogs, chips, and popcorn, and tell stories until it’s time to go to sleep.

Christmas traditions

Family Christmas traditions are also winter traditions you could start, as they’re both during wintertime.

Go to a play or pantomime

There are many plays and pantomimes suitable for all ages running over winter, which you could schedule to attend each year.

Research where your local theatre is, and find out what they’re running over winter.

Plan a holiday

Having something to look forward to once the weather’s warmer can be achieved by planning your next family holiday.

You could choose your location, start to look out for any deals, and even see what there is to do in your location of choice.

Declutter

Winter is the perfect time to do a quick declutter because no one wants to stay indoors decluttering during the warmer months.

You could do this during the same weekend each year, and donate unwanted clothes to charity, and unwanted toys to a local toy bank.

I hope you’ve found some winter family traditions here that you may like to try this year.

What do you love about winter?