Outdoor Winter Activities & Sports to Try
Whether your children were born on ice skates or just giving winter activities a try, this is a great time to introduce them to some new events and practice their favorite sports. The 2022 Winter Olympics featured 15 different Winter Olympic sports with a lot of interesting variations – some we’ve never seen before. Which of these activities sparked interest in your little one, or prompted them to bundle up and head outside?
If you’ve got a long winter break ahead of you or you’re looking for a way to battle cabin fever, these outdoor winter activities and sports are ones you and your kids might want to give a try.
Ice Skating
Everyone loves to watch figure skating with its elegance and grace while speed skating appeals to the wild child who enjoys doing everything at top speed. The good thing is that the entire family can enjoy some fun together on the ice, being graceful or fast. Ice skating is not only a great physical activity for fitness, but it improves core strength and stability. These are important at every stage of life and development, from toddlers on up to the elderly.
Ice Hockey
Yes, hockey is an ice skating-based sport, but it’s taken on a life of its own and become a passion for many. You can start practicing with your kids by teaching them how to hit a puck into a goal. If they never move beyond that stage, that’s just fine because the entire family can get in on it. If your kiddos really take to the ice, it might be time to find a team for them to play with and get out some of their energy.
Curling
If hockey isn’t quite your speed but you still like to spend time on the ice, why not give curling a try. This is a fun, team sport where teams slide stones toward a target, using a brush to smooth the ice in front of the stone. It’s addictive and takes more skill than you might initially believe. Curling is also a great activity for families to try together.
Sledding
Sledding is probably one of the most popular winter activities because it’s so easy and inexpensive. You can also find small hills that are suitable for the littlest family members and big ones for adventurous souls.
If you’ve watched the winter Olympics, you know that sledding can lead to a whole lot more. There is bobsledding, the monobob, luge, and skeleton which are all similar to sledding but so much faster and more adrenaline-filled. Your kids might not be ready to try any of these sports but they’re sure to have fun sledding.
Skiing
Skiing is another basic winter sport that has gone in so many different directions, creating a vast amount of offshoot activities. Once you get the basics mastered, you can try:
- Acroski
- Alpine skiing
- Biathalons
- Cross-country skiing
- Freeski big air
- Freestyle skiing
- Kite skiing
- Mogul skiing
- Monoskiing
- Nordic combined
- Ski archery
- Ski jumping
- Skijoring
- Snowboarding
- Snowboard cross
Whew! And that’s seriously just the beginning of the different sports that use skiing as a base.
Snow Building and Sculpting
This is not a sport in the winter Olympics yet, but maybe one day. In the meantime, you and your kids can express creativity by working with snow and ice to build and sculpt different structures. Cold water mixed with a few drops of food coloring in a spray bottle will give you bright colors to add to your works of art. While a snowman is a classic snow sculpture and a fun activity, what can your kids come up with if you challenge them to be more creative?
Don’t forget to add Name Bubbles labels to your kids’ sporting equipment. Let’s be real, some of their winter equipment is expensive and you really don’t want to lose any of it. Our contact labels are weatherproof delights. Just like they’re designed to go on a lunchbox and make it through the dishwasher repeatedly, they can also be used on outdoor sporting gear that takes a lot of abuse and has to handle water, snow, and ice. They’re freezer and frozen ice friendly, making them a must for your outdoor gear. The contact labels can have up to three lines and a name so lost items can be returned easily.
We also have clothing labels for their coats, mittens, hats, scarves, and snow pants or you can use our shoe labels for ice skates, ski boots, and other outdoor footwear.
Now that they’re all suited up – let them head out and enjoy the fun of a frosty day. Who knows, you may have a future Olympian on your hands.
