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Winter Family Traditions

This post was sponsored by Starbucks as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. I received compensation and complimentary products to facilitate my review. 

winter-family-traditions

We live on the lake in Texas so pretty much seventy five percent of the year is spent playing outdoors then the cold winter weather rolls around and our family tradition is to hibernate! As southerners, we naturally can’t stand the “cold” temps and by cold I mean below fifty degrees! My munchkins spend a good amount of time snuggled in this window seat waiting for warmer weather but I like to use this time to reconnect as a family. The summer is so busy, going and playing that sometimes we don’t slow down enough to enjoy each other. The winter is a perfect time to relax and savor quality time together. I’m sharing our favorite winter family traditions because even inside you can make special family memories!

family-memories

One thing we love to do as a family is plan a family movie night! The kids get to pick a movie and we spend some time picking out and making special snacks. Then we make a pallet in the living room floor and snuggle in for a movie together. The kids love that The Water Man and I are both there watching, that we are all together and they are very excited that they “planned’ the evening. Sometimes this ends in a pile of wrestling, tickling giggles in the floor which is even better than the movie! It’s a perfect way to snuggle up on a cold winter night in front of the fire!

Much like the movie night, we also have family game night! The kids get to choose snacks or a fun dinner (think nothing but mac n cheese) and games for us to play! With a toddler, this gets very interesting but we’ve learned to start with the games she can “play” like Candyland and Chutes & Ladders and save the games with chocking hazard sized pieces to play with our five year old after the toddler’s bedtime. Sometimes these are board games or cards and sometimes we play race cars, build a train track or create an amazing block building. These days together are always a ton of family fun!

hot-chocolate

And let me just tell you that I cannot talk about winter family traditions without telling you about my family’s most coveted pastime, hot cocoa!! My Sunshine use to call his hot chocolate “hot coffee”, obviously he sees his mama drink a lot of that! My babes adore hot chocolate, it is always a part of any winter snack or meal they get to choose! I can’t really argue with them though, what is better than warming up with a big ol’ mug of creamy and sweet hot cocoa in the winter! I really didn’t know how our family’s love for hot chocolate could get better until Starbucks sent us a Cozy Collection to sample.

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Oh my goodness, we got to try the yummiest hot chocolate with this adorable new mug wrapped in the softest and cutest new blanket. The kids quickly snagged the blanket that I was hoping I could snuggle in all winter because it really is that soft! Y’all know my Keurig is my very most favorite kitchen appliance but to be able to have rich and comforting hot chocolate at the touch of a button is pretty life changing around here! I am obsessed with the Salted Caramel and the Classic hot cocoa is what the kids want, made with non-fat milk and real cocoa, it is delicious.

Starbucks is already part of my daily routine so I was pretty excited to be able to buy Starbucks Hot Cocoa K Cup pods at the grocery store to make at home too! We have been sitting around the fire enjoying our hot chocolate a lot lately and the kids have been very creative with picking toppings! We have added a hot cocoa “bar” to our family nights, so yummy and fun! The Cozy Collections gives you giant marshmallows and cookies to start you off, we added cookie sprinkles, homemade whipped cream and chocolate syrup! Enter to win your own Cozy Collection here, your family will love this special treat!!

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Winter is the perfect time to connect with your kids, share laughs, create memories together and find your own family traditions. I hope one day my kiddos tell their spouses and children about all the fun we had together when the temperatures dropped. So whether you play games, watch movies together, design the tastiest hot cocoa bar or play hide and seek in the dark with glow sticks, find things your children love that you can do together. The best part is always that you are spending quality time together, creating special moments you will all cherish for years to come.

For more family tradition ideas and fun, follow me on Instagram and Pinterest and for more chocolatey inspiration, follow Starbucks on Instagram and Twitter! Now get to planning and discover how fun your own winter family traditions can be!

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