Winter Bucket List
One winter activity per card, from frozen soap bubbles and owl walks to marmalade and snow lanterns, to see you through to spring.
- Time
- 10–30 min
- Players
- One or more people
- Best for
- Snow days, long winter evenings and cold weekends
- Deck
- 150 ideas in 6 categories
How to use these winter bucket list ideas
- Pick a category from the menu under the card, or keep “All categories”.
- Read the idea on the top card. If it sounds like a good way to spend a cold day, give it a date.
- Swipe the card away, or tap “Next idea”, for another. Ideas do not repeat until you have seen the whole category.
- Tap the heart to save an idea on this device, or tap “Make a 10-idea list” to print this winter’s bucket list and pin it by the door.
When to make a winter bucket list
Winter is long, and January and February can blur into one gray stretch of the same few evenings. A short list made early gives the cold months a shape: something to look forward to each week, whatever the weather does.
The first cold weekend of December
Draw from every category over something hot to drink and heart ten ideas, from an eagle watch below the dam to a pot of French onion soup.
Late on a dark evening
With the lights low and one phone between you, a few cards from Cozy at home and Creative are enough to plan tomorrow: a reading nook, a hat on circular needles, a long novel to start.
The long middle of February
When winter feels endless, Little traditions brings back small markers of time: the groundhog on February 2, the first crocus, the first evening still light at five.
Ways to use this winter bucket list
One idea a week until spring
Draw a card every Sunday from early December and give it a day that week. December to February is about thirteen weeks, so that is a full winter of small plans without a long list to keep up with.
A snow day list
Heart five ideas from Snow and outdoors, Cozy at home and Food and warm drinks now. When the first big snow closes the roads, the day already has a plan: a maze stamped in the yard, a pot of gumbo, a long novel.
A list for a winter without snow
If your winters are mild, draw from Out and about, Creative and Little traditions, and keep the no-snow cards from Snow and outdoors, like whale watching from the coast, desert trails and manatees in a warm spring.
Tips for a winter list you actually finish
- Watch the forecast for the weather-only ideas. Frozen bubbles need a bitterly cold, still morning, and a snow lantern needs snow that packs, so save those cards and pounce when the day comes.
- Check dates early for anything in Out and about. Winter carnivals, ice harvests, livestock shows and ranger-led owl walks run for a few days or weekends, and some need a spot booked ahead.
- Plan outdoor ideas for midday. Winter afternoons are short, so a hike, a fat-tire ride or a crane watch fits best before the light goes, with Cozy at home ready for the long evening after.
All 150 winter bucket list ideas by category
The complete list, grouped by category. The cards above draw from the same list, so you can read ahead here and pick there.
Snow and outdoors
Fresh snow, frosty trails, winter birds and mild coastal days for places that never see a flake.
- Catch snowflakes on a dark mitten and count the six arms on each one through a magnifying glass.
- Blow soap bubbles on a bitterly cold, still morning and watch them freeze into crystal balls.
- Learn to tell a junco from a chickadee from a nuthatch at the nearest bird feeder.
- Walk beside a frozen creek and listen for the water still running under the ice.
- Look for bald eagles fishing in the open water below a river dam in midwinter.
- Name three trees on a winter walk using only their bark, their buds and their shape.
- Hunt for the first snowdrops pushing up through cold ground in late winter.
- Watch mist rise off a lake or river on a frigid morning, with a camera ready.
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- Go out early after a frosty, foggy night and see every twig coated in white frost.
- Take a beginner ski or snowboard lesson on the gentlest slope on the hill.
- Ride a fat-tire bike along a packed snow trail at a park that rents them.
- Stamp a maze into the snow in the yard and time each other running through it.
- Play a round of disc golf in the snow with a bright orange disc you can actually find.
- Measure each new snowfall with a ruler in three spots and keep a running total all winter.
- No snow where you live? Hike a desert trail in winter, when the midday sun is gentle.
- Watch for gray whales from a West Coast lookout as they swim south in winter.
- See manatees gather in a warm Florida spring on a chilly winter morning.
- Watch thousands of sandhill cranes lift off a winter wetland at sunrise.
- Beachcomb for shells and sea glass after a high winter tide brings new ones in.
- Rent a heated cabin at a state park for a night and walk its trails in the snow.
- Climb a hill on a crisp, clear winter day and see how far you can see.
- Get one good photo of a red cardinal against fresh white snow.
- Look for witch hazel blooming in a botanical garden in late winter, yellow ribbons on bare branches.
- Join a ranger-led owl walk on a winter evening and listen for owls calling in the dark.
- Walk among bare trees and spot all the bird nests the summer leaves were hiding.
Cozy at home
Long novels, windowsill bulbs, flannel sheets and slow projects for the dark months indoors.
- Plant paperwhite bulbs in a bowl of pebbles so they bloom in the middle of winter.
- Leaf through seed catalogs on a gray afternoon and sketch out this year’s garden.
- Pick one very long novel and read a chapter a night until spring.
- Move your favorite chair into the sunniest window for the winter months.
