Creative ways to enjoy the upcoming winter

November 9, 2015

When it’s below zero outside and ice is slick on the pavement in little ol’ Iowa, we’re all looking for something entertaining to do. Here are a few ideas to help you start your winter season off right.

During winter months, many of us choose to grab a fuzzy blanket, a hot drink, our slippers and the TV remote. We scroll through Netflix and try to find something worth watching, spending the rest of the day on the couch. That’s great fun, but another option is to grab your friends, a hoard of pillows and blankets and revert back to your childhood. Grab some chairs too, and you’ve got a fort after a whole lot of shouting, laughing, cursing and collapsing. Finally, you and your friends can choose what movie you want to watch, and hunker down in your fort with popcorn, chips, and a couple bags of candy.

If you’re in the mood to burn off all of those calories the next day, go for a morning jog. Then you can decide whether you’d like to go home or take a trip to one of Iowa’s many hilly spots.

Dillon Crowell ‘17, brought his friend, Sam Loman ‘18 to Sundown Mountain Resort, where Loman learned to snowboard. It was seventh grade and Sam picked it up immediately, already having experience with skateboarding.

“A sport like snowboarding gives you freedom to create your own style like no one else can on a board,” Loman said.

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However, snowboarding is just one of many fun winter sports to try. Ice skating, skiing and hockey are other winter sports you can try.

Another activity you could do, is to make food for family, friends, or just for yourself. Cooking and baking are great activities to take up if you enjoy creating and trying new things, or if you just have a passion for food. There are endless recipes to experiment with, and Janaya Buns ’18 started cooking and baking when she was young.

“I always remember watching my mom cooking and found it both fascinating and exciting and my mom would let me help her out, and once I became old enough I started cooking and baking on my own,” Buns said.

Her favorite recipes to whip up during the cold season are; custard cake, pecan and caramel brownies, coconut cream pie with meringue, pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting, chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies and snickerdoodles. If any of those tasty treats wet your appetite, check out some of the recipes I compiled in the link below.

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If you’re not into cooking or winter sports, try writing or art. If you want to try painting or drawing, you can go down to Blick’s at The Old Capital Mall or Michael’s which is on Holiday Road. There are so many fun things to try, so click on the link below for art ideas. In the other link, I have writing ideas and more.

You could also learn a new game or card trick. Sama Jwaid, ‘19, is from Jordan and plays a lot of the same games we do, but she says, “There is a game we call Night’s Bear and another one called Plant Animal Inanimate. I liked to play Night’s Bear on the weekends because two of my cousins come over and the game is so fun to play with a lot of people.”

Although it’s not quite winter yet, most of these ideas will help pass the time any season. Whether you like cooking, sculpting, writing, or skating the rinks, I know there’s something for everyone. Have fun this winter and try not to freeze your fingers off!

Recipes

Top 5 Ideas for Art:
1. Draw your friends!
Jimmy Fallon and Taylor Swift
2. Buy some watercolors and thick paper and splash on a scene of you in your favorite place.
Art: watercolour...Happy days in the childhood...

3. Buy a canvas and some oils and paint a Thanksgiving picture.

Capture

(By: Sophia Chen, ’19)

4. Grab a sketch pad and start doodling whatever comes to mind.

Llama baby sketch-various

5. Make old shoe boxes into shelving
Shoebox Wall Art
For More: Art Ideas

Top 3 Ideas for Writing:
1. Write a poem about anything you want!
Tom Hank
2. Write the lyrics for a song!
Theme: Song lyrics

3. Make up your own quotes

quote

For more: Writing Ideas

Top 5 Game Ideas:
Jimmy Fallon Games
React and Act
Everyone brainstorms a ton of different events to react to (seeing your favorite celebrity on the street, discovering a viper under your bed, biting into a sandwich only to find a finger) then writes them down and pops them into a hat. Participants will draw one of the events from the hat and react to it while everyone else attempts to guess what on Earth they’re screaming or fainting about.
3. Things
One person makes a “things” statement (for instance, “Things That Make You Smile”) and everyone else writes down an example on a piece of paper. The answers are collected and read aloud and everyone tries to guess who wrote what.
4. Plant Animal Inanimate
One person thinks of an animal, plant, or object and writes only the first letter of the word and everybody else has to try to guess what it is. You have unlimited guesses and write down all the them, without showing the other players. If you get the word, you get 10 points, but if another person also gets the word, you two have to split the points.
5. Scattergories

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More Information:
Coral Ridge Ice Rink
Provides skates for $2
Admission Fee- $6
Children 3 and under are free
Offers skating and hockey lessons

The Sundown Mountain Resort
16991 Asbury Rd, Dubuque IA
Phone Number: (563)-556-6676
About one hour and thirty-five minutes away
Ski and Snowboarding Resort, has 21 scenic trails with beginner, intermediate, and advanced terrain
Offers ski and snowboarding lessons to all ages

Blick’s
201 S Clinton St #180, Iowa City, IA 52240
Phone Number: (319) 337-5745
Opens at 9 and closes at 8 on week days