Celebrating the holidays, playing in the snow, and spending time with loved ones are just a few of the reasons why I absolutely love winter! But keeping my toddler entertained when it's too cold to go outside is really tough. Like I wrote in this post, Aimery has been going to daycare for the last six months, and this week he will be home all week for winter break! Although I'm excited to spend extra time with him, I'm also worried that I won't be able to find enough things to do to keep him busy! If you are looking for things to do during the winter with your little one, here are some ideas!

1. Playing in the snow
It hasn't snowed much here in Pennsylvania this winter, but when it snowed this last week I made sure to take Aimery outside! Not only is it great for little ones to get outside during the winter (even just for a few minutes), it also gives them something to do! The time it takes to get dressed, go outside and play, and come in for a snack can take up most of your morning! Going sledding, making a snowman, and doing snow angels are SO fun, especially if you have older kids too!

2. Decorating cookies
Growing up, decorating cookies and gingerbread houses was something we did every winter. I remember one year it seemed like we made cookies every single day! Looking back, I always laugh because my mom probably loved how entertained the kids were decorating cookies for hours on end. Even if your baby is a little too small to fully understand how to decorate cookies, you can still get them involved by helping you cut out shapes using a plastic cookie cutter, or hold their little hands when you decorate cookies after they cool down.

3. Making breakfast for dinner
Who doesn't love breakfast for dinner? I want to get the family involved and have us all make pancakes for dinner! Having breakfast for dinner is a great opportunity to get everyone in the kitchen to help -- the older kids can make the eggs and the younger ones can help mix pancake batter! How fun would it be to do an "Elf" inspired movie night and put fun toppings on the pancakes?!

4. Having an Indoor movie night
Pop some popcorn, grab a cozy blanket, and turn on a projector for an indoor movie night! We just got this projector from Cinemood and it's PERFECT for movie night! I absolutely love this projector because it's portable -- you can literally take it anywhere! You can even bring this portable entertainment with you on roadtrips or in the plane. I'm not sure how I traveled with Aimery without our Cinemood projector! The next time our layover is delayed, I will definitely be putting Aimery in front of it at the airport. Talk about a total life saver! You can stream from youtube or turn on 100+ hours of preloaded kid-friendly content! You can adjust the brightness, volume, and how big you want the screen! Cinemood is currently running a Christmas promotion. From now until Christmas, you can get 25% off your order when you shop online. Also, be sure to use the code SUMMERMO at checkout to get a free smart cover!

5. Going to the mall
Mom confession: I take Aimery to the mall at LEAST once a week during the winter! It's the perfect place to spend hours on end, and Aimery loves it! I let him run around in the arcade, walk around all of the stores, and play the indoor play space for kids. We will also grab lunch while we are there and it gives us something to do all day!

6. Looking at Christmas lights
Something on our bucket list before Christmas is to drive around and look at Christmas lights in our area! Some family-friendly places like the zoo and amusement parks also have light trails that you can walk through. Aimery absolutely loves looking at colorful lights, so I definitely want to take him to a park near us so we can go look at them!

7. Going on a train ride
I have always wanted to take Aimery on a holiday train ride, so I really want to find a train ride near us this winter! A lot of cities will do train rides like the POLAR Express where kids can take the train to go see Santa! Aimery absolutely loves trains, so I know that he would be so happy if he was able to ride on one!

8. Christmas Eve church service
Something we do every year is go to the Christmas Eve church service. Since Aimery can understand a little bit more what's going on this year, we will be doing our own Christmas traditions like leaving cookies for Santa, reading the Christmas story, and decorating Christmas cookies before going to church. Our church encourages the kids to dress in their PJs for service, which is great because it allows the parents to send them straight to bed when they get home!

9. Creating snowflakes
Even though Aimery is a little too young to make snowflakes from paper, I think it will still be fun to create them with him! Making snowflakes is a super easy and fun craft for kids of all ages -- even for toddlers since they love crayons!

10. Making your own playdough
What toddler doesn't love playdough? I always make Aimery's playdough because I'm always so worried he's going to eat it. Plus, he loves watching me make it! Making playdough is super easy, all you have to do is mix 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 cup salt, 1 tablespoon cream of tartar, and food coloring into a saucepan until warm. Remove heat, add 1 cup flour, and then knead until smooth. That's it!

Winter and toddlers definitely don't always go well together, but thankfully there are some fun options out there to keep them busy! Do you have any fun ideas of things to do with a toddler this winter? Drop them in the comments below!

This post is sponsored by Cinemood! Thank you for supporting the brands who support this blog! All opinions are my own.

10 Things to Do with your Toddler this Winter