- Grow a tray of microgreens on the kitchen windowsill and add a handful to every meal.
- Watch a documentary series about the polar regions, one episode each cold evening.
- Teach friends a long strategy board game and finish it over two snowy evenings.
- Run a hot bath on the coldest night of the month and read in it until the water cools.
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- Make a winter reading nook in a corner with a lamp, a cushion and a basket of books.
- Dust off an instrument you have not played in years and relearn one song by spring.
- Write real letters on paper to three faraway friends and mail them on a snowy afternoon.
- Watch every movie in a film series in order over one long, cold weekend.
- Host a games night where every guest brings a board game they grew up playing.
- Rearrange your bookshelves by color on a snowy afternoon.
- Learn the basics of a new language for fifteen minutes each evening until the first spring flowers.
- Watch three movies set somewhere snowy and rank which one looks the coldest.
- Stretch for ten minutes by a sunny window every morning in January.
- Listen to all of Vivaldi’s “Winter” with the lights low and your eyes closed.
- Learn backgammon and play a best-of-five match on a sleety evening.
- Bring a few bare forsythia branches indoors in late winter and watch them bloom in a vase.
- Make a playlist of quiet songs for snowy mornings and play it while the coffee brews.
- Host a scarf and sweater swap with friends so everyone goes home with something new to wear.
- Watch a figure skating competition on TV and learn how the jumps are scored.
- Use one cold weekend for an indoor project you keep putting off, like painting a room.
- Let a snowstorm be your excuse to call an old friend and talk for a whole hour.
Food and warm drinks
Simmering soups, winter citrus, quick breads and hot mugs of tea and cider.
- Make French onion soup, letting the onions caramelize slowly for a full hour.
- Bake a big Dutch baby pancake in a hot skillet on a snowy morning.
- Make Swedish meatballs in a creamy gravy and serve them with mashed potatoes.
- Pour hot, boiled maple syrup over clean packed snow and roll it onto a stick as maple taffy.
- Stir up champurrado, a thick Mexican hot drink made with masa and chocolate.
- Make a London fog: strong earl grey tea with steamed milk and a little vanilla.
- Brew a mug of fresh ginger tea with lemon and honey on a raw, windy day.
- Try a tea you have never had, like genmaicha, a green tea mixed with toasted rice.
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- Bake an upside-down cake with blood oranges while they are in season in winter.
- Make a batch of marmalade in January, when bitter Seville oranges are in the shops.
- Bake a loaf of Irish soda bread on a snow day, from bowl to oven in ten minutes.
- Bake a tray of Swedish cardamom buns and eat the first one still warm.
- Cook a pot of soft polenta and top it with roasted mushrooms and parmesan.
- Fry a big golden potato rösti in a cast-iron pan for a slow Saturday brunch.
- Bake a tray of potatoes and set out a baked potato bar for friends on a frozen night.
- Simmer a pot of Cuban black beans and serve them over rice on a raw, gray day.
- Eat a kumquat whole, peel and all, while they are in season in winter.
- Bake a pie with the berries you froze last summer and taste July in January.
- Fill the slow cooker before a snowstorm so dinner is ready once you are snowed in.
- Have a crêpe night with a sweet table and a savory table of fillings.
- Stir a dark roux slowly for a pot of gumbo and serve it over rice.
- Roast a whole head of cauliflower rubbed with spices until it turns deep gold.
- Bake a sticky toffee pudding with dates for a cold Sunday dessert.
- Cook a pot of red lentil dal and eat it with rice and warm flatbread.
- Poach pears in apple juice and cinnamon until they are soft enough to cut with a spoon.
Out and about
Curling clubs, hot springs, planetariums, sugarhouses and warm indoor outings on cold days.
- Watch a matinee at an old single-screen movie theater on a snowy afternoon.
- Watch a local hockey game and learn the rules by the third period.
- Go to a winter carnival and try every outdoor game on the program.
- Take a guided dog sledding tour and help hitch the team before you set off.
- Soak in an outdoor hot spring while the air around you is cold enough to see your breath.
- Visit an art museum and find every painting with snow in it.
- Spend a gray afternoon under the dome at a planetarium show.
- Spend a freezing afternoon at an aquarium in front of the warm tropical reef tank.
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- Take a beginner swing dance class on a cold weeknight with a few friends.
- Spend a snowy afternoon at the public library browsing a section you have never visited.
- Ride a chairlift or gondola up a mountain just for the snowy view from the top.
- Try indoor pickleball at a community center on a sleety evening with friends.
- Take a factory tour somewhere warm inside, like a chocolate maker or a bakery.
- Spend a snowy Saturday at a natural history museum and find the oldest thing on display.
- Swim laps at an indoor heated pool while the snow piles up outside the windows.
- Watch a ski jumping or snowboard event live at a nearby hill.
- Walk a city’s indoor skyways or underground walkways end to end on a freezing day.
- Walk through a butterfly house in the middle of winter and let one land on your sleeve.
- Hunt the thrift stores for a vintage wool coat that fits like it was made for you.
