Festive Family Fitness Activities Everyone Can Enjoy This Season

When the colder months finally settle in, and the temperatures outside take a nosedive, many people find their way to the couch with a cup of coffee and a blanket. After all, we all know what cold weather brings… football. While most families are gathered around their television to watch the NFL or college football, there are some great family fitness activities you can all do together to maintain your health and fitness level during the colder, festive months of the year.

Speaking of football, if you haven’t already, check out our Sports Are Back article that shows you four snacking survival tips to avoid a weight penalty. 

In this article, we are going to look at some family-friendly activities your entire family can do to stay in shape during the colder, festive months where holidays turn into binge fests and weight gain is knocking at your door. Give these family fitness activities a try and get the whole family involved in the fun!

Disclaimer: It is recommended that you speak with your doctor before engaging in any exercise program.

10 Festive Family Fitness Activities to Try This Season 

Below are some great family fitness activities you can plan with your entire family to get in some exercise during the colder months and holidays without it feeling like a grueling workout.

1. Take a Nature Hike

Depending on where you live, you probably have some trails nearby. The colder months are a fantastic time to get outside for some family fitness activities like a nature hike. Find a trail that suits the fitness abilities of your family, and lace up your hiking boots for a trip on the trail.

With the changing color of the leaves and crisp air, taking a nature hike is a great way to get in some exercise without even realizing you’re exerting yourself with cardiovascular activity.

2. Create Your Own Circuit/Obstacle Course 

Whether the outdoors is calling your name, or you want to transform your living room into an obstacle course, you can very easily create your very own circuit to get your heart rate up while engaging in a family fitness activity.

Use household items like pillows, blankets, sheets, tables, furniture, and more to create your very own obstacle course for the family to go through. Throughout the obstacle course, have stations where everyone will need to do some sort of physical activity. These activities can include mountain climbers, planks, push-ups, sit-ups, burpees, or whatever your imagination comes up with.

3. Charity Fun Run/Walk 

If your family loves to go for runs or walks, why not sign up for a charity fun run/walk? This doubles not only as family fitness activities but it also helps raise money for great causes. Many communities organize holiday-themed charity runs or walks around Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the festive holidays in December, too.

Related Article: Mental Health Check 101 — Walking Outside

Jump on the internet and search for charity runs/walks in your area and sign up your entire family. Getting involved in such things is a fantastic way to not only get in some exercise with your entire family but do some good for your community as well. These moments can help shape your children and show them that anyone of any age can do some good in their community when they all come together.

4. Holiday Themed Workouts

Whether you’re into lifting weights, yoga, Pilates, spinning classes, rock climbing — insert whatever activity here that you’re interested in — make it a holiday theme. Many classes you’ll find at local gyms will have holiday-themed workouts that make for amazing family fitness activities that you and your kids will enjoy.

If you don’t have a gym membership, create your own holiday-themed workouts at home. Dress up in a costume and do something active with the family, go for a long walk around your city like you are a pilgrim finding their way across America, or wear a silly Santa hat during your workouts. The key is to get festive and make your activities fun for the entire family.

5. Ice Skating 

The colder months welcome ice-cold temperatures as well as ice on the ground. While I’m not recommending you turn your driveway into an ice rink (which would actually be super cool) but, find a local ice-skating rink (either indoor or outdoor) and make that one of your family fitness activities. 

Learning how to ice skate can be fun for the entire family. If you roller skate or rollerblade in the warmer months, ice skating is a great way to maintain your skills by tossing on a pair of ice skates. And speaking of ice, it rolls us nicely into our next family fitness activity.

6. Ice Hockey 

Piggybacking off ice skating is ice hockey. If your family loves hockey, lace up your skates and play some ice hockey. Many local ice rinks have specific times when they set up hockey nets and allow the community to play ice hockey.

If you know how to skate and your family enjoys smashing a puck into the back of a net, this can be a great way to get in some exercise without the need to hop on a treadmill and stare at the wall.

7. Sledding or Tubing

Perhaps I’m just a big kid at heart, but there’s something exhilarating about sledding and tubing. Maybe it brings me back to my childhood, but this is a family fitness activity that will have your kids smiling from ear to ear.

Find a local hill, tubing park, or your backyard if you have a nice hill, and enjoy some downhill action. You’ll easily forget the straining and exhausting trek to the top of the hill because you’ll be too excited to go speeding downhill again. Climbing up the hills after each run or pass is a fantastic way to get your heart rate up, as well as being an excellent leg workout walking through the deep snow.

8. Indoor Swimming

Unless you enjoy a good cold plunge, jumping in a pool during the fall and winter may seem like some torture technique. Let’s skip the shivers and take things indoors. If your kids are the closest things to fish that can breathe outside of water, finding an indoor pool where they can swim will definitely be the highlight of their day (even if they forget to thank you for taking them).

If you have access to an indoor pool, swimming is a full-body workout that is fun and easy on the joints (great for those of us who aren’t getting any younger). Swimming with your kids is a family fitness activity everyone can enjoy, and there are even some indoor pools that offer special holiday-themed swim events you can take part in.

9. Neighborhood Shoveling 

Does your family enjoy the charity walks/runs that were mentioned earlier? Are you looking for something else your family can do to make a difference in your community? Why not shovel out your neighbors after it snows?

Grab the shovels and shovel yourself out, and then walk around to your elderly neighbors (or anyone you want to help) and shovel out their driveway and walkway. While some may offer to pay you for the help, the reason for helping shovel out those around you is to be a good neighbor. A little kindness goes a long way, and this will make for a great lesson for your kids.

10. Snowball Fight 

Last on our list of family fitness activities is the good old snowball fight. Unless you were a deprived child, you probably found yourself in some intense snowball fights as a kid. Why not spark that joy with your kids in your own yard? 

I should preface this as being a friendly snowball fight. Now is not the time to “get even” with your child who decided to draw a Picasso on your wall with a permanent marker. Running, dodging, and throwing snowballs can make for the perfect outdoor workout.

Fight the Sniffles During the Colder Months 

Cold weather tends to bring the sniffles and sneezes to the best of us. It’s almost like clockwork — when cold weather hits, it’s going to hit your immune system hard. And we all know that when your kids go to school during these months, your best guess is as good as mine regarding what germs they bring home. But you can fight these seasonal setbacks.

Ensuring you get in your recommended daily intake of key nutrients like vitamin C, D, and zinc is essential. To simplify the process, toss in a quality multivitamin/mineral like Evogen Nutrition Evovite.

Evovite utilizes the highest-quality ingredients in high-potency dosages to provide you with maximum benefits. Help stay protected when cold weather hits by grabbing a bottle of Evogen Nutrition Evovite today!