All cooped up with nothing to do? Here are some winter activities you can try out to entertain yourself affordably, sustainably, and positively.
20 minimalist winter activity ideas
These are my top twenty simple winter activities to keep you engaged, creative, and warm!
1. Take a course
Winter is a great time to learn! You’ve got a lot of inside days, and you might start to get a little stir crazy if you don’t give your brain a good challenge.
Instead of scrolling, spend time taking a course for something you’re interested in. Here are a few great places for free learning:
- LearnCraft Spanish (learn to speak Spanish)
- Code Academy (learn to code)
- ifixit (learn to fix anything)
- musicca (learn music theory)
- We All Sew (learn to sew)
There are SOOOO many free or affordable learning resources available online. Learn for fun, or develop some new and useful skills!
2. Paint detail work in your house
This is a great activity to stimulate your mind and creativity without braving the cold. If you’re feeling artsy or think your house needs a little more character, painting is an affordable and fun way to do it! A mural or some trim decor can bring joy and color into your space while you’re holed up in it.
If you’ve got a shaky hand like me, stencils and paint tape get the job done!
If you’re renting and worried about painting on the walls, try painting something new on a canvas or mirror to hang on a drab wall.
3. Visit museums
This is an affordable activity that gets you out of the house without putting you out in the cold–visit nearby museums and art galleries. Libraries are also a fun place to get out without freezing your tail off.
4. Make candles
Bring in some warmth and ambiance or stack up homemade holiday gifts by making your own soy wax candles. All you need is soy chips, wicks, and a container–optionally, some colors and scents make it even more fun.
Here are some quick-click links for materials, and I recommend repurposing glass containers you already own to cut down on cost and waste ☺️:
For fragrancies, you can use high quality essential oils, but be sure to blend them into the wax at a lower temperature. Otherwise they might cook away.
5. Movie night
Here are some seasonally delightful (and seasonally horrifying, depending on your mood) film suggestions.
Fun and uplifting winter movies:
- How The Grinch Stole Christmas
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe
- Cool Runnings
- Blades of Glory
- Elf
- Ice Princess
- Serendipity
- Let It Snow
- Sleepless In Seattle
- Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Cold and intense winter movies:
- Winter’s Bone
- The Day After Tomorrow
- Whiteout
- The Shining
- Hanna
- Shackleton (2002 miniseries? This one is a deep cut. I have a crisp childhood memory of hearing the guy’s frostbitten toes plink into a metal mug. They also eat the sled dogs, proceed with caution.)
- Krampus
- Winter Island
6. Host a clothing swap
Clothing swaps are a great excuse to have some friends over for a cozy night in. Have your guests bring clothes, bags, shoes, and accessories that are in good condition but they don’t love to wear, then everyone can shop each other’s collections!
Declutter, add a few new pieces to your wardrobe for $0, and have a pleasant evening with friends.
Some tips for hosting a clothing swap:
- Bring a full-length mirror into the common area
- Clear a surface area for people to lay things out–the floor works, too!
- Have a plan for what you’ll do with the extras–offer to drop off donations for people if they don’t want to bring their rejects back home
- Have a “changing room” if your friends aren’t comfortable changing in front of each other
- Set a rough limit on how many pieces everyone should bring so they have an idea–if one person brings three items and one person brings forty items, it won’t be a very even swap and people might become overwhelmed
7. Snow clean the rugs
Maybe I’m a dork for this, but I get excited for the COLD cold weather so I can drag my rugs outside and clean them with snow. The below freezing temperature kills bugs and bacteria, while the powdery snow lifts out the dirt cleanly. And it’s fun, for dorks.
Here’s the method:
- Wait for below freezing temperatures (mandatory)
- Vacuum your rug inside (optional)
- Roll it up and bring it outdoors where it can acclimate to the cold for a few minutes
- Lay the rug face down on clean snow (ideally several inches deep)
- Beat it with a broom or other such tool, cover it with snow, sweep it back off
- Flip it and repeat
- Hang it on a fence or clothes line to dry (at below freezing, the snow will sublimate instead of melting, turning directly into vapor so your rug isn’t left soggy!)
- It should be dry within a few hours, then you can let it hang inside somewhere so it can reacclimate (don’t want it fogging up your hardwood floors or anything)
8. Living room camping
Unless you have some real expensive camping gear or if you live in a warmer climate, winter camping isn’t going to be fun. But LIVING ROOM CAMPING SURE IS! Pitch a blanket fort and have a sleepover in the living room with snacks, movies, and candles. Light up the fireplace if you’ve got one.
9. Optimize your yard to support wildlife
Any piece of land can become a wildlife sanctuary, no matter how small. Make some small tweaks to your yard to support wildlife this winter and beyond! Here are a few ideas you might try:
- Stop cleaning your yard! Leave the leaves, flowers, stems, and brush piles exactly where they are. These feed birds, house insects, and add a nutrient layer to the soil. This is an incredibly low-effort way to make your yard more environmentally friendly. You’re literally doing less work!
- Plant evergreens.
- Add logs and rock piles. Structures like this become homes for countless tiny animals.
- Make a bug bath. In winter, you can strategically place these in the sun to avoid freezing, toss the ice and replace with warm water daily, or even install a heated fixture. Here’s a bug bath I made out of a dinner plate and pedestal:
10. Ice skating
Outdoor rinks are SO precious and a great winter activity. If you live somewhere warmer, you can probably find an indoor rink, too! Having a cold winter simulator activity like indoor ice skating can get you in the mood for a festive season if you don’t have cold weather where you live.
11. Declutter an indoor area
Anytime I’m cooped up in my house for any reason is an opportunity for a decluttering project! Here are five things I recommend decluttering in the winter.
12. Plan your garden
Are you a gardener? Or do you want to be?