- Watch big winter waves crash on a rocky point from a safe spot up on the bluff.
- Watch an old-fashioned ice harvest, where blocks are sawed by hand from a frozen pond.
- Live where it’s warm? Plan a winter day trip to the mountains just to stand in snow.
- Walk the barns at a winter livestock show and watch the judges at work.
- Cheer at a college basketball game in a loud, warm gym on a frozen night.
- Watch a cross-country ski race from the trailside and cheer for every skier who passes.
Creative
Ice globes, snow lanterns, yarn, clay and paper projects to make while it’s cold out.
- Freeze balloons full of colored water, peel them, and set the bright ice globes in the snow.
- Fill spray bottles with water and food coloring and paint a giant picture on the snow.
- Knit your first hat on circular needles and wear it before the snow melts.
- Freeze berries, leaves and a loop of twine in a pie tin and hang the ice from a branch.
- Paint a snowy scene with white paint on dark blue paper.
- Make a no-sew fleece blanket by cutting fringe along the edges and knotting two layers together.
- Cut a pair of mittens from an old felted wool sweater and stitch them up.
- Draw the bare branches of one tree in ink, every twig you can see.
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- Stack snowballs into a hollow cone and set a candle inside for a glowing snow lantern.
- Needle-felt a small woolly animal from a ball of loose wool.
- Carve a stamp from a plain eraser and print your own set of winter notecards.
- Hand-bind a small notebook with needle, thread and heavy card for a winter journal.
- Cross-stitch a single snowflake onto a square of linen and frame it.
- Re-cover an old footstool or chair seat with a fabric you love.
- Shoot a black-and-white photo series of your street in the snow.
- Ice-dye a white T-shirt by letting dye-sprinkled ice melt slowly over the fabric.
- Write a short story set in a cabin where everyone is snowed in for three days.
- Sprinkle salt on wet watercolor and watch it bloom into frosty star shapes.
- Crochet a pair of fingerless gloves for typing in a cold room.
- Draw a one-page comic about the best snow day you remember.
- Learn to fold an origami crane and make one for every week of winter.
- Design your own winter sweater pattern square by square on graph paper.
- Write a short poem every time it snows this winter and keep them all in one notebook.
- Sew a long draft stopper for the coldest door in the house.
- Shape a set of tea-light holders from air-dry clay and paint them in winter colors.
Little traditions
Small yearly rituals from the solstice to the first crocus that carry you through to spring.
- On the solstice, write down the sunset time and check it each week as the days stretch out.
- Guess the date of the first snow with friends in November, and the closest guess picks the next outing.
- Check the groundhog news on February 2 and make your own prediction about spring.
- Mark the first day you can go out without gloves with a walk to get ice cream.
- Host a winter potluck on the coldest weekend of January, everyone bringing their warmest dish.
- Pick one word for the winter, like slow or warm, and write it on the fridge.
- Photograph the view from the same window on the first of December, January and February.
- Celebrate the first evening it is still light at five o’clock with a walk around the block.
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- Choose one breakfast that is only ever made on snow days, and make it every time.
- Wear the brightest hat you own on the grayest day in January.
- Check the thermometer at dawn on the coldest morning and write the number on the calendar.
- Celebrate the first crocus of the year with a small cake.
- Note the day the ice goes out on the nearest lake or pond, and compare it with last year.
- Try one winter sport you have never done, a new one every year.
- When winter ends, tuck a note in your heavy coat pocket for yourself to find next year.
- Buy a bunch of tulips in January as a reminder that spring is on its way.
- Start tomato and pepper seeds indoors on the same weekend every February.
- Send a winter postcard to a friend who lives somewhere warm and ask for one back.
- Keep a chalkboard by the door counting down the days until spring.
- Start a winter book club with friends that meets once a month until spring.
- Keep a standing Saturday walk with a friend all winter, whatever the weather.
- Pack a winter care kit for a friend who just moved somewhere cold.
- Invite the neighbors out for hot drinks in the driveway on the snowiest day of the year.
- Bring out one mug that is only for winter on the first cold morning.
- Brush the snow off a neighbor’s car while you clear your own, every time it snows.
Frequently asked questions
How many winter bucket list ideas are there?
There are 150 ideas, 25 in each of six categories: snow and outdoors, cozy at home, food and warm drinks, out and about, creative, and little traditions. The cards and the list on this page use the same set.
Are there Christmas ideas on this winter bucket list?
No. This list sticks to the season itself, so every idea works from early December to the end of February. For December plans like wreaths, holiday baking and lights tours, use the Christmas bucket list, which has its own ideas.
Is there a winter list for couples?
Yes. Winter date ideas are written for two people planning a date, from snowy walks to long candlelit nights. The ideas on this page work for anyone, on your own or with friends and family, and they are different from the date ideas.
What if it doesn’t snow where I live?
Most of the list does not need snow. Out and about, Creative, Little traditions and Food and warm drinks work anywhere, and Snow and outdoors has cards for mild winters, like coastal whale watching, beachcombing and desert hikes. When the season turns, the fall bucket list has the next round of ideas.