The winter season is upon us, and we're excited to spend it with you! Read on for some great ideas for family-friendly fun when the temperature starts to drop.

Winter Reading Challenge

There’s nothing like curling up with a good book when it’s cold outside! Lucky for you, the Free Library’s virtual Winter Reading Challenge is underway. From December through February, the Free Library challenges you to read 30 minutes each day. Log your reads, review books, and choose your favorite hands-on activities to earn badges online as you watch your reading streak grow. For even more reading inspiration, check out the seasonal featured Read Aloud Guