Snow Day Activities for Joy & Wellness

My phone buzzes with an alert as I begin to write. Winter Weather Warning for this area of the Midwest! The weather men and women are predicting anywhere from 5 to 72 inches of snow (okay, maybe not quite that much...) and the grocery stores are teeming with those desperate to stock up before the storm hits. Schools start calling off classes in anticipation and the mammal within us does one of two things: we kick it into high gear, scurrying around to do all the last minute things before the snowfall. Or we hunker down and slow the pace, cozying in with our warm drinks and blankets. Either way, or a little bit of both, here are eight ideas of snow day activities that improve your wellness in body, mind and spirit!

1) Organize

A snow day is the perfect time to organize that which often gets overlooked. In the physical sense, choose one space within your home to declutter and reorganize. Rearrange furniture for fresh and functional energy flow. Get rid of old items that don't have a purpose or bring you joy. Throw out or donate unused and unwanted items. You may find yourself joyfully moving onto the next room... and the next.

If you're ready for couch potato mode, do your organizing virtually! Clean out those maxed out email inboxes and unsubscribe from those promo emails from the shop you haven't purchased from since 2009. Delete old photos from your phone. Sort your project folders for work and clear some space in the cloud.

2) Read

There is just something about a snowy day that makes me want to just curl up in front of the fire with a good book. And if you're anything like me, you probably have at least a dozen on the shelf that you've yet to read. So get to it! Read simply for the joy of reading.

If you have young children, bring out your childhood classics. Introduce your kids to the Boxcar Children or the Ingalls family, or giggle your way through the rhymes of Dr. Seuss together. With older children, make up a snack tray and heat up some warm drinks and invite them to join you in a tech-free reading hour.

3) Get Creative

Make something. Anything. Just get those creative juices flowing in a way that invites the freedom of expression. What is that hobby you used to love but haven't taken part in since forever ago? Pick it back up. Write a song, make a new recipe, draw or paint, scrapbook, create a seasonal craft, bake some artistic sourdough, crochet or knit... only you know where your creative heart feels a longing!

4) Play

Forgo the adulthood grumbles about shoveling and allow yourself to play in the snow! Gear up and challenge your kids (or the neighbor kids) to a snowball fight. Rent some snowshoes. Break out the old ice skates or skis. Paint the snow. Make a fort or a snow sculpture. Flop down and wave those limbs up and down to make a snow angel and then just lay there, connecting to the earth. Laugh your way through some "snowga" poses. Show your kiddos that favorite sledding hill from when you were young.

5) Get Started

You know that idea you've been thinking about implementing and just haven't yet? Now is as good of a time as any! Cook up those meals you'd been wanting to freeze for busy nights. Start meditating. Get going on that online course you purchased months ago. Begin syncing your cycle with the moon. Start writing that book, learning that skill, or embodying that positive change.

6) Cleanse

This time of year can often bring more than enough illness and sickness germs. Spend some time on this snow day using natural disinfectant to wipe down door handles, faucets, and commonly touched items. Wash the bedding and the kids winter snow gear. Put a simmer pot on the stove. Burn sage or incense to cleanse the air and your own energetic field. Don't forget to cleanse your own body with a relaxing and luxurious bath.

7) Make Travel Plans

Now is the perfect time to plan your next getaway! Sit down and get plans in place for that trip you've been wanting to take, including the saving and spending plan that will get you there. Create a vision board (physical or virtual) for experiences you'd like to have there and be sure to include any special places you'd like to visit, where you'd like to stay, and food you'd like to eat. As the snow falls, you can use your imagination to feel that vacation sun on your face.

8) Slow Down

You've done enough. Enjoy the rare opportunity to just slow down and simply be. Melt into the couch. Take a nap. Stay in your jammies. Eat leftovers from their container.

Stare out the window at the glistening snow and reconnect with how it feels not to measure your value by how productive you can be... but by the good in your heart.

Which of these are you most excited to get going on? What would you add to the list?