6 Ottawa Winter Activities

It has been a loonnng winter - if you don't think so it's because you don't live in Ottawa. However, when you live in a city where there is a realistic chance of snow six months of the year you can't mope around all the time. You have to get creative! Here are 6 things our little family likes do to pass the time while while we wait for more humane temperatures to return:

1. Go tobogganing in the woods. The more trees and obstacles, the better. One day soon Margot will be too old for this...but today is not that day.

(p.s that's not me pulling the sled!)

2.  Eat ice cream in the winter. Margot loves this. Amazingly, she's not alone. While we usually go for ice cream at Stella Luna, which has a nice sit down area, the Merry Dairy down the street stays open almost all winter and always has customers even though most people get ice cream to go. Wha?!

3. Skating, of course. Especially on the Rideau Canal. When I was a University student in Ottawa I didn't go skating once. What was I smoking? It's super fun... at dusk or at night. During the day on a weekend the sheer volume of people can take away from the experience. But when it gets dark... it's just you, the ice and some conveniently located snack shacks:

(again, that's not me in the picture with Margot. Who is that mysterious lookalike?)

4. Eat out/in. Is it just me or are restaurants more enjoyable when there is snow falling outside? I love a good patio, but many of the nicest restaurant experiences Glosette Girl and I have had have been during the cold winter months.

5. Plan our summer vacation. Seriously! We always do this in February and have great fun dreaming about where we are going to be in the summer. This year. Well let's just say we're visiting a country that rhymes with Grizterland.

6. Be secretly happy when it snows so much you're forced to stay inside all day in your pjs, reading books and playing video games and staying cozy.*

* except when Glosette Girl asks you to shovel the driveway three times a day. :)