thankd for guiding me to her blog,,,love it!

my favourite winter passtime is watch Home Alone and drink Chocolate Abuelita (mexican hot cocoa)

great giveaway :)

I have just been over to visit too, it's a wonderful blog.

My favorite winter pastime has been having our two little boys coming into our bed on cold cold nights and having everyone snuggled together to keep toasty and warm, i am enjoying these moments while they are young enough to do it :)

Good luck to everyone :)

My favourite pastime in winter is to bundle up and head down to the river for a long walk. In winter there are fewer people boating or fishing so you can hear the river talking to you. Speaking through the water flowing, the trees rustling and the birds calling. Even better on a gently drizzling day where you can feel the fresh water wash away all of the obligations, chores and the general hustle and bustle of life.
Slowing down seems so much easier and calmer in these cooling months.

Since living in the blue Mountains for the past five years, we have learnt a lot about embracing winter past-times! Some of our favourites - cooking slow cooked, yummy food (lamb shanks, osso bucco, greek lamb roast with home-made pides, pumpkin, pear and thyme soup, apricot coconut cake, ruburb with porridge), chai tea on frosty mornings, lots of craft and drawing with my nearly 5 year old, heaps of tea-parties with ricotta hotcakes and pikelets, creating an 'autumn' tree and then a 'winter' tree, colourful cushions, beads and lanterns to brighten the bare branches of the cherry blossom tree, lighting lots of candles - always at the end of the day, but sometimes in early, misty mornings.

A tradition carried out with my Parents, Grandparents and now my own Son. Gathering firewood and sticks for our fireplace. Something so simple and easy that always turns into an outdoor adventure of foraging, bug collecting, horse visiting. And rugging up to beat the chill outside in thick coats, beanies and scarves. Winter is such a memory inducing season for me.

I have been a long time reader of Meagan's too, she has put me back on the right track in parenting my babies numerous times now!
Before children Dale and I would drive an hour away to a place called badger creek, where the beautiful forest has a stream running through it. Beanies and jackets wrapped tightly, you could see the chill in the air from our breath, but it was totally worth it to feel the calmness of the flowing stream.
Rhi x

My favorite was my first and only winter in the snow, experiencing something I had only dreamer about. The feel of snow numbing my hand, watching my children's eyes sparkle as they rolled snowballs and made snow angels. Thank you for this giveaway!

My favourite winter pastime is gathering around our fire heater and melting all sorts of things like timtams, marshmallows and freddo frogs. Everyone gets excited when something actually melts and the taste is divine.

how nice! my favorite winter pastime is making apple pies for my family - it's more of a "holiday" pastime rather than winter but i clump the two together. i learned a recipe from an old college professor, and her mother (from kansas, so it's really true blue american apple pie!) taught her. i felt so privileged to be in on the secret. so i make the pies and continue the practice!

Watching my girls' chubby little toddler fingers ladle long, strips of dark melted chocolate onto fresh, fallen snow. Then, hours later, watching them peel it off. The look on their faces, lips stained brown and cheeks fire red with cold; their pride in having made something that tasted that good. Oh, and Bailey's in my coffee :)

Bush walking in the cold in the Mountains. So fresh and clear. Love it.

Fires - camp fires, back yard fires, fires in the fire place. Winter is the time to gather around the fire and share the warmth.

Fiona

My favorite thing is bundling up with something warm to drink and watching the snow fall.

Thanks for the give away!

I love the fresh cool air. Clear blue skies and star light nights. Crunching on frosty grass in the early morning. Watching our steamy breath. Warming hands on mugs of hot lemon and honey. Fires. Warm soup. Pear and rhubarb crumble. Family snuggles in bed. Reading good books. Watching movies. :)

Thank you for directing me to this lovely blog Jodi. Meagan's words sound very wise.

My favourite winter pastime is gathering my family around our outdoor camp fire area and cooking together. Or, sometimes we just talk and toast marshmallows and watch the sunset and then the stars.

Lovely post, and lovely giveaway :)

My favourite Winter past time would be heading to the hills to enjoy the crisp, clean mountain air, a nourishing hearty meal and settling down by a warm fire to tell stories with my husband and little one. We celebrate two of our birthday's in Winter, soon to be three, and we live in QLD so we really to embrace the cold that we are given and slow down and be together (as oppossed to Summer's being together but being action packed!).

Thanks for the chance, blessings to you all x

I have been thinking about our rhythms and how the wisdoms of the seasons can enhance our learning while we are travelling, our seasonal experience has gone into the multi country blender, we are experiencing early summer in Nepal at the moment and a few months ago it was winter in Barcelona, before that we experienced an Island that has no distinct seasons an almost consistent temperature all year round.
The earth expresses its turning uniquely in it's oceans and lands... and we have been lucky enough to witness this. We have after some time established a rhythm on the road, which is not only being present, calm and authentic to each other but in the situations and interactions with the world and it's people. I would love to experience your rhythm guide and play with adapting it to our travels, soon we will be stabilising for 6 moons and I would like to bring more of the waldorf beauty into our days. Thank you Jodi and Meagan

Ice skating on the pond at my mum and dad's has always been delightful. As a small child, I would glide to and fro on my freshly sharpened skates, imagining up what creatures must be hibernating; tucked away under the thick blanket of ice that had become my playground. As a teen, I would huddle around the bonfire, giggling with the girls; while the boys played hockey on that playground. As an adult, I would skate in the middle of the pond, taking in the view of the farm from a fresh angle; one that I only got glimpses of while paddling in the canoe in the opposite time of year. As a mother, I skate backwards on my dull and worn skates, while holding the little mittens of my firstborn. I watch his eyes sparkle, and wonder if he is dreaming of the creatures that lurk beneath his new-found playground.

Thank you for the opportunity to win these lovely guides! :)

Sylvie

When the cold comes creeping in I love the comfort and warmth of a good fire..... collecting wood, the smell of smoke in the air, cooking slow and warming meals.... lovely spices wafting through the house, warm chai, woolen socks and lots of snuggling!

A favourite in our family is to go for a drive on a cold, wet wintery day somewhere out of town, in the hills, where the air is fresher and the pace of life slower. Driving along, singing together to CDs of nursery rhymes, pointing out farm animals on our journey and admiring the scenery while rain is beating down is just lovely. We have one favourite cafe to stop at in the middle of an orchard, where in a shack-like shed, a woodfire burns away and we warm our bellies with soup and tea and toasted sandwiches. I look forward to the cooler months, just so we can go embark on our little adventures :)

Meagan's words above that you've quoted speak so strongly to me - what a wonderful message x

Thank you Jodi and Meagan for your generosity!

My favorite winter pastime is arriving at our little weekend cabin in the woods, in freezing temperature, firing up the wood stove, slowly feel how the living room warms up, sitting bundled up in our jackets. Then, pouring a hot bath right there in the living room in front of the stove, and letting our daughters splash and giggle the night away!

My absolute favourite winter pasttime is sitting watching snowflakes stick to the glass door. Unfortunately, this was limited to our sojourn in Canada. Nowadays, it involves snuggles under a blanket, a good book and a cup of tea.

Our favourite winter pastime is actually a year-long one which becomes more pertinent in winter. We have 'Monday Night Dinner' - every Monday night we put out candles and take turns in saying something we have enjoyed from another member of the family that week. We then have fruit on a platter after that.

In autumn we notice the strength of the candles change. We move from having them in bright summer afternoon style light, to the slow change of their strength over the changing weeks of autumn.

As we approach winter, there is the inevitable change to turning off the lights for dinner and realising we are only lit by the candles. Having a year-long rhythm really allows us to notice change occurring around us. The Earth is amazing.

(apologies for the essay - I *was* just going to write 'a deep warm hug in winter'. Ha!)

Since moving into a home that has a fireplace I am finding a new Winter trend is to light the fire at around 4pm. We have early baths and wrap the boys up in their towels and dry and dress them in front of the fire. We then read our bedtime story in front of the fire before tucking them into bed. There is something so comforting about doing this - probably because my parents did the same to us when we were children. Nothing like a fireplace in Winter. xx

those guides sound really interesting. we do quite a few traditional things in winter, some are things i did with my parents, and them with their grandparents-toasting food on the fire and playing board games and reading fireside; other things are more recent. for the last 10 years or so i have always put out the lights if i'm home at dawn and dusk and watched/ kind of soaked up the gradual changes in light and colour. it's very soothing, and calming for me, and even more so for the kids, and i really believe it's help me with the mild SAD i used to have previous to adopting this habit x

Eating oodles of homemade soups, exploring outdoors all rugged up and building blanket fortresses inside in the warmth.

This winter I'll have a new favourite pastime. My Dear Boy is just now old enough to say 'star', and just now old enough to see them and point them out. Every night before bed, we snuggle into dressing gowns and slippers and stand on the front porch in the darkness, him in my arms, with the trees blowing around us and the coldest, clear nights making the stars shine all the brighter. Even when the cars pass by and the smart meter blinks and the dogs bark and the footy players on the oval yell and the televisions pass blue shadows along the street, my Dear Boy points to the sky with his little finger and calls out 'star'.

I have just found a receipe for a beautiful Butterscotch Self Saucing pudding, the kids and I have been making it on the weekends, there is nothing better then sitting down to a warm dessert wrapped up in blankets with my family.

galwayst@hotmail.com
Kim

My fav winter past time is along walk.in the woods with my two boys coming up to hot bath bowl.of soup with warm homemade bread snd a story under a blanket.
Good luck all

Mine is reading bedtime books with my son under his cave bed wrapped up warm in blankets with our head torches on ....bliss!

Raking up the mountains of golden leaves in our backyard together with my daughter Sunny. We also love to grow vegetables all year round so cooking lovely hot meals with veggies that Sunny has pulled out of the ground or from plants is definitely another favourite past time at our place! Thanks for the opportunity :)

Sophie xo

P.S. I just wanted to say Meagan's last line has reconfirmed what I'm trying to do with my girl - slow down, be present, calm and authentic - Not an easy task for the everyday but I'm trying very hard.

I am so glad you featured this blog. I have just spent my whole lunch break reading it. My favorite winter past time is for the whole family to bundle up and take a romp through the snow with frequent stops to make snow angels.

pondcrossings.blogspot.com

My family and I explore every season through food and the changing of the outdoors around us. My toddler son and I pick produce from our winter garden, and prepare them together in the kitchen. At the table over meals we talk in high pitches over the changing colors of the leaves, and the frost on the windows in the morning. Watching him discover the changing world is my favorite thing, in the winter and in all seasons.

I've been following Meagan's blog for years & now that I have a baby of my own I'm enjoying it even more. Tonight I have a casserole in the slow cooker filling the house with a beautiful smell & i've been snuggling on the lounge with my daughter wrapped in crocheted nanna blankets. I love this time of year.

Hello Jodi and Meagan,
I would have to admit my favourite winter past time is taking my sons to the beach, all wrapped up to drink warm soup out of plastic cups while watching the ocean roar, pure nature at it's best. Natalie xx

Snuggled under the doona, Daddy and little Johan reflect on the day that has been: what happened from the time we woke up until the sun went down and the things for which we are grateful. Then we lie quietly and listen to the wind outside and wait for sleep to come.

Our favorite winter pastime is to leave the crisp victorian winter and head to the warmer climes of Byron Bay where we spend first and last light of the day at the beach, drink chai, be with old friends, make new friends and memories at our home away from home. Thanks for running the giveaway. Love your work Meagan x

I think my favorite thing to do in winter in bake while the snow falls. Every year we ineviteably get a huge blizzard, one that shuts down the entire city. We don't own a snow blower, so my neighbor, the kind soul that he is, always ends up taking care of our driveway. He saves us back breaking work. So while he is out clearing our driveway, I'm tucked away inside making him loads and loads of cookies. Then I deliver him a huge tin loaded with different cookies. And this coming winter I'm looking forward to in even more, as my daughter will be 1 and able to play in the snow and help with cookies!

This is a really interesting topic and one that resonates with me more, with each passing year. Especially as I have two young boys, the transition to autumn/winter, where outdoor play is not always possible, can be challenging. My favourite activity would be to carve out the time for a very long 2 - 3 hour walk along the coastline here (rugged up, it is freezing!) but then almost to the end of the journey, warm up with a hot liquid chocolate (it is Italian) - an indulgence, but appreciated much more so after the brisk exercise! Alison x

When it's too cold to go out I love cuddling up with the kids on the couch under a warm quilt with a BIG stack of books and a hot cup of tea. There's nothing better than a cozy afternoon of story telling.

All day pajama days. Gumboots and pajamas. Puddles, gumboots and pajamas. Warm baths and hot chocolate. Happy kids, happy life.

My favourite winter pastime is allowing putting the alarm on 5 minutes earlier than I need to get out of bed so I can give myself that extra 5 minutes in the morning to enjoy that glorious time of being awake and snuggled and warm in my bed, gathering my thoughts for the day and giving thanks for all my blessings.

the simplicity of warm toast and tea on the couch with my little boys ... reading books together and pulling the mohair rug up under our chin x
sweet winter moments to remember always x

Winter is a real time of coming together as a family, physically and emotionally. We have a big, old, draughty house so in Winter we close off one end of the house and do all our living together in one room around the fire.
We move the girls into our room at night, where they share a bed, topping and tailing, learning to share a sleeping space. We move all the furniture and play area into the winter arrangement, centred around the fire. We all love this close time, except the poor old cat, who has to share her favourite spot by the fire with a boisterous two year old boy and put up with his "affections". Even she has learned to get along with him, reclaiming her spot as soon as he is in bed.

Our play is much quieter; reading, wrapping presents in cloths and wool, drawing. A time of quieter conversation, listening and negotiation. I love it.

I'm sure that, come spring, we'll all shed our thermals and run away and around outside, but until then, we're all snuggled up together.

When it's too cold and when the frost starts to cover our windows, I love to cuddle up at home with my family on the couch, preferably under a warm pile of quilts. There is nothing better than being at home with a good book while the snow starts to fall. It's simply the best.

My daughter wakes before the sun comes up these wintry days so we snuggle under the doona, kick our legs to warm up the bed and she repeats in her best one-year-old voice - coooolllllldddddd! What follows is lazy early mornings filled with cups of tea, stories and a sense that all is well.

My favourite winter past time is really just to embrace the winter weather - on the farm I remember putting on one of my Nanna's knitted jumpers and boots and riding our bikes through big muddy puddles. I just love the smell and feeling of rain upon my face. Returning home there was nothing better to sit next to the wood fire with a cup of home made soup. Our poor mother never had a rest from washing with four little adventurous scamps!

Born in the middle of Winter this season has always been a favourite.
Rugging up in a warm jacket, boots and scarf and going for an early evening walk.
Having the oven on every night making stews, bread and puddings.
Adding those extra couple of pastel coloured woollen blankets to the bed.
x

A windswept day at the beach collecting treasures with my favourite little people.

Thanks for this lovely giveaway!
My favourite winter pastime is a game we play called "Bundle Up". Winner is whoever can wear the most clothes at once! Silly but fun and produces hilarious results (particularly from my 8 month old daughter who's playing along for the first time this year)

Hmmm favourite winter pastime. Well we have just moved. Not just states, but entire climate regions!! We have gone from subtropical winters which meant us introducing our girls to fantastic storms and going for a little chase(not Helen Hunt style though)to lowest point in AUS that involves snow!! So we are now on the lookout to create new winter traditions, which itself is exciting. Mine, however, currently seems to be frantically knitting.

My favourite winter pastime is a very inward one. I enjoy sitting under a blanket by the fire, knitting myself a scarf, shawl or cowl to keep me warm. Add to that a cup of lemon, honey and ginger tea and you've got yourself the perfect winter evening!!

Our favourite time is setting up our season table with beautiful things we have collected and made that remind us that winter is a time to reflect and go inwards. The children smile as they see the special treasures that they have found in years gone by that for them have a special significance and a magic that can only be felt during this amazing time of year.

x S

On Sunday mornings in Winter the littles and I climb out of our toasty beds and wrap up well before heading to the local farmer's market. We pick out the fruit and veggies for our weeks meals and then hurry back into town to the bakery where the baker has just opened the shop after getting the first loaves out of the ovens. We buy still hot and soft bread for our lunch and maybe a treat of a fruit loaf or a tea cake, then we head for home. At home the fire is on and tea is brewing the littles sit down to bowls of hot porridge with maple syrup or brown sugar. I sip my tea and snuggle with my warmed up littles on the sofa while we discuss the days plans. Love Winter Sundays :)