Playing as a Family and Improving our Emotional Wellbeing with some Winter Activities

BY: Neighbors’ Consejo|

We are approaching winter, so it is important to prepare not only for the cold but to find different ways to share with family, our friends, and spend the last season of 2022 calm and happy. Therefore, it is important to find some activities that improve our emotional wellbeing.

In Washington D.C., this year you can do different activities such as [1] : Walk around Capitol Hill, the National Mall and Arlington Cemetery; from November 30, from 4:30-10 p.m., you can enjoy the National Christmas Tree 100th Anniversary Lightning in the White House Ellipse; visit a public ice skating rink; on December 2-3, 9-10 and 18, visit Mount Vernon by Candlelight. National Public Radio (NPR) and the Kennedy Center join forces to bring outstanding jazz pianist together to perform their favorite Christmas classics for one night. On December 3, at 6pm, you can observe the exhibition of boats decorated with Christmas lights, an amazing parade from the waterfront in Alexandria to The Wharf, in The District Holiday Boat Parade.

On the other hand, if you want to stay in your home you can learn how to crochet, take pics of your pet in the snow, visit an indoor farmer’s market, try new soup recipes, have a winter checkers game, go birdwatching, try a new winter sport, have a date at home, give your jeans winter flair, have a bonfire party, go sledding, string up lights, make snowflake art, take family photos, etc [2] .

According to Lizz Schumer [3] , you can do some indoors activities this winter such as: bake bread, plan a vacation, take an art class, go see a show, make fondue, play video games, build a fort, make a scrapbook, drink hot cocoa, read a good book, etc.

However, the most important thing is to remember that in all activities you share with the people you love most. According to Piedmont [4] , being social and spending time with others, helps you cope with stress, may lengthen your life, improves psychological wellbeing and, is good for your cardiovascular health. “When we spend time with family –especially face-to-face communications, as opposed to digital- it significantly reduces the occurrence of depression, anxiety, and other mental illness. Being physically present with loved ones creates a strong emotional support to buoy you up through life’s challenges [5] ”.

Therefore, we invite you to take care of your emotional wellbeing and those you love the most this winter, doing something as small as baking cookies.

References

 [1]https://washington.org/things-to-do-this-month-in-washington-dc

 [2]https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/home-lifestyle/g38125181/best-winter-activities/

 [3]https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/g34313699/best-winter-activities/

 [4]https://www.piedmont.org/living-better/4-reasons-friends-and-family-are-good-for-your-health

 [5]https://highlandspringsclinic.org/the-top-ten-benefits-of-spending-time-with-family/#:~:text=When%20we%20spend%20time%20with,you%20up%20through%20life’s%20challenges.

Leave a Reply