It is January and it is time to let go of last year and kick off the new year with a new list of fun, family friendly activities! The activities on this list celebrate a few special days in January and remind us that winter can be full of family fun too! My biggest goal this year is to be more mindful and appreciative of the days my family spends together! Today, I am sharing our January Family Fun Activities--a family fun "bucket list", I guess, of the activities that made our list! Ready to have some fun in January? Try some of these 13 Family Fun Activities for the month of January! Need a few more ideas? Check out our list from last January too!
My kids are a little older--but, they never outgrow some of their favorite family fun activities!
Here is a rundown of our plans for the month of January! Check out some tips and ideas for each item and download a printable copy here too!
January Bucket List
13 Family Fun Activities for January
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1. Make Snow Ice Cream. This is one of those activities that I always wanted to do as a child--but, I didn't have willing parents to help me! We are currently in a snow covered deep freeze in our little corner of the world--but, rain promises to move in for our first weekend of January. So. All we need is a clean, fresh snowfall and a few simple ingredients to make our own snow cream! Need a recipe for snow ice cream? Check out this simple vanilla snow ice cream recipe that uses sweetened condensed milk instead of white sugar to sweeten the snow!
2. Celebrate MLK Day. In Columbus, we have several community events planned to celebrate Martin Luther King--whether with a special breakfast or marches or day of service themed events. A quick search for events in a city near you will likely yield several results as well. If you aren't up for a community event--there are certainly ways to celebrate the man and his legacy at home. Maybe watch Selma or the King miniseries--or read a book like The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
3. Make Homemade Hot Cocoa. Nothing says winter like a mug of hot
chocolate loaded with marshmallows and cinnamon! The kids and I have
made many cups of my go-to hot cocoa recipe over the years! We have even taken the idea a little further and baked these hot cocoa cookies too!
4. Build a Lego Creation. International Lego Day is in January to celebrate xxx. The girls and I hope to finish a Lego Gingerbread house this month. If you haven't taken on one of these giant building projects, expect to be amazed by the number of pieces involved--and the amount of sorting and organizing required before you even snap together your first bricks! Pick an age appropriate / assembly level appropriate project--and probably still plan for even the best planned project to carry over longer than expected!
5. Make S'mores Over Fire. I am not sure if we will be roasting marshmallows outside or if I'll get some marshmallow roasting sticks and roast by the fireplace--but, s'mores are almost always on our January calendar! This is a fun way to use up some of that Christmas chocolate!
6. Host a Family Movie Night. We rarely seem to have a movie night--so, this is definitely on our list of things to do this month! Need some tips for your next family movie night? It doesn't matter what movie you watch--we are leaning toward Harry Potter and The Hunger Games this year. Just whip up some snacks, grab some cozy blankets and snuggle in for a few hours!
7. Bake a Homemade Pie. January 23rd is National Pie Day. My girls have never been fans of fruit pies--but, we will be making some homemade pie crust for a couple of cream pies later this month!
8. Build a Snowman. Sometimes our Ohio weather doesn't give us good snowman making snow--but, we are hoping to have at least one packing snow this month! It's always fun to search for eyes and nose making materials and hats and scarves for our Snowman creations. The activity is even better followed by some hot cocoa and a family movie night!
9. Cut Paper Snowflakes. Folding and cutting white paper snowflakes
is an activity that brings back tons of memories! My girls are older
these days--so we won't be cutting the old standard snowflakes that they
used to fold and cut in elementary school. There are some really cool,
intricate snowflake patterns that take paper snowflakes to a whole new
level! I think we will be doing a cute garland of giant 3-D paper
snowflakes this year.
10. Go Ice Skating. We love finding outdoor ice skating areas--but, we have some local ice skating facilities that the kids enjoy visiting during open skate times.
11 Celebrate Winnie the Pooh on Winnie the Pooh Day. My youngest daughter loved Winnie the Pooh! National Winnie the Pooh Day is January 18th and we will need to revisit her book collection or watch some cartoons!
12.Take a Winter Hike. Last year, we had so much fun taking random hikes during the year. We kicked 2020 and 2021 off with a mini-vacation in Hocking Hills and plan to make another trip this month! I signed up for the 52 Hike Challenge last year--then Covid struck at the end of January. Then, each daughter came down with illnesses in the spring, followed by other bits of chaos. We hiked a handful of times--but, not 52! The goal of the 52 Hike Challenge is to commit to 52 Hikes--ideally in a year. But, you can begin the challenge at any time. We are trying our 52 Hike Challenge again this year, beginning in January.
13. Celebrate National Pizza Week. Not that we need an excuse to make homemade pizzas--but, having a whole week to celebrate different pizza favorites is right up our alley! Whether you find a new local pizza place to try or visit an old favorite--or make some homemade pizzas as a family--National Pizza Week is always a fun time!
I will try to post some shots of our January adventures on Instagram as we head through the first month of the new year!
What's on your January bucket list?
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