Make this the best winter yet by including these winter essentials in food, fashion, activities, and books. Your whole family will thank you!
As much as I don’t want to admit it, winter is here. We are facing cold temps where I live and I don’t think I can ignore the snow much longer. I’m pretty positive it’s here to stay.
Thankfully there are some great perks to winter time – yummy comfort foods, adorable fashion pieces, fun activities (even some you don’t need to go outside for) and great reads.
I’ve compiled my absolute favorites in these categories and I’m sharing them with you 😀 These are my “must” items. The foods I must eat during the cold months, the clothes I absolutely love to wear when it’s snowing outside, the activities I get excited for, and the books that I cozy up under a blanket to read, even if I’ve read them already!
Winter Essential Foods
Beef Stroganoff
Skip the boxed or canned versions of this meal and make it from scratch! Let it cook all day and enjoy a hot meal after work or out running errands. You can even omit the beef and use extra mushrooms to cut costs.
Spritz Cookies
These are one of my absolute favorite cookies. They are a little tedious to make because of the cookie press, but once I get on a roll it goes quickly. There is something so perfect about the almond flavoring in these.
Peppermint Mochas
Go make this easy recipe from my favorite food blogger and sweet friend Meg – you won’t be sorry! It’s simple but so perfectly full of winter goodness.
If you aren’t a coffee fan, swirl a candy cane in your hot cocoa for a minty, wintery treat!
Winter Essential Fashions
Plaid Poncho Wrap
Who doesn’t want to wear what is essentially a blanket around? Wrap up in a plaid poncho wrap and stay cozy while out this winter. It pairs well with jeans and a long sleeved tshirt and perhaps a cute pair of boots for the perfect winter look.
Chunky Sweater
Not a fan of the poncho? Want something you can move a bit more in? The chunky sweater is the ultimate winter fashion item. Pair it with skinny jeans or fleece leggings. I love wearing a big sweater and curling up with a good book!
Black Jeans
I haven’t owned black jeans in decades but I’m on the hunt for a good pair now that I see how cute they are during the winter! They can be dressed up with a cute top and shoes or dressed down with a plaid shirt and boots. I love clothes I can get lots of use out of.
Winter Essential Activities
Building a Snowman
This is definitely my kids’ favorite. There was about an inch of snow on the ground the other week – and cold, dry snow at that – and they were already trying to get a snowman built. If you want to get extra creative, try out these snowman building kits and snow paint. We’ve gotten the paint before and the kids have lots of fun creating designs.
Cotton Ball Snowball Fight
Have you seen indoor snowballs? They are basically really large cotton balls but they hold their shape and are machine washable. And I guess they feel like snow, but aren’t cold? I love the idea, but not the price. And although they say they won’t damage things, I still don’t really trust my kids to not aim at LEGO displayed around the house or other items that might fall and break.
Instead, how about an indoor cotton ball fight? It’s going to be more challenging for the big kids because they can put as much effort in as they want but the balls still won’t go far, they are guaranteed not to cause damage – to both items and people, and if we have to toss them when we are done, I’m not worried about the money!
Coffee Filter Snowflakes
Paper snowflakes are so much fun but trying to help a kid cut through several layers of regular paper is nearly impossible. I even have a hard time and usually resort to a utility knife – not exactly an option for a child!
Instead, use coffee filters! They are incredibly thin and even when folded multiple times can still be cut through quite easily. They are also already round and quite inexpensive to use. I usually give each of our kids 3-4 while we are making snowflakes which results in 15-20 snowflakes for decorating – plenty for our house!
Winter Essential Reads
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
It’s simply not the Christmas season without this book! I still have one of the old copies of the book. I think I lost my original and picked up one at a garage sale for a quarter. Score!
I love reading about this group of “misfit” kids that everyone is ready to ignore and push to the side because they don’t fit the picture perfect image of how things should look. My kids roll with laughter when I read this book and I can’t wait to bring it out again. It’s short enough that we can finish it in a week or so as we read a bit each night.
Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Leave by Joanna Gaines
It’s winter and you are probably going to be inside anyway, so why not use this book to work on figuring out how to make your home a space that brings you comfort, peace, and a sense of belonging using your “authentic design style.”
But don’t worry, it’s not all shiplap! Joanna uses examples from her own house as well as others to show you how to bring your tastes together into a cohesive look. It even has guides for planning and sketching out your ideas!
It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered by Lysa TerKeurst
We serve a good God, but sometimes life goes in a completely different, completely heartbreaking direction than we expected. We need to remember that just because our circumstances might not be good, God still is.
Root yourself in God’s truth as Lysa shares all about how to spot lies of the enemy, how to find help in God’s word, and how to help friends dealing with hard situations.
It was a bit of a challenge to narrow these down to three in each category but I’m pretty confident that these are my musts for winter 2018!
What are your “musts” during the winter season?
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