How to Maintain Peaceful Family Rhythms in Winter

It can feel a little more difficult to maintain peaceful family rhythms in winter when the sun is sparse, the air is cold, and everyone is cooped indoors more.

Maintaining those peaceful rhythms felt easy in the long, sunny, carefree days of summer. The children could run barefoot, there weren’t coats or colds to worry about, and you had more than enough vitamin D in your system to lift your spirits. Each day easily flowed into the next.

Now the days are shorter, coats and shoes litter the hallway, and you battle one sickness after another. Rhythm feels hard. Routine feels hard. Peace feels allusive. You look toward the spring with a deep yearning, and hope for the winter quickly fades into impatience and bitterness.

It’s time to revive hope for the winter!

Each season comes with its own special rhythms, and winter is no exception. So, instead of wishing winter away, let’s lean in to what winter has to offer.

In winter, all around us the earth appears dead. There is very little green and a lot of brown. No wonder we feel forlorn. Appearances can be deceiving, however. What looks like death is actually rest. The ground is covered in a blanket of leaves and humus, gently sleeping, and waiting to be awoken with spring.

We can learn a lot from winter’s rest

It’s a time to slow down and turn inward. With everyone gathered in from the cold, it’s also a time to nourish the relationships around us in a more intimate way. Read a book to the littles. Enjoy some warm coffee, cider, or hot chocolate with friends. Light a candle and allow yourself to be mesmerized by its light.

Slowing down and turning inward also allows us to take an account of our year. It allows for reflection and anticipation. While New Year’s resolutions have become somewhat cliche, winter really does allow us to take an honest look at our lives and resolve to do better.

The slowing down and turning inward is the key to peaceful family rhythms in winter!

Tips for maintaining peaceful family rhythms in winter

After the freedom of summer, sometimes we rush into a frenzy of different activities for the fall and school year. By the time it’s actually full on winter, we’re already tired, but feel like we have to continue on at this frenzied pace.

You don’t!

Instead, re-evaluate. It’s okay to cut activities. Sometimes you may even find yourself adding in other, more aligned, activities. However, before you do, make time for the following three different types of rhythms to help you determine what else you have time for.

A rhythm for play

While this could include sports or fun school clubs, this speaks more to fun family time. Sledding, snow man building, hot chocolate, reading books as a family, winter crafts, outings with friends, etc. In the summer, family activities happen a little more naturally, but in the busyness of winter, you have to be a little more intentional with it.

Look at your calendar or planner and schedule in when these types of activities make the most sense for your family. For us, Fridays and a couple of afternoons during the week offer the most flexibility. Weekday afternoons allow for fun family crafts, Friday mornings and afternoons lend themselves to get together with friends, and nearly every Friday night you’ll find us eating dinner in the family room watching a movie together!

What makes the most sense for your family?

Now make a list of some fun things you would like to do together. Here’s a short list to get you started:

• Family movie night
• Make popcorn garlands
• Cut out festive shapes on construction paper and tape to the windows
• Have a hot chocolate party with friends
• Find a hill and go sledding as a family

A rhythm for tidying

With all of the fun activities and extra clothing needed, there are bound to be some extra messes. Start creating the habit of tidying up at certain times or after specific activities. Different approaches work for different families, so don’t be afraid to try out a few different ideas for keeping the house tidy.

Here are some ideas:

• Establish a 15 minute house clean up mid-morning and mid-afternoon each day
• Have rotating rooms that each person is responsible for on a weekly basis and pair with point #1
• Establish a cleanup routine for after each meal
• Initiate an immediate clean up after each activity before doing the next thing, and allow time for it during your activity time. (ie 15-20 minutes before you need to get started with something else, give the kids 5 minutes to finish up and then initiate clean up)

A rhythm for rest

As I mentioned earlier, the biggest secret that winter has to offer us is the benefit of rest. Don’t be afraid to say no to some things “just” so you and your family can have time to rest. With rest comes the ability to have more fun and more fully enjoy the things that you say yes to.

We love it when a Saturday or Sunday is empty of activity. There’s nothing like a nice long nap on a cold, winter afternoon. The kids love it because they get to watch a movie or play games.

I purposefully keep a few afternoons free of extra scheduled activities. These afternoons are for fun or rest depending on what is needed most for our family during that particular week. Oftentimes these are the times I choose to write a new article for the blog. Other times I opt for a good book to snuggle in with and encourage my children to do the same.

I am fighting the urge to elaborate more on rest, but it really is pretty self-explanatory. Basically, keep some days or parts of some days unscheduled, so that you don’t have to rush off to the next thing. It doesn’t mean that nothing with happen, but that you have the opportunity to say yes or no to whatever comes up in the moment.

It might feel foreign at first, but an unscheduled afternoon is a beautiful gift.

An additional reminder to help you maintain peaceful family rhythms in winter

Don’t neglect your morning routine! As I lay out in that blog post, a morning routine gives you the space you need to wake up in the morning and prepare for the day.

Many times this is where prayer time happens. If we’re looking for more peace in our lives, then we need to ultimately turn to Our Lord. Yet, this doesn’t just have to happen in the mornings!

God is not restricted to time or space, so we have the ability to bring Him in to all parts of our day. Next time you’re feeling unrest, I invite you to take a moment, breathe, and offer up a little prayer seeking His grace and peace.

Which tip helped you the most?

I’d love to hear how you’re going to incorporate these tips into your daily rhythm! Share below in the comments.