toddlers+winter—what we’re loving right now
These days the sun is coming up later, going down earlier, and there are lotttts of layers required when it comes to adventuring outside. When you have small kids at home, you know that just because the winter landscape is dim, your child’s energy remains quite the opposite 🌪.
We’re sharing some of our favorite resources to help beat those winter blues and lean into the cozy season of winter.
Let’s get into it!
READ:
Chilly weather calls for cozying up with your little one and a fun book! May we recommend building a fort with lots of pillows and even little lights if you’re feeling fancy?
top picks for toddler winter books
Pick a Pine Tree by Patricia Toht
This beautiful book will be one your family will return to re-read every holiday season. We love the rhyming, the illustrations, and the way this book explains to little ones the process of turning a seemingly ordinary tree into a beautiful, magical, Christmas tree!
A Sled for Gabo by Emma Otheguy
This one gives us The Snowy Day vibes. It’s a sweet story of courage and the power of community! The watercolor illustrations are beautiful—we think your toddler will love it.
One Snowy Day by Diana Murray
This is a new-to-us book, and we are really enjoying it! It incorporates one of our favorite early literacy skills (rhyming). It also introduces some early math concepts in a fun, engaging way.
A Winter Walk in the City by Cathy Goldbery Fishman
A simple (and beautiful) counting book, your child is sure to love this rhythmic story. Your toddler will see the symbols for lots of different holidays we celebrate during this season.
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
This is a wonderful book about a sleepy bear and his fun, winter friends. The rhythmic quality of this story really helps keep children engaged. It’s one of our kids’ favorites (you’ve been warned: you might be able to recite the words in your sleep 🤣)
The First Day of Winter by Denise Fleming
This delightful story adds items to a snowman for 10 days (similar to the format of the 12 days of Christmas song). It’s a fun one!
We linked even more of our favorite winter picks here. The library is also a great place to grab seasonal books like these!
WATCH:
When it comes to screen time for toddlers, we’re all about calm vibes, which for us means:
Slow paced
Developmentally appropriate themes
No flashy graphics or annoying sounds
The shows above definitely fit the bill. If you try them out, we’d love to know what you think!
And if you’d like to learn some more tips for better screen time, and how to include screen time in your child’s day in a mindful and supportive way, you can find that here.
LISTEN:
We know that music is such a powerful tool for little ones—for communication, for a mood lifter, and for connection. But, as sad as it is to admit, sometimes it’s hard to find family-friendly music that doesn’t make you want to pull your hair out (IYKYK 🤪). No worries though, we’ve got you this holiday season! We compiled all our favorite winter + Christmas music in one playlist, and we think you’ll love it!
MAKE:
We love making keepsakes and ornaments with our kids for the holidays, but we’re not into elaborate crafts that we basically end up doing ourselves.
Here are 5 adorable, simple, and truly doable keepsakes and ornaments your little one can help with that make excellent, memorable gifts!
Our promise to you is that these crafts are truly easy—not just claiming to be doable, then surprising you with 100 steps and 15 supplies you don’t have!
SHOP:
If you’re looking for intentional gift ideas, we put together some of our top gift picks for babies, toddlers, and moms. If giving books is more your jam (we LOVE gifting books), we also have a book gift guide!
We hope this post has sparked some ideas ✨
LOOKING TO LEARN MORE WAYS TO SUPPORT YOUR TODDLER’S LEARNING this winter?
If you think your little will enjoy some of the books, shows, and music we mentioned above, we think they’d love our Songs+Stories membership.
Songs+Stories is a safe, high-quality (and ad free) screen time option. It’s also incredibly beneficial for your toddler’s language development — whether they are already super chatting or are not yet talking a lot.
It’s a similar style to library story time, with lots of options for engaging themes your child will love. No quick camera changes, green screen, or annoying sound effects.
Songs+Stories is such a great gift to give or recieve this holiday season! Gift cards are available here.
