Ah, the holidays. You can enjoy delicious meals and treats with friends and family, sip hot chocolate by the fireplace and spend some quality time lounging around watching holiday movies. But sometimes, you just want to get out of the house for a while. Ready to bundle up and enjoy the crisp fall and winter air? Get a bit of exercise to work off some of that pumpkin pie? Here’s a list of fun holiday adventures in the Richmond area that combine the sights and sounds of the season and gets you out and about:
See the holiday lights
One of our favorite things to do each year is to take a walk through the thousands of twinkling holiday bulbs at the Dominion Energy GardenFest of Lights at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond. Gardenfest runs nightly, 4-10 p.m. from November 22, 2021, through January 9, 2022 (It’s closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day). Pre-purchased tickets with arrival times are required. Go to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens website for more information and for tickets. This time of the year, holiday lights are going up pretty much anywhere. Bundle up and get ready for some family fun!
Find a letterbox
You’re probably familiar with geocaching, a treasure hunting activity based on using a GPS to find small treasure boxes stashed throughout the world. But have you heard about letterboxing? Letterboxing is a fun activity that involves finding small, weatherproof boxes hidden in publicly accessible places (like parks). Clues are posted online on various websites. Unlike geocaching, you don’t need a handheld GPS to find these little treasures — just your imagination! Dozens of letterboxes have been hidden throughout Richmond and other cities nationwide. Just go to this link and search by city to find a list of boxes in your area and to print out a list of clues for each box. Once you’ve found a few boxes, try finding your own secret hiding place, creating a box of your own and creating a fun set of clues for other people to follow! For more information about letterboxing, check out this informative Q&A.
Stroll through a museum
Too cold or wet outside? No problem! Stroll through a museum! Through February 1, 2022, you can explore Egyptian life at the hands-on It’s Egypt! Interactive Gallery Exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. The museum, which also features a variety of other exhibits, both permanent and temporary, is open year-round and admission is free. You can find a list of all of the Richmond area’s museums at this link. There’s something for everyone.
Go on a scavenger hunt
An outdoor scavenger hunt could be just the thing to get the whole family to put down their phones and head outdoors into the crisp Richmond air. You may think scavenger hunts are a spring or summertime activity, but going on a hunt in the winter months offers a different type of fun! Try a neighborhood scavenger hunt or any of the other fun ideas on this list. Here are some additional ideas. For more fun ideas, take a look at this link. Wrap up the hunt with a steaming cup of hot chocolate and some warm cookies and you have the perfect afternoon for the entire family.
Take a hike (or walk)
Whether it’s in your neighborhood, in a local park or on a nearby trail in the Richmond area, spending a bit of time in the outdoors in the winter months can do your mind and body good. You don’t even have to pile in the car — you could see a lot of sights and sounds of the season during just a stroll through your neighborhood. If you have small children and the weather cooperates, going to a playground can help them burn off some of that energy and help everyone sleep better. Plus, you’ll have fun, too!
Heading outside may be one of the last things that most people want to do this time of the year. But even moderate activity and a bit of sunlight can help release endorphins (those hormones that keep us happy) as well as help us feel better, more able to handle the stress of a busy holiday and sleep better, too. So get out there and get moving!
From all of us at PMI Richmond, we wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season. And if you have any property management needs, we invite you to call us. We’ll help you get optimized rental income out of your property, determine your cash flow from monthly rental value and gain critical insight into local real estate market conditions. We’re here to serve you. Give us a call to learn more about us: 804-409-9825.
