What do you do in Boston during the Winter? (Quincy: hotels, house)

[PolyAnalyst]

So, I recently moved up here for school from Atlanta. The summer and fall were both gorgeous... perfect times to walk around the city, go biking and hiking in VT, and lie in the park on sunny afternoons with a book or a game.

Now it's cold. My wall thermometer says that it's 28 degrees outside! What do people do in the winter in Boston? Any suggestions? There are always the old standbys:

1) Drink.
2) Museums.
3) Shows.

Anything else?

[clevedark]

Ski.

[xS☺B☺s]

Originally Posted by PolyAnalyst

Now it's cold. My wall thermometer says that it's 28 degrees outside! What do people do in the winter in Boston?

You mean besides suffer and search for cheap hotels in Florida?

Well one thing I did was watch weather.com to see when the warmest hours on the warmest days. In the dead of winter - which has apparently arrived early this year - I'd wait till the very hour that it warms up as best as it will - then put on two layers and go for a jog down the Charles or the Common. IOW, get out when the weather is warm! Getting out when you can is crucial!

You might also enjoy taking a walk to Starbucks or you favorite pub for a nice hot drink. Hot drinks are so much better on cold days! Quincy Market is a great destination on a nippy day. And if you plan your walk right, you could walk down say Huntington then warm up at the Pru/Copley, then through town taking warm up stops along the way. Strolling the North End for hot chocolate on a moderate evening is great too.

Christmas tree lightings happen around the city in Dec. No big deal, but kinda nice. Ice skating on Frog Pond if that's your thing. But the headline event of the winter is the Grand Procession on Boylston St 5pmish New Year's Eve. Don't miss it!

Other than that, I kinda bookwormed in the coldest depths of winter. Go to the BPL and sit at that beautiful window seat overlooking Boylston and take up a study. Other than that, Netflix and a warm blanket ...

Oh BTW, don't despair just yet. There have been many years where it was 25 in November at 50 all December.

[boston mark]

This is Boston. Trust me when I say in 2 weeks it will be 65.

[Woof Woof Woof!]

Originally Posted by PolyAnalyst

So, I recently moved up here for school from Atlanta. The summer and fall were both gorgeous... perfect times to walk around the city, go biking and hiking in VT, and lie in the park on sunny afternoons with a book or a game.

Now it's cold. My wall thermometer says that it's 28 degrees outside! What do people do in the winter in Boston? Any suggestions? There are always the old standbys:

1) Drink.
2) Museums.
3) Shows.

Anything else?

I got news for you. 28 is not that cold!

You do everything you normally would do, but you wear more clothes!

Enjoy!

[eastcoastlady]

shovel.

[lrfox]

Bruins games are still affordable and fun. Catch one when you have time. Also if you love sports, you're in the college mecca. Check out BC, BU, Northeastern and Harvard (as well as some of the smaller schools) ad they have good Football, hockey and basketball programs. Also, you can always monitor Red Sox trade rumors and potential free agent signings... many of us like to fantasy manage (sort of kidding).

I know you mentioned shows, but the music scene in Boston is great. If you like Jazz, Rock, Hip-Hop, etc.. there will be something for you almost every weekend (perhaps every night depending on what you like) and it won't cost you a fortune. If you let us know what you like, maybe we could suggest some venues for you?

Ski. If you don't know how, you could always try to learn. The great mountains (Loon, Waterville Valley, and Cannon) along I-93 in NH are only 2-2.5 hours away straight up 93. Gunstock and Sunapee are even closer and a bit easier if you're a novice. Wachusett is a decent Mountain about 45 minutes to 1 hour out of Boston by car OR, and this is the best part, you can take the "Ski Train" from N. Station to Fitchburg ( Wachusett Mountain | Ski Train to Wachusett ) and ski the day away. They also offer night skiing at Wachusett (and other Mountains) so you can head over after work if you enjoy skiing.

[DaveV]

A) 28 isn't cold

B) Get some high-tech skin-tight longjohns and dress accordingly

C) Enjoy the winter, it's great when you are prepared

[BubbyBu]

read The Boston Globe and other calendar papers for upcoming events

[CityGirl52]

I am constantly thinking of places to go in the winter months, I can NOT sit still. Irfox has a really good idea, there's the ski-train out of North Station that is a big hit for weekends. Read their site to get the information on it and the schedule. It's a terrific idea, so some day soon that could be on your agenda, it's a really good idea:

Wachusett Mountain

Another place that you might really enjoy is the "Amesbury Sports Park", they have tubing in the winter AND in the summer with their OGO type tubing, go to this site to see what I'm talking about, it's really neat up there, whether it's still there or not is another story, I know it was there last summer and you couldn't get near it, you could see the long lines from the highway! In the summer it's this tubing technique from "down under" in Australia that's done on grassy hills. The winter tubing is also quite entertaining, it certainly looks it to me any way! It's located at 12 S. Hunt Rd., in Amesbury, MA. 978 388-5788. There Pub looks GREAT, it's got really good munchies & food for lunch on their menu any way! It's called the Corner Kick Pub:

Amesbury Sports Park - Tubing, OGO, Entertainment, and more... | Fun Starts Here!

