Nava Atlas
Instead of feeling frustrated by the cold, dark days of winter, try to savor a slower pace, and incorporate simple pleasures into your days. Teach your children to do the same. It can be a delightful time to retreat to the shelter of home and hearth and get things done without the distractions afforded by the other seasons. Create special "cabin fever" rituals that will help you actually look forward to, rather than dread, those long cold days at home. This is especially helpful if you have preschoolers or young school-aged children home on snow days and sick days.
Some mothers keep a "cabin fever" drawer filled with special games, toys, and treats that come out only on these occasions, lending an otherwise gloomy day a festive air. When my children were young, snow days would mean pulling out a favorite "kitchen chemistry" book. The boys would be excited and occupied experimenting with baking soda and vinegar, cornstarch and water, food coloring and milk. Once that mess was cleaned up, we'd start a new one with some cooking or baking activities. Here are some more ideas:
• If a snowstorm is headed your way, prepare ahead for a relaxing snow day with a 1000- (or 1500) piece jigsaw puzzle, some good-quality cocoa for making hot chocolate, a few entertaining videos and good books, and plenty of wood, if you have a fireplace or wood stove.
• Put up nesting boxes and bird feeders for wintering birdsÑyou'll be astonished at the number of birds that remain in cold areas for the winter, and at the amount of pleasure gained from observing them. You'll find everything you need to know about feeding and sheltering wintering birds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/AttractingBirds/FeedingBirds/FeedPestsPredators.html
• Stop fighting the snow and have some fun with itÑgo sledding, snow shoeing, or cross-country skiing; take a walk in the silence of winter woods. Do corny snow activities with your partner or kidsÑmake snowmen, snow angels, snow ice cream. One mother I know gives her kids spray bottles filled with a mixture of water and food coloring and lets them "write" on the snow.
• Eat dinner by candlelight as often as you can and see how uplifting candles can be during the darkest days of the year. Kids of all agesÑfrom toddlers to teensÑrespond to this simple ritual and seem to respond to the added dash to the dinner ritual.
• Plan a festive indoor picnic. Take a break from of the predictable comfort foods of the season and have the kids help prepare an array of light finger foods, sandwiches, potato salad, and lemonade. Spread out a blanket and if possible, have the picnic before a cheering fire.
• Prepare a box of letter-writing supplies especially for these kinds of stay-at-home days. Have the kids make beautiful cards using collage materials, stamp kits, stickers, and scented markers. Craft stores are a good source for blank cards and the aforementioned supplies. Once the cards are made, have the children write letters and notes to distant relatives and friends. Make a ceremony out of taking all the mail to the post office. The fun is extended if the kids start getting replies.
• Just before the winter holidays begin, visit a local thrift shop and stock up on dress-up clothes. Around the time of the holidays, these shops tend to have fancier and more offbeat items that are perfect for this sort of endeavor. Make sure to include accessories like scarves, belts, and hats. After the clothes are cleaned, find a special container for them, like a wicker laundry basket or a toy chest. Take it out on a day when the winter blues descend, and watch the fun begin. Let the kids do what kids do best and just pretend, or encourage them to make up skits.
• Have an annual indoor "camping trip." Borrow a few beautifully photographed books on national parks or other natural wonders from the library. Decide where you are "going" for your trip by browsing through the books (and in the process, learning about some amazing places). Bring out the sleeping bags and air mattresses; pitch a small pup tent if you have one. Plan a cookout style meal and tell great stories around a "campfire" (a real roaring fire in your fireplace, or an imagined campfire). Use no incandescent lights (candles or flashlights are fine). Have everyone sleep in the living room or family room. This winter spirit-lifter can be great fun even for those who don't care for real camping trips!
• When my sons were young and cabin fever hit hard, I always turned to the one indoor activity that never seemed to lose its charmÑbaking projects. Homemade cookies, muffins, and quick breads go a long way toward brightening days when you feel that winter will never end. If you are a bit more ambitious, cabin fever days are the perfect occasions to try the long, slow process of making yeasted breads with your kids. Enjoying warm, wholesome treats fresh from the oven nourishes body, soul, and senses at once.
Nava Atlas is the author of several well-known vegetarian cookbooks (most recently, The Vegetarian Family Cookbook) and the just-published Everyday Traditions: Simple Family Rituals for Connection and Comfort. Topics include daily dinner and other kitchen rituals, preserving family history, creating memories, building family identity, fun and meaningful celebrations, seasonal activities, friendship and leisure for busy mothers, and much more. Lushly illustrated and containing scores of simple ideas, this book also contains pages for the reader to record and develop their own favorite family traditions. To find out more, visit www.everydaytraditions.com
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