Anyone who has glanced at their thermometer, smart phone, or stepped outside is well aware of the “polar vortex” that has whipped its way down from the glaciers at the top of the earth to our state.

So instead of restating the obvious to your shivering family, friends and neighbors, why not find other ways to be inspired by temperatures colder than certain parts of Mars?

• Make up fun new words that weave together people and terms with the frigid temperatures. Example:  “Shovelrous” = Man who cleans snow off your car.
• Do cold weather experiments, like throwing a mug of boiling water in the air and watching it evaporate, find out how fast a wet tee shirt freezes, try your Super Soaker outside, crack an egg outside, put an unopened can of pop or beer outside and watch what happens, blow up a balloon inside, tie it and take it outside to watch it deflate and then bring it back inside and see what happens or blow some bubbles outside.
• Go ice skating at an indoor rink (the fun of winter without the polar vortex) or protest winter entirely by heading to the Como Park Conservatory (if you close your eyes and inhale deeply you’ll remember what “green” smells like)
• Look up vacations to destinations within five miles of the equator OR in places where treehouses are an acceptable means of shelter (look up “treehouses” on www.AirBnB.com).
• Challenge yourself to find a colder place on earth (options: the South/North Pole, Alaska, Siberia).
• Free up room in your freezer by utilizing your backyard, or a nearby snowbank.
• Make Maple Snow Taffy, go on line at http://family.go.com/food/recipe-780690-maple-snow-taffy-t/ for directions!
• Watch some “cool” movies:

Cool Runnings – Based on a true story, the film is about the first ever Jamaican bobsled team with a big goal to make it to the Winter Olympics. Led by a disgraced coach Irving Blitzer, played by John Candy, the four Jamaican team members are introduced to the unfamiliar sport, new concepts and very cold weather for the first time.

The Shinning – For adults who want a scare, The Shinning is a good choice. Based on the classic novel by Stephen King, the 1980 film directed by Stanley Kubrick is often said to be the greatest horror film of all time. A father, played by Jack Nicholson along with his wife and son become caretakers of an isolated hotel with a disturbing past. As the son begins to see the horrifying details associated with the hotel, the father is taken over by an violently evil spirit and events take a frightful turn during the winter season.

Ice Age – The animated film with some very popular sequels tells the story of a saber tooth tiger, a sloth, and a mammoth who find a lost human child and must heroically brave the severe weather of the Ice Age to help return the infant to its father. While the film speaks to children, the voices of many big name stars such as Ray Romano, Jack Black and John Leguizamo attract many adults as well.

Home Alone – Arguably still one of America’s favorite family movies, the 1990 film is set during snowy Christmastime and tells of an 8 year-old boy whose large family accidentally leaves him home while they vacation in France. After discovering that two dimwitted burglars are targeting his home, he cleverly prepares traps and uses uncommon resources to protect himself against them.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – While this movie has nothing to do with snow or cold weather, it’s a timeless classic about the freedom of having the day off.

Ready to brave the temperatures outside?  Here are some fun activities coming up.

St. Paul Winter Carnival Torchlight Parade

Winter-carnival.com

Saturday, Feb. 1^st, 5:50 PM

Hudson Hot Air Affair

Hudsonhotairaffair.com

Friday, Feb. 7^th – Torchlight Parade: 8 pm

Saturday, Feb. 8th – Balloon Launch: 6:30am and at 2:15pm & Moon Glow or Field of Fire: 6:10-7:15pm

Sunday, Feb. 9th – Morning flight: 7:00am