Get Outdoors this Christmas!

[Ed. note: This article is part of our weekly series of church activities, called Cultivating Community, published on Thursdays.]

The holidays can mean lots of eating, lounging around, and whining “I’m bored.” What a waste!

Christmas break, with all of its time off from school, is a great opportunity for kids, families, and even whole church communities to get outside! Kids can enjoy the outdoors in lots of ways that go beyond the usual seasonal activities of sledding, snowball fights, and snowman-building. And encouraging your children to learn about and love nature now will help them grow into wise stewards in the future. Here are some suggestions for what to do with your children this holiday:

Create open-air art, à la Andy Goldsworthy, with nothing more than what you find lying on the ground at your feet.

Feeling a little dubious about taking a winter hike? Learn where to go, what to bring, and what to do along the way with this helpful article.

If you’re stuck inside, you can still enjoy the birds outside, right through your windowpane! The Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count is going on through January 5th. Kids don’t have to be a birding expert to witness God’s beauty in the skies and contribute to important ornithological research. Learn more about the Christmas Bird Count here.

Enjoy a Merry Christmas indoors or out!