Doing Stuff Outdoors

This could be the Christmas you give the gift of the outdoors to the people you love. By outdoor gift I’m referring to anything and everything that encourages being active in the outdoors. There are many ways of making the outdoors experience into a real and tangible gift. It could be in the form of some new gear under the Christmas tree. Or it could be something completely different.

If there’s an outdoors person on your list it can be as easy as buying them something they can use in the pursuit of their favourite outdoor activity. For instance, a skier or snowboarder can always use another pair of gloves or mitts. A paddler will always find another dry-bag handy or a paddle float or pair of kayaking gloves. For cyclists there are numerous little gadgets and gizmos you can get. The same is true for hikers and climbers and runners. If the person is new to the activity you can get them the basic gear, although it’s probably better if they were a part of that process. You want to make sure for instance that he or she is properly equipped with the right pair of skis, so they need to be there to be fitted and sized properly. Another approach for a beginner might be to buy them some instruction time or some lift passes. That kind of thing is always appreciated.

Outdoor gear doesn’t have to mean hardware. Most people would enjoy a new book or DVD about their favourite activity. There are surprisingly a lot of titles available for just about every outdoor pursuit. The trick is finding them and that might mean doing a little online shopping.

But a gift of the outdoors goes beyond buying things like equipment. It can be as simple as an idea or a promise to yourself or others. It might be a decision to try and go for a walk outside every day even through the winter. It could be deciding to make that idea for a family weekend away of snow shoeing into a reality. Maybe there’s a bird watching course coming up over the winter that you or someone in your family has been thinking about taking. Christmas would be the perfect time to book the course and make a commitment to give birding a try in the coming year. You can plan that annual family camping vacation or canoe trip when everyone gets together over the holidays. Perhaps this is the year you take your concerns about the environment and turn them into action. Maybe it’s a promise to ride the bike to work one day a week or walk to the store whenever possible. It’s all about being active in the outdoors and the options are numerous.

Maybe the best and simplest gift is to make Christmas itself into an outdoor activity. Go to a tree farm and cut down and haul out your own tree. Make it into a family outing. A night time walk on Christmas Eve to take in the lights and decorations is a great way to begin the holiday. Imagine a light snow falling and the crunching of your boots in the snow as you walk. It doesn’t get more peaceful than that. On Christmas Day itself take an hour out of the festivities and go for a walk or x-c skiing or take the kids to a hill and go sliding. Make an outdoor activity part of your holidays and have a Merry Christmas.