Start A Joyful New Holiday Tradition With Nature
When I was little, we always hosted Thanksgiving at our house. The menfolk would go to the Detroit Lions football game while the girls stayed home and watched the Thanksgiving Day parade on TV and prepped for the big dinner (pre-2000’s midwestern gender roles at their finest). We hosted 50+ aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins and the occasional rogue girlfriend or boyfriend. One tradition I always remember – no matter how cold or dark or snowy it was – was the post dinner walk, led fearlessly by my dad. Growing up, I wouldn’t consider my family particularly “outdoorsy” or into nature by any means, but the post-Thanksgiving Dinner walk was always a given. Even my half-in-the-bag uncles and grumpy teenage cousins could be seen trailing at the end of the group, just going with the flow. Thinking about it now, I really appreciate this tradition. What a great way to spend time with my family while getting fresh air, feeling some movement and enjoying the sights and sounds of our little neighborhood streets.
As I’ve grown up, gotten married and moved to another state, my Thanksgivings “at home” are few and far between. I reminisce about these chilly late-November walks and wonder, why not start a new “outside” holiday tradition of my own?
Join me and be the ray of light by brightening up old holiday traditions! Here are some ideas:
Nature Hike or Walk
If there’s something we all know, it’s that spending time outdoors and getting fresh air and exercise can fix just about anything. Instead of secretly escaping out the back door by yourself, why not invite everyone at your gathering to join you? This can be a 20 minute walk around the neighborhood or a drive to the closest state park for a day hike.
Hiking with my mom and dad.
Take a Drive:
Grab a map and find a local park or scenic byway. If it’s below freezing outside and the sugar crash is setting in, this is the lowest barrier to entry for getting out to take in your surroundings. Drive with intention, take the side roads, go somewhere where you can drive slow, make lots of stops to take in your surroundings and look for wildlife or try to identify plants or trees.
Burt’s Bees Nature Scavenger Hunt Checklist
Nature Scavenger Hunt
This is especially fun if you have little ones at your gathering. Organize a scavenger hunt in a local park or your own backyard by creating a checklist of natural items to find, like pinecones, specific leaves, animal tracks or different types of rocks. The first person or team to find all the items wins a small prize. Here are a few checklists to use for inspiration: Nature.org, Burt's Bees and this awesome winter-themed scavenger hunt from Wild Bear Nature Center.
Nature Craft Workshop
Joining nature and art is my favorite! Prepare a craft to create holiday decorations using natural materials. Step outside and gather things like pinecones, acorns, leaves, and twigs that you collect from the ground. These handmade items can make wonderful decorations or gifts. One of my favorite and very easy activities is printing leaves or flowers using a stamp pad and creating greeting cards or stationery. Remember: don’t remove anything from public lands, don’t kill plants or pick things off of trees. Use what’s on the ground in your backyard!
Pick Up Trash
Because I’m always looking for ways to encourage people to pick up trash, I’m adding this to the list. This one would be a hard sell, but remind folks how satisfying it can feel to clean up just one little corner of the world. Gather some garden gloves or a box of exam gloves and some trash bags and start walking around your neighborhood picking up litter. Be safe and don’t pick up anything sharp or any toxic materials.
Local-Inspired Cooking
Okay, this one doesn’t necessarily get you outside, but it definitely counts towards appreciating nature. One of the best ways we can support a healthy environment is to eat food that’s in-season and locally sourced. Finding these foods and the recipes to use them can be a fun challenge in itself and a great conversation starter about how eating local food supports your neighborhood farmers, reduces CO2 emissions and encourages small-scale agriculture which is better for the soil than industrialized agriculture. In the north, look for locally grown winter squash, potatoes and onions. If you live in the south, you might be lucky enough to find melons, broccoli or tomatoes.
Starting new traditions that focus on nature and the outdoors can help us connect with friends and family while giving us a healthy distraction from the usual holiday madness. As a side effect, spending time with nature can remind even the most curmudgeonly of people how amazing it is and that it’s worth protecting. Maybe this wasn’t my dad’s intention when he started the walks over four decades ago, but it sure did have a lot of positive side effects
I’m Margo! A graphic designer who works with conservation-minded nonprofits and brands on projects like logos & branding, annual reports, maps, and infographics. I work with my clients to create beautiful and meaningful design that amplifies the marketing efforts it takes to ignite action and change. Visit my portfolio to see some of the projects I’ve collaborated on with nonprofits to protect the environment.