Winter To-Do List

Just a little over two weeks until winter officially begins and we are really looking forward to it! So I thought it would be a good time to make our Winter To-Do List. I like making these lists, even if it would be impossible to complete them entirely, simply because it's a helpful benchmark of all the fun, seasonal activities available in our area. It will also be a useful resource for me to refer back to in future years. In fact, I think I'm going to add a couple things that I know we won't get to do this year just to use as a reminder for the future.

When making my Fall To-Do List, I didn't really think about the month of December as part of the fall season, so this list may include some things earlier in December before the winter season actually begins. Also, I looked back on that fall list to see how much we actually accomplished and I think it was about 16 out of 23 ideas. Last minute changes of plan and/or budget concerns were the main reasons for the unfinished items.

So here are my ideas:
1) Holiday Pajama Brunch with our friends! This will be our 7th annual brunch and I look forward to it every year. This year, the time crept up on me sooner than I expected and I didn't get my invitations out like I normally do. But it's a totally casual affair (obviously... since we're in jammies) and everyone already knows that it's always the second Sunday morning in December. The invitations are just for my own extra fun. :) There are four couples and now three kids. We've dropped the gift exchange that used to be part of it, but we get together for a late morning feast and it's nice that it doesn't interfere with any other holiday commitments. Just time to hang out with our best friends.
2) Lights Before Christmas at the zoo. Obviously, we've already accomplished this this year, but it's definitely a must-do in our area. This was there 25th year of the Lights!
3) "Paint" and bake Christmas cut-out cookies with Grandma Verna using Great Grandma Wasserman's sugar cookie recipe.
4) Drive around to see the Christmas decorations and lit houses after dark with a thermos of hot chocolate.
5) Caroling!! - I've never done this and I know it sounds totally silly, especially since I'm not boasting any talent... but I thought it would be fun to take Will caroling to a couple neighborhood friends houses this year. Anyone want to join?? :)
6) Holiday crafts and decorations - I have a bunch of ideas... We'll see how many we get accomplished. Our tree is finally up as of this past weekend, so that's a start!
7) Countdowns till Christmas. We have three different countdowns going right now! More on that later.
8) Sledding. Bring on the snow!!!
9) Ice skating. I'd like to go to Tam-O-Shanter in Sylvania for their indoor rink so we can rent skates. Craig's a pretty decent skater and said he'd feel comfortable holding Sophie while Will and I attempt stay on our feet. ;)
10) Snowmobiling. Craig's dad just got a new sled and we think Will is old enough now to go for his first ride in front of Craig!
11) Visit the indoor farmers market (downtown) at least once monthly through the winter. Hmm... I wonder what they'll even have the further we get into winter??
12) Noon Year's Eve celebration! We did this last year with the kids and it was so fun. Hopefully, Casey and Wes will host this year and we can expand on our celebrating ideas.
13) Imagination Station visit for some science fun. I like doing this in winter when there's not as much to do outside.
14) Bumper bowling with the kids. Ha! I think they would love that!
15) Take Will to his first move at the theater. He's old enough now that he would sit through it, I think. Hmm... what should we see?
16) Take a winter time ride on the North Pole Express and visit the Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation, Inc. museum in Findlay. The rides are on quarter-scale train (which I think are like the open ones at the zoo) but the museum has model and full-scale trains on display and the ride fee is only $2 for adults and $1 for kids. That sounds like a great deal for a fun time!
17) Celebrate my 30th birthday on January 23rd!!! :)
18) Visit the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. I'd love to see their Holiday Lights event, but I'm not sure we'll make it with our busy December schedule. Maybe next year we can try to get to their earliest day on December 4th? But even after the holidays, I think it would be fun to make a day trip out of visiting their exhibits and beautiful grounds. It's been ages since I was there last.
19) Speaking of busy December, we have seven parties on the calendar (including the family reunion we just attended yesterday and the PJ brunch I mentioned above). I am SO EXCITED to celebrate with the kids again on Christmas morning!
20) Frequent library visits and lots of reading!
21) A trip to the store to purchase some cold weather clothing items (hats, gloves, etc.) for the holiday bureau program and those less fortunate. They're collecting at school and Will and I have been talking about this and recently read a cute children's book that reinforces this message.
22) Celebrate Valentine's Day - making Valentines, lots of heart-inspired cooking and baking, hopefully another candle-lit dinner at home and some fun activities too.
23) Celebrate St. Patrick's Day - crafts? food?
24) Lots of other random wintery crafts/activities/food.
25) Visit the Ritter Planetarium and Brooks Observatory at the University of Toledo. I've had a flyer family events from them for over a year now and it looks like so much fun. I think Will would totally love it as he is very curious about "constellations" and "telescopes". The evening time are a little late beginning at 7:30 and the Saturday times are right at the start of his nap time (1:00) so I'm not sure if/when we'll do this, but I'm cataloging it in my memory and definitely plan to get there sooner than later.
26) Weekend trip to an indoor water park/resort with friends. I had high hopes of doing this this winter, but I doubt we'll be able to budget for this right now and I just think winter sounds like the best time to do this. So maybe next year?

Okay, that's all I've got off the top of my head. Looking forward to a fun-filled winter!