I’ll admit it. This isn’t my favourite time of year. I envy any species that hibernates… If I had my way, I’d prefer to curl up sometime in early January with my tail over my nose, and snooze right through until about April.
The excitement of the festive season has evaporated, along with our entire household recreation budget. It’s cold, it’s wet, it’s dark (and often icy or stormy, too). The sun makes only weak, furtive appearances, and the kids seem as reluctant to step outside as we are.
But life continues apace… working on the magazine keeps me on the move and the old grey matter humming along - and the kids enjoy a busy term at school. That just leaves the weekends. What to do with a suburban house full of cooped-up kids, no budget and less-than-ideal weather?
Here are three of our favourite midwinter survival tips…
1. Look around you.
You don’t even need to leave the house for this one. Our kids got excited by the Big Garden Birdwatch, and we’re still putting out bird food and keeping an eye on visitors. We also found an old tit nest in the bay tree; the kids plan to keep checking on that to see if anyone returns to it. We can watch a mini-murmuration each evening from the front windows, and hear a woodpecker drumming from our bedrooms.
Just a quick look around the back garden has also inspired numerous craft activities… Just this week we’ve stuffed string, wool and ribbons into an old plastic bottle, cut holes in it and hung it in the tree as a ‘nesting material dispenser’. And then there’s the birdwatch-inspired finger-painting…
Little painted thumbs made this flock of blue tits - their favourite bird.
2. Take a nature walk
I’d love to say my kids are great little hikers, but they’re not. It takes plenty of distraction to keep those little legs moving and the whingeing at bay. Luckily, nature is great for providing distraction.
We have a large woodland a few minutes drive away, so when we’re all going stir-crazy we can tramp through there in all weathers. It’s a great place, with interesting terrain and patches of different habitat, including areas of coppicing, muddy creeks and scrub. They’ve learned their oaks from their beech and have found owl pellets and deer poo.
Unfortunately they make a good deal of noise as they travel, so most actual wildlife steers clear. Instead, we play a few games to keep them moving - the most popular being hide and seek, and team trail-laying using tracking signs. Then there’s “pretend we’re in Narnia”, which needs little parental input.
Even a 40-minute amble puts colour in their cheeks, a smile on their faces and an appetite in their bellies.
Did I just suggest that playing Narnia was just for kids? Where’s the fun in that…?
3. Have a picnic
Yes, it’s freezing. And the ground is soggy. But we do picnic in the middle of February. As long as it’s dry and not too windy, you’re good to go - honest.
We have a favourite spot on the grass next to a reed-filled nature pond amid our local community meadows. There’s a cycle path all the way there, and a play area nearby – and we nestle near the edge of the tall, thick reeds where we can search for animal smeuses and listen for wildfowl.
Our basic essentials include warm clothes, hats and gloves, a waterproof-backed picnic rug, a thermos of hot chocolate for the kids and one with coffee (or mulled wine) for mum and dad. Then we fill a backpack with basic fare such as scotch eggs, sandwiches, crisps and fruit - and maybe a football. After scoffing the lot, we’ll visit the play area and the viewing platform built out over the pond to see what’s about. Usually, there’s so much running about that I end up carrying everybody’s coats home.
Those are just three low-cost, low-effort ideas for defying inclement weather to get your family outside in February. I'm sure many of you have a few tricks up your sleeves, too - we'd love to hear them!
Please share your ideas for a Wild Family February in the comments section, below.