You could take off one early morning & head up to Kennebunkport, Maine on a day trip; especially on December 5th, so remember this date, for their tree lighting ceremony that they have every year. It's SO popular now that there's trolley's set up that shuttle the people in, right to the village area for it. Check their site to see their schedule of activities and events & all about their trolley shuttle. It's their 27th anniversary, so it should be a really good time this year:

Christmas Prelude

Another thought for you is to head to Newport, Rhode Island for the day. It's less than 2 hours from Boston. You could check it out on this site below.
From December 1st to the 30th their "Victorian Christmas Tours" begin & seeing their lights & spectacular decorating at the Mansions is absolutely incredible... "Christmas At The Newport Mansions" will all be explained on their site:

Welcome to Go Newport - The Official Site for Newport RI offers all the information you need

You could take a day trip some day soon to the Wrentham Premium Outlets:
Chelsea Premium Outlets

There's also a "Holiday House Tour" going on for 3 days in Ipswich, MA., at Castle Hill. It's quite a take if you get the chance to go to it. It's from 10 AM to 4 PM for 3 days, December 5th, 6th & 7th I believe, you could go to their site to read about the tours going on, click this site on and then Castle Hill in Ipswich and you'll be able to see it, it's all done up for Christmas with bows, holly, lights & all that:

Welcome! - The Trustees of Reservations

Another idea is the Christmas House Tour in South Boston. It's another GEM of a house tour, and I'm not kidding you. This one is amaaaaazing. It's being held Sunday afternoon December 7th from 12 to 4 PM. I went last year and absolutely loved it. It's quite a take! Here's info on it & believe me when I tell you this it's WELL worth it!

Catholic Charities of Boston - Annual Events - 2008 Labouré Center Christmas House Tour (http://www.ccab.org/annual-events/2008-laboure-christmas-house-tour/ - broken link)

On the very first Saturday after Thanksgiving, which is November 29th this year, it's the "Lighting of the Nubble Lighthouse" @ York, Maine. If you haven't been to it, then try to get up there if you can. It's GREAT! Here's some info for it:

Welcome to York Parks and Recreation Department's 2008/2009 Winter/Spring Programs! (http://parksandrec.yorkmaine.org/nubble%20home.html#Annual%20Lighting - broken link)

The Boston Common Tree Lighting ceremony is coming up:

News & Press Releases - City of Boston

One thing to do is to stroll along Charles Street in Boston and browse their many shops. Check out Beacon Hill right at sunset to see their lights & you could also check out where the famous people lived on Beacon Hill while you're browsing thru there. Head down to the Liberty Hotel and check out their hotel lobby. Have a "cold one" OR a "hot one" at the Alibi Bar while you're checking it out there. This hotel used to be the Charles Street Jail and it's really incredible to see what the architects, engineers and builders did to this complex. Check that out while you're browsing Charles Street, you won't regret it one bit.

Did you know there's all kinds of art galleries along Newbury Street? At Harvard University there is too! GO to either place if you ever get the chance, in cold OR warm weather. There's really a LOT going on, especially in cold weather, I might add, just dress warm that's all, oh by the way? You want to get the micro-fiber OR silk "cuddleduds"! Go online to see them, I get them at Macy's all the time! They come in black or white, they're the BEST & wash really good too & are really good when you put them in the dryer. They're also fantastic for under jeans & sweaters or T's, so remember them! My three sisters and I don't know WHAT we'd do without them!

GO to the USS Constitution/OLD IRONSIDES in Charlestown, MA, it's FREE.
Fri., December 5, 2008: Is their Christmas Tree Decorating Event
Sun., December 7, 2008: Is their Christmas "Tree Lighting Ceremony" usually held at sunset, which is in around 4PM now, so remember that...

Well, that's MY two cents. Hope you enjoy your winter in Boston/New England! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas Season, it's almost here! ALSO, one more thing, they're playing Christmas music 24 hours a day on 105.7FM I think it is and 103.3 FM!