Activities to keep the wintry woes away
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It’s that time of year when you crank up the electric blanket to ten, pull that extra doona out of the cupboard and ignore the safety warning about not putting boiling water in your hot water bottle.
But just because the weather is refusing to acknowledge that double digits do exist, it doesn’t mean you have to stay cooped up or be out in the cold—there’s a perfect middle ground just waiting for you to go and explore this weekend.
Here are five different ways you can spend the weekend whilst still being able to feel all ten of your fingers and toes.
Explore an exhibition or five…
Exhibitions are the perfect place to lose track of the hours, whilst staying out of this freezing wind that doesn’t seem to want to blow away. Between all the galleries, museums, and showcases that are crammed into Canberra’s event calendar, there’s always something showing that will tickle your fancy. But with NAIDOC week ending on Sunday, it is the perfect opportunity to head along to a couple of the exhibits featuring Indigenous voices.
The National Museum of Australia will transport you into a world made up of artworks, music, and dance through their immersive experience Connection where you can lose hours wandering around and spotting new details that you hadn’t seen the first time you watched it. They will also inspire you to upgrade your plain kitchen appliances with their new exhibition An Aboriginal Culinary Journey: Designed for Living which explores the dynamism of an adaptive culture while combining ancient stories with the best of contemporary design and will give you major inspiration for how to up your kitchen designs. Find out how else you can celebrate NAIDOC week here.
Why not make a day of it and try to go to as many of the cultural institutions (and make the most of their heating) as you can?
Enjoy Mid-Winter Nights at Questacon
We might have already found out what happens in the museum at night, but have you ever stopped to wonder what happens at Questacon once the sun goes down? It’s sold out online but why not pop on down to Questacon to try your luck for some of the limited at-the-door tickets? With igloos, food, music and mayhem it’s the perfect mix of outdoor and indoor joy to get the whole family racing to pop on their mittens. We’ve compiled your five must-do experiences at Mid-Winter nights at Questacon here.
Pop into the pop-up Swiss village
What I would give right now to be in the Swiss Alps, a glass of mulled wine in hand and watching the snow fall next to a roaring wood fire… Okay I need to stop before I get too wistful. For those of us dreaming of a white winter, the Canberra Centre is bringing a cosy Swiss alpine town right to our doorsteps, creating a winter wonderland perfect not just for the grown-ups but their little companions as well.
With mulled wine infused with spices from Gewürzhaus and gourmet Swiss chocolate s’mores, Swiss cheese tasting, gingerbread decorating, candle and wreath making, and more, you will be swept away into another winter world where the cold isn’t such a miserable thing. Plus find out how to win a Swiss holiday for two here.
Dogs’ day out at A Pooch Affair
Indoors? Check. Lots of puppies? Check. Fun times? Check. A Pooch Affair is the perfect out-of-home but out-of-the-cold weekend experience.
Grab your fur babies and head across to EPIC for an indoor day of fun with some im-paw-sibly cute companions. This year’s theme is Gatsby, so pull out that doggie bowtie (which I’m sure your four-legged family members love to wear) and enjoy all-day live music, a red-carpet fashion walk at 11.30 am and all the entertainment and food needs you and your pet could ever need (puppuchinos anyone?). Not only will you wear our most energetic furry friends out from all the playing, you could also be walking home with some new goodies thanks to giveaways and prizes being handed out left, right and centre.
Sneak in a movie
I don’t think it gets better than watching a movie whilst the wild weather takes over outside. Rather than spending hours flicking through streaming services whilst deciding there is absolutely nothing to watch, why not head into the city to catch something on the big screen (plus get all the snacks)?
Gone are the days of only having one or two choices of what is screening at the cinema—instead this weekend you will be stressing over which one to choose or how many you can fit in a row. With some powerhouse hits such as Thor: Love and Thunder and Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis gracing the big screen at Dendy’s, you are sorted from date night to a family day out or just a solo screening. Pass me all the popcorn!
Get cosy and stay at home
With all the germs floating around at the moment chances are one or more of your household are currently best friends with a pack of Strepsils and a box of tissues, so make the most of the weekend to rest up and recover. The best way to feel better (that isn’t just shutting your curtains and entering a state of denial) is by warming up your belly to get you through these cold nights. Check out these five comfort food recipes to try with your family. They will pair perfectly with a game of monopoly that will go on for hours until someone gets caught stealing from the bank, another person is stuck in prison and one person is crying in the corner—or is that just my family?
Plus some outdoor revelry…
For those of you brave enough to not be deterred by the icy blasts coming off the mountains there is plenty of things to do that will get you out and about in the city.
The Winter in the City festival is taking back over Civic square so find your ugliest Christmas sweater, knobbly beanie and get ready to fall on your bum a thousand and one times in the ice rink (maybe this will be the year I stop gripping the wall as I go round). After you’ve skated your way to a gold medal, go and grab a hot drink to bring back some feelings to your fingertips. Pretend it’s a white Christmas (any excuse for some presents), eat your heart out and find out all about this winter wonderland here.
For those wanting to see some snow without making the drive down to Jindabyne head along to Corin Forest. Snowball fights, snowman building competitions, making snow angels, snowboarding, snow…. Ahh, I ran out of activities starting with snow, but I think I covered enough reasons to jump in the car and embrace the chilly weather.
Got your puffer jacket, gloves, beanie and scarf? Then you are all set for a weekend of winter wonderfulness (no matter whether it’s indoors or outdoors).