I have several friends who tell me they want to get into gardening, but our grow season is so short that if you don’t plan ahead, you’ll fully miss it. And they miss it every year!
So plan your garden in the winter. You might even select your seeds now so you’re ready to start them inside before it warms up outside.
I like to order from freeheirloomseeds.org because their seeds are PRIMO quality, and they’re a great organization. Sometimes it takes a few weeks for them to arrive, especially during planting season, so I order early.
13. Simmer pot
This is on my list of autumn activities, too, because it bangs. Highly recommend cranberries for a winter simmer pot. Warm up the kitchen and make your whole house smell festive and cozy!
14. Cocoa walk
There’s a cute little coffee shop just a few blocks from my house, so I love to walk down there, grab a mug of hot chocolate, then take a nice walk around the lake. You might have to make your own mug, but nothing hits like a hot cocoa walk in the winter.
15. Soup party
Invite your friends and have everyone bring their favorite soup! And that friend who can’t cook can bring the bread. 😛
16. Grow micro greens and sprouts
The garden is asleep and grocery prices are rising every day, so now’s the perfect time to get into sprouting micro greens.
You can grow anything with seeds and a jar! Here are a few of my favorite things to sprout:
- Alfalfa (I love them on sandwiches)
- Broccoli (SO nutrient-dense, but it does have a stronger flavor if you’re not big on greens)
- Chickpeas (nutty flavor, delicious)
- Chia seeds
- Lentils (probably the easiest to sprout, affordable)
But pretty much any seed can make a tasty and nutritious micro green. And they’re truly effortless to grow. I have a grow tower that I received as a gift, but you can just use a mason jar for the same results:
- Add about a tablespoon of your seeds to the jar
- Cover opening with cheesecloth and rubber band (or attach it with a canning ring)
- Rinse daily
- Set it at an angle with a dish under it so the water can drain out
That’s it! You’ll have tasty greens in just a few days. You can eat them whole from the jar, or sow the seeds in a little substrate to trim the greens for repeat harvests.
17. Spend time with yourself in a big journal sesh
There’s daily journaling and there’s Get Down To Business Journaling. Winter is a great time for the latter, because we’re kind of hibernating so it’s a great time to do the internal work and let our intentions sit and ferment.
As humans, we’re constantly changing, if we allow ourselves to. By intentionally checking in with something like journaling, we can revisit our goals and values, live a more aligned life, and get to know ourselves on a deeper level.
Here’s a big prompt list:
Self & Identity Check-In
- How would I describe myself right now, in three words?
- How do I think others would describe me? How does that differ?
- What have I learned about myself in the past year?
- What am I tired of pretending to like, want, or be?
- What have I outgrown?
- What parts of myself feel most “me” lately?
- What am I curious to explore or reclaim in myself next year?
- If I met my past self from a year ago, what would surprise them about me now?
Values, Ideals & Alignment
- What truly matters to me now—not what used to, and not what should?
- What are my current top three values, and how am I living them day-to-day?
- Where am I living out of alignment with my values?
- What does “success” mean to me at this stage of life?
- Where am I still following someone else’s definition of success, happiness, or productivity?
- When do I feel most like I’m living on purpose?
Growth & Change
- What patterns have I noticed repeating this year, for better or worse?
- What habits, mindsets, or relationships have supported my growth?
- What old story about myself am I ready to let go of?
- What challenges reshaped me this year?
- In what ways have I surprised myself?
- What have I learned to do differently when I’m struggling?
Lifestyle & Environment
- How does my environment (home, schedule, relationships) reflect who I am?
- What about my daily life feels nourishing, and what feels draining?
- Where do I need more boundaries?
- What small changes could make my everyday life more supportive of who I’m becoming?
- What rhythms or rituals have grounded me this year?
Emotions & Inner World
- What emotions showed up most often for me this year?
- What did I learn about my emotional needs or triggers?
- When did I feel most peaceful, content, or connected?
- When did I feel most disconnected or lost?
- How do I want to feel more often in the coming year?
Goals & Direction
- What were my biggest goals this year, and what did I actually want underneath them?
- Which goals still feel alive, and which feel expired?
- What would I like to build, learn, or experience next year?
- What’s one thing I want to commit to fully next year?
- What’s one thing I want to stop forcing?
- If next year had a “theme” or guiding word, what would it be?
Looking Forward
- If next year goes beautifully, what would be true by this time next year?
- How do I want to grow emotionally, creatively, or spiritually?
- What will “enough” look like for me in the coming year?
- What do I want to feel more than I want to achieve?
- What’s something I want to give myself permission for in the next season of life?
Feel free to choose one or two of those prompts that feel relevant for you, or you can commit to answering all of them before spring winds around!
18. Get jacked
Winter’s actually a great time to focus on building strength. If it’s something you’ve struggled with before, the colder months can make it feel a little easier—there’s less pressure, fewer plans, and everyone’s kind of in hibernation mode anyway. That low-key vibe might be exactly what you need to finally make it stick this time.
19. Make your own winter decor
Collect some natural materials and repurpose things around your house to make some cute DIY winter decor. My favorite winter activity as a kid was collecting evergreen branches and tiny pinecones to make wreaths.
You can decorate your house or even use them as gifts.
Natural decor materials:
- evergreen branches
- holly
- pinecones
- acorns
- driftwood
- moss
- white feathers
- dried citrus slices
- cinnamon sticks
- rosehips
- winterberry
- dried foliage and flowers
- Select Twigs™️
20. Catch up on your reading list
Do you have piles of books you’re going to read “someday”? Someday is now! Winter is the PERFECT time to put a dent in your TBR stack. Curl up with a cozy blanket and crank up the fireplace (or the space heater) for a nice evening inside.
What are your favorite simple winter activities? Share them in a comment below! ❄️
