Survey Says: The Best Activities and Holidays for the Upcoming Season

Written by Michelle Olatunji
Edited by Maryam Khan
Photo by Megan Pan

Visiting a gentle sandy beach on a Saturday afternoon, going on a weekend canoe or hiking trip at Tiffany Falls, playing an intense tennis game with a friend, and enjoying a warm picnic full of pastries and berries, are all considerable ventures to consider to give an extra boost to your week. Unfortunately, as of right now, they might not be the best options due to the changing weather. 

Survey says this winter is a great time to pursue new activities and hobbies rather than scrolling on TikTok, Instagram, or Pinterest for hours on end.

Statistics across Canada say that the most popular winter hobby for this upcoming season is baking. Baking can be a relaxing and de-stressing pastime as well as a fun, rewarding activity to do with friends. Whether you try an elaborate recipe or lively desserts such as snowman sugar cookies, peppermint chocolate bark, or classic gingerbread in any and every form; you can bring in your elements of creativity in a very rewarding way. For inspiration and ideas, I would recommend @liviabenson and @sophiebakason on TikTok, as well as @msshiandmrhe for broader recipes. One of my favourite desserts to bake are Pillsbury holiday cookies. They are extra festive and enjoyable!

If you look outside on a mid-January morning to see a growing blanket of snow that seems to have no chance of stopping and you immediately wish it would go back to summer, then this runner-up to baking may be for you. Consider reading new books in your free time, or even linking both activities. Bake snowflake sugar cookies to eat while reading a warm, cozy-themed book. A few popular winter book recommendations include A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S Lewis, or for more books you can look through this year's Goodreads winter reads list.

If you don’t have much interest in these two hobbies you might enjoy participating in a more artistic activity. Find an engaging project on Pinterest such as knitting an item of clothing, or building a gingerbread house. Take the opportunity to try a new art form! For example, learn to crochet and try making a stuffy or tote bag. Perchance, take on a more significant project and crochet an entire blanket over an extended period of time.

According to Statista, the third highest ranking for the cold weather period is winter activities and sports. If you don’t tend to pay much attention to ever-decreasing temperatures, consider building a snowman, sledding, or tobogganing. You can also try the very popular outdoor pastimes: skating and skiing. Try out fat biking in the snow, cross-country skiing at Toronto Island Park, or be more intrepid and go frozen waterfall climbing at Elora Gorge.

Of course, another great survey activity for this winter is taking advantage of the countless activities on the internet. This can be by watching “in season”, bingeing classic sitcoms such as Schitt’s Creek, Friends, Gilmore Girls, or watching corny hallmark movies on a snowy evening. More so, you could invest in listening to winter and/or holiday music during the season. It may be worthwhile for you to find a good winter playlist to discover new songs or to listen to when trying out some of the activities mentioned above! An effective place to start could be under Spotify’s Happy Holidays genre or its Chill Winter Mix. It might even prove to be a convenient time to take up a new instrument.

My favourite pastimes during winter and recommendations are taking up crochet as well as holiday sleepovers, including cookies, snowmen, and watching hallmark movies (such as The Princess Switch trilogy). I would also highly recommend Pentatonix for both their Christmas and winter songs. 

This upcoming season is an amazing opportunity to try out, further explore, or invest time into some of these activities and hobbies!

Survey Excerpt Taken from Statisca.com