It can be a huge challenge to get out of the house in the winter months, especially with this record breaking snow fall we’ve gotten recently. Constantly being attached to our phones, binge watching endless amount of television, and barely interacting with anyone in the real world is not the best way to spend your time. What you need is a fun activity to raise your spirits and just let loose. Here are some ideas for fun and engaging activities that will get you out of the house and interacting with the real world again.
One great idea is to do some classic activities like bowling, playing pool, or even a friendly game of Monopoly. Arrange a game and have all your friends come over, or meet you out. They’ll love being invited to an outing, and will be pleased someone else is planning an activity (they too are are getting tired of being stuck at home). A game of bowling can be awesome, and under black-lights can be a fun twist, and be more exciting than a game played during the day. Just want to have friends over for some board games? Have your friends pair up into teams, invite you’re closest friends, or even friends that don’t know each other very well and watch them interact, it’s a great way to create new friendships for yourself and them. And remember… strive for victory!!
Sporting events are also a great way to interact with each other. Even if you don’t follow the local teams closely, the experience alone is a great way to get out and enjoy some time with friends, and people in your community. The interaction will help greatly increase your spirit, and going out for drinks/dinner before or after is a great way to spend some time out of the house.
Portland has some great museums and art galleries, a trip to the Japanese and Chinese Gardens is very different in the winter months than in the colorful spring. Want to make it a little more interactive with your friends, arrange a social media challenge at these places, where the person who takes the best picture or who gets the most shares or likes wins, or doesn’t have to pay for drinks after the outing. Or just enjoy the beauty of what has been curated for us in this awesome city.
Another great idea is playing an escape game. It’s a great way to get out and spend some time doing something fun and interactive. If your friends don’t want to join, no worries, you can be paired up with groups of other people, and possibly make some new friends along the way. Here’s how it works: A group of people get “locked” in a room for one hour. During that one hour, they have to find hidden objects, solve puzzles, and figure out clues to locate the key that will set them free. And it’s not easy: Only 30% of players actually make it out before the hour is up. If you think you have played all of our rooms, we recently added a new Amnesia Room, that is definitely worth attempting escape!
It’s important to be interactive and engage with your peers in the winter months, as easy as it is to lock yourself up at home, building your social relationships as well as your interpersonal skills is good for the mind, body and soul.