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Comfy Cozy Winter

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Cabin fever seems to be a common winter ailment, but you can ward off the malady by truly enjoying the best of winter. Make this winter a cozy, comfortable, peaceful time and enjoy the best of the season with your family.

Curl Up with a Good Book

Screen-free family time is important. Choose a new book to read aloud as a family.

Out & About:

In addition to many marvelous libraries, Kansas City is also home to several charming bookshops. For more than 40 years, Rainy Day Books (2706 W. 53rd St, Fairway, 913.384.3126, RainyDayBooks.com) has been the neighborhood bookstore for all ages, instilling a love of reading in the community. The cozy shop is quaint and ideal for scouring shelves on the hunt for the perfect new book to enjoy. In Downtown Lee’s Summit, KD’s Books (241 SE Main St., Lee's Summit, 816.525.1366) is a locally owned bookshop specializing in children’s volumes. We love the quaint shop’s atmosphere and the staff’s helpfulness—they’re always ready to guide your family to the perfect book to enjoy together.

At Home:

Choose a book to read aloud as a family that also has been shown as a film. Read the book, then watch the movie and compare the two. You can choose from an array of new and classic books to enjoy as a family.

Toasty Warm Socks

Warm socks are a comfy winter essential we often take for granted. Brighten your winter mood with a new pair of socks.

Out & About:

Learn to knit your own socks. The Studio Knitting & Needlepoint (TheStudioKC.com) offers a range of classes for beginning and experienced needle artists. They also offer video tutorials. Knitting, crochet and needlepoint classes are offered, including classes to knit your very own pair of socks. Not only will you be fashionable, but you can take pride in your newfound skill.

At Home:

Socks are iconic in history, literature, and even in films. President George H.W. Bush was famous for wearing colorful statement socks, even wearing book-themed socks at the funeral of his beloved Barbara to commemorate her advocacy for literacy. “I’m a self-proclaimed sock man," the former President once wrote in an email. "The louder, the brighter, the crazier the pattern - the better.” If you love crazy socks too, you can host an at-home crazy sock party with your own family. Make sock shaped sugar cookies (use that stocking cutter from your Christmas stash) and let everyone decorate their cookies with wild designs. Play Twister, freeze tag, or indoor snowball fight in socks. And, enjoy some family reading time. For younger kids, read Dr. Seuss’ Fox in Socks, The Missing Sock, by Jason Thurston, or Sigfried’s Smelly Socks by Len Foley. You could even show a movie where socks are central to the plot. We all teared up a little when a sock set Dobby free in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Everyone remembers the witch’s striped socks in The Wizard of Oz. And many parents recall the retro Tom Cruise flick (for a grown-up home date night), Risky Business, when dancing across the floor sock footed made Tom a household name.

Comforting Candles

Lighting candles at the dinner table or as you’re reading creates a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere.

Out & About:

Embers Candle Bar (EmbersCandleBar.com) is a pour-your-own candle studio. You choose from their selection of containers to fit any style or budget. They also sell room sprays and diffusers. Select the scent that makes you think of comfort, relaxation, warm memories or romance from their library of 63 single scents. You’ll find everything from traditional scents like lavender and vanilla to dream fragrances like baked bread or leather. They also offer seasonal selections. If you like tapered candles, we love rolling beeswax candles with the kit from Waxing Moonshine on Etsy.com. The kit comes with your colored or natural beeswax sheets, wicks and instructions for a simple, but elegant candle.

At Home:

Turn out the lights and light the candles. Host a tech-free dinner for the family. No screens, no electric light—just enjoy a candlelight dinner together talking and sharing ideas. The meal doesn’t have to be fancy; in fact, the simpler the better. The goal is simply to shut out distractions and spend some time truly together.

Enjoy the Great Outdoors

Winter can be beautiful. Nature is quiet and serene, and the outdoors is begging to be explored.

Out & About:

Visit one of the city’s many nature centers and explore their paved trails. Listen for birds, look for nests, watch for animal tracks and enjoy the quiet. Some of our favorites include:

At Home:

Spend some time bird watching on the deck. View the night sky through a telescope. Light a fire in the firepit and make s’mores. Go sledding, make snowmen and snow angels, and play in the snow. Take a walk in your own neighborhood. Don’t let the cold temps keep you inside. The winter offers so much to enjoy outside all season long.

Warm Drinks

Hot tea, cocoa, cider, coffee … sipping warm drinks can warm the soul on a cold winter’s day.

Out & About:

Kansas City is home to several tea rooms, each with a distinctive personality. This can be a fun outing for a group of friends. Heirloom Bakery & Hearth (MO, 816.492.7259) in Brookside is beloved for made-from-scratch bakery items, perfectly complemented by a warm drink. Greenwood Country Tea Room (816.537.8434) is housed in a local antique store in the heart of Greenwood’s downtown boutique and antique shopping district. Country Keepsakes Tea Room (816.348.7888) is a charming little restaurant in the heart of downtown Belton.

Make to Enjoy at Home:

Enjoy creative family time and take the kids to a paint-your-own pottery shop where they can paint their own personal mug to enjoy cocoa and cider at home. Ceramic Café (CeramicCafeKC.com) hosts family events including story times, pizza and painting, and other specials throughout the year. They also sell at-home art kits so you can pick up projects to paint or make at home and then return to the shop where they will fire them in their kiln. After painting your own personal mug, make some homemade cocoa to enjoy with popcorn and a family game or movie night.

Kristina Light ranks winter as her second favorite season, and she’s hoping for a nice pleasant snowfall and a bit of sledding this year.

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