What do you do during the winter??? (houses, high school)

[The Madmunki's]

My family is in the process of a possible relocation and I have been doing alot of reseach on the city. Everything sounds great except the winters. We have two kids and one that is 2 and loves the outdoors. What do you do in for fun in the winter when you can't take the kids outside to play? Do you have indoor rec centers? We are from Atlanta and we can spend most of the year outdoors except for maybe 2 months. I am worried about being couped up in the house for 6 months with a 2 yr old. Any idea or suggestions would be great!!!

[kuan]

Cross country ski. When my kid was 2 I pulled him along in what's called a pulk.

[moving123456]

Originally Posted by The Madmunki's

My family is in the process of a possible relocation and I have been doing alot of reseach on the city. Everything sounds great except the winters. We have two kids and one that is 2 and loves the outdoors. What do you do in for fun in the winter when you can't take the kids outside to play? Do you have indoor rec centers? We are from Atlanta and we can spend most of the year outdoors except for maybe 2 months. I am worried about being couped up in the house for 6 months with a 2 yr old. Any idea or suggestions would be great!!!

You can still take the kids outside to play. Playing in the snow can be fun while growing up.

[golfgal]

Honestly, you will have maybe a handful of days that you really don't want to be outside, summer or winter. Our kids spend hours sledding, building snow forts, having snowball fights, ice skating, you name it. There are some indoor parks if you really want to use them. Most communities have a rec center or something that has basketball courts, play gyms for tots, swimming pools, etc. I think you will find that the extreme temps in the winter are much easier to deal with then the oppressive heat in the summer in the south.

[Moncriefjj]

You do the same stuff you do the rest of the year. You just wear more clothes. Seriously, you get used to it. None of it is a shock to anyone here, so the whole society is designed for it: indoor malls, well-heated houses, efficient snow plowing. I've lived elsewhere and unless you're totally cold-phobic, it won't be as bad as you think.

[Moncriefjj]

By the way, the idea of being "cooped up in the house for 6 months" is frankly kind of absurd (though it's a common misperception, so I'm not picking on you). First of all, even in the middle of winter, you can have bright, sunny days as high as the low 40s (which, believe it or not, feels really warm). Six months of the year would be October 1 through March 31, for example, and it's pretty funny to think of anyone being "cooped up" in October. I was playing tennis outside last early November. The temperature fluctuates quite a lot and your body adjusts. Sweaters and jackets exist for a reason. They keep you warm. That's what they're for!

I don't know. I guess you just have to experience a Minnesota winter to understand it. Don't strees too much.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Moncriefjj

By the way, the idea of being "cooped up in the house for 6 months" is frankly kind of absurd (though it's a common misperception, so I'm not picking on you). First of all, even in the middle of winter, you can have bright, sunny days as high as the low 40s (which, believe it or not, feels really warm). Six months of the year would be October 1 through March 31, for example, and it's pretty funny to think of anyone being "cooped up" in October. I was playing tennis outside last early November. The temperature fluctuates quite a lot and your body adjusts. Sweaters and jackets exist for a reason. They keep you warm. That's what they're for!

I don't know. I guess you just have to experience a Minnesota winter to understand it. Don't strees too much.

Exactly, it is basically the middle of October and I just spent 3 hours at a high school football game. I have on a turtleneck, sweatshirt and brought my winter coat, which I put on at about 1/2 time but never even zipped it. It is after 11 PM and it is still 50 degrees out. The real bitter cold doesn't usually happen until late Jan or Feb and even then it is maybe a week long.

[kuan]

First, what do you like to do? You can fish in Jan/Feb. Indoor soccer, indoor golf driving ranges, places like the Maple Maze, Eagle's nest, Edinborough, are great for little kids, and play hockey. A lot of city parks have skating rinks and it's nice (for me) to go and knock the puck around with the kids occasionally. We have great XC skiing in the metro area and not too shabby snowshoeing either.

Maple Maze

Edinborough Park

Eagle's Nest (broken link)

[slang75]

This is great information. We are considering a move to the Twin Cities and winters with our 2 young boys was one of our concerns. If anyone else has ideas they would be much appreciated.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by slang75

This is great information. We are considering a move to the Twin Cities and winters with our 2 young boys was one of our concerns. If anyone else has ideas they would be much appreciated.

It seems to me that children love to play in the snow and generally do not mind the cold as much.

There is the Winter Carnival, and that medallion hunt thing and plenty of sledding.