Winter means cold weather, snow, and wearing more clothes to keep warm. The way I see it, if you’ve got to bundle up, you might as well be having fun. Here are the top 10 ways to enjoy the cold months of winter:10. A cup of hot chocolate and a crackling fire are the perfect escape from the snowy cold. Have a romantic evening with your significant other or grab a group of friends and make it a party; there’s something to be said for watching the world freeze while you’re bundled up inside.

9. Snowmobiling is the speed demon’s answer to tricky winter roads. When it’s too dangerous to drive fast because of ice or snow, ditch the car and grab a snowmobile. You can tour trails through the woods and back country of America, or you can charge your heart in a quarter mile drag race, but either way you’ll get a kick out of this snowy pastime.

8. Hockey is a great winter sport to watch. Although an ice rink isn’t the warmest place, the game’s excitement will keep you heated. The combination of skillful finesse and brute strength is almost as awesome as the breakaways, face-offs, and hard hits you’ll find on the ice. Hockey is a fast paced sport with plenty of goals, rivalries, and intensity.

7. Cross country skiing is possibly one of the most overlooked winter sports. Although there are no break-neck speeds like in downhill, C.C. skiing is a difficult sport that, once mastered, is easy to fall in love with. Done on packed, groomed trails that wind through woods and over fields, C.C. skiing provides a great aerobic workout to keep your heart and lungs healthy, if you can master the tricky sport.

6. Snowshoeing is a perfect way to keep active and see some nature during the winter months. Snowshoes are basically platforms that hold you on top of the snow so that you don’t sink in. You can walk through fields, woods, on trails, up hills, or anywhere that you want to go without getting knee-deep in drifts and having snow creep into your boots. This is a great way for hikers and nature lovers to see winter’s beautiful white landscape and get some exercise in the process.

5. Watching a basketball game can be the perfect escape from the frigid winter air. There’s nothing like leaving the cold and entering a toasty gymnasium to watch a high-intensity game. Shoes squeaking, balls bouncing, fans yelling! Nothing compares to the atmosphere of a basketball arena, especially in North Carolina. Whether your team is Duke, UNC, NC State, or Wake Forest, you won’t find the allegiance, spirit, skill, and competition of college basketball anywhere like it is on tobacco road.

4. Snow skating is a new winter sport that is relatively unknown. A snow skate brings the tricks, freedom, and convenience of skate boarding to a winter setting. Designed like a snowboard, a snow skate has no bindings and is smaller. This allows you to take a snow skate where snowboards can’t go and it gives you the freedom to hop on and off easily. With a snow skate, all you need is a small hill and a little bit of snow. You can still ride a rail or hit a jump and you have the freedom to bale whenever necessary.

3. Snowball fights are perhaps the most classic winter activity. You can have a free-for-all, an organized battle, or you can simply gang-up on an unsuspecting victim. You get the intensity and competition of a fight without the pain or property damage; and, although it’s not safe or smart, you’ll get a great laugh when one of your snowy ammunitions misses your target and hits a passing motor vehicle. The chase that follows is just as riveting as the fight itself.

2. Snow tubes are a perfect way to revisit your childhood and have some fun with your buddies. Like sledding, tubing consists of riding down a snow-covered hill. However, tubes are much faster and a little easier on the rump. Also, tubes are more exciting because they don’t have a front and back and, thus you can go sideways or backwards. Recently, many ski resorts have added tube parks to their terrain and offer a multitude of trails to cruise down. Being pulled by a snow machine, a dirt bike, or an ATV through a snowy field on a tube is an unforgettable experience.

1. Skiing and Snowboarding are perhaps the most popular winter sports, and rightly so. Western North Carolina offers many opportunities for experts or novices to hit the slopes on skis or a snowboard. You can enjoy amazing views from atop a beautiful white mountain, or the thrill of flying down the slopes and hitting a jump. One of the greatest perks of skiing and riding at a big resort is the diversity of scenes to choose from. If you’re into tricks you can hit up the half pipe, grind a rail, hit the moguls, or simply catch air off jumps run after run. If you’re into speed, you’ve got your steep, packed and groomed trails. Even a nature enthusiast can find their place on the mountain in the serene glades and smooth bowls. Skiing and Snowboarding top my list because of the excitement they offer to all ages and kinds of people.

There you have it, my top 10 activities to have fun and beat the cold. Whether you’re active or lazy, a sports fan or naturalist, are dead broke or have money to spend, there’s something out there for you.