Ultimate Winter Bucket List
Are you looking for winter bucket list ideas? You’re in the right place!
I absolutely love the winter months, mainly because I thrive during cold weather. I love December and how festive everything is leading up to Christmas, and I also love the start of a new year and the fresh, blank slate of January and February. Winter is a great time to make a bucket list of fun seasonal activities.
Creating a bucket list helps you make the most of the season and create amazing, long-lasting memories. Below I’ve included ideas for bucket list activities that you can do at home, locally, or while traveling.
Here’s a look at the best ideas for your winter bucket list:
At Home
Who said you need to leave home to check things off your bucket list? If you’re looking for easy yet fun at-home bucket list ideas, I’ve put together plenty of them for you below. Many of these ideas don’t cost a dime, or are quite cheap, so you also don’t have to spend a lot of money to make fun winter memories.
- Make homemade hot chocolate with marshmallows.
- Have a Christmas movie marathon.
- Make snow angels outside after a fresh snowfall.
- Bake and decorate Christmas cookies.
- Write down your New Year’s resolutions.
- Make a DIY holiday wreath.
- Send holiday cards to friends and family.
- Make homemade peppermint bark.
- Get a fun Advent calendar for the month of December.
- Have a snowball fight.
- Learn how to bake bread from scratch.
- Make a Christmas playlist.
- Host a white elephant gift exchange.
- Make and decorate a gingerbread house.
- Watch all the Oscar-nominated movies in January.
- Make homemade grilled cheese and tomato soup.
- Host a holiday cookie exchange.
- Make a DIY snowglobe.
- Build a fire and roast chestnuts.
- Host a Super Bowl party in February.
- Make homemade cinnamon rolls.
- Join or start a book club.
- Have a fondue night.
- Build a blanket fort.
- Learn how to do latte art.
- Adopt a family for Christmas and donate gifts.
- Build a snowman.
- Make DIY winter-scented candles.
- Complete a 1,000-piece puzzle.
- Make snowcones using real snow.
Local
If you want to go a little further afield, check out these winter bucket list ideas that you can accomplish locally. If you don’t live somewhere that gets very cold or snowy in the winter, you might not be able to do some of these. But many of these ideas can be done anywhere, and make the most of the winter season.
- Go ice skating.
- Take a winter hike.
- Go to a Christmas tree farm (to chop down your own tree or just to take photos!)
- Buy Christmas pajamas.
- Go sledding.
- Attend a New Year’s Eve celebration with fireworks.
- Soak in a natural hot spring.
- Participate in a polar plunge.
- Take photos with Santa Claus (regardless of your age!)
- Go thrifting for tacky Christmas sweaters.
- Volunteer at a soup kitchen.
- Check out a local holiday market.
- Go snowshoeing.
- Drive around and look at Christmas lights.
- Go on a sleigh ride.
- Visit a sauna.
- Attend a Christmas tree lighting.
- Order a holiday-themed drink at a local coffee shop.
- Go Christmas caroling.
- Spend a weekend away at a cabin with a hot tub.
- Go to a restaurant or bar with outdoor heated igloos.
- Attend a hockey game.
- Donate winter coats and other warm clothing.
- Go snow tubing.
- See a Christmas performance like The Nutcracker.
- Go swimming at an indoor pool.
- Visit a local botanical garden’s holiday lights display.
- Learn how to ski or snowboard.
- Go out for a Galentine’s Day brunch with friends.
- Check out a local museum on a cold winter’s day.
Travel
Looking for travel-related winter bucket list ideas? Winter is a great time to travel, whether you’re going somewhere festive for Christmas, somewhere cold and snowy to soak up the winter vibes, or somewhere warm and tropical to beat the winter blues! Check out these great winter travel ideas for inspiration.
- Witness the Northern Lights in Norway.
- Celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans in February.
- Spend the night in an ice hotel.
- Take a European Christmas market trip.
- Spot polar bears in Churchill, Canada.
- Experience the Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, China in January.
- Go skiing or snowboarding in the Rockies.
- Hike in the Patagonia region of Argentina and Chile.
- Visit Santa Claus Village in Lapland, Finland.
- Escape the cold on a Caribbean cruise.
- Take a festive trip to NYC around the holidays.
- Stay in an overwater bungalow in the Maldives.
- Celebrate Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in February.
- Discover the futuristic city of Dubai.
- Experience enchanting Québec City, Canada at Christmastime.
- Visit Disney World around the holidays.
- Enjoy vibrant Cape Town, South Africa during their summertime.
- Visit the Bavarian-style village of Leavenworth, Washington.
- Go for a soak in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland.
- Ring in the New Year in Sydney, Australia.
- Take in the beauty of the Taj Mahal in India.
- Go island-hopping in Thailand.
- Take a scenic train ride on Switzerland’s Glacier Express.
- See the pyramids in Cairo, Egypt in the cooler winter weather.
- Go skiing or snowboarding in the Alps.
- Celebrate Hogmanay in Scotland.
- Visit Petra, Jordan in the cooler winter weather.
- Go to Venice, Italy for Carnival in February.
- Take a cruise to discover Antarctica.
- Learn tango in Buenos Aires, Argentina during their summertime.
Winter Bucket List Ideas
This guide showed you the best winter bucket list ideas.
Starting a winter bucket list is a great way to make memories and start or continue new traditions. Around the holidays, there are so many fun and festive activities you can add to your bucket list.
And even after the holiday season ends, when there are still several long months of winter ahead, your winter bucket list can help you escape the doldrums of the season and spice up your life.
Have a great winter, and make the most out of it with these ideas!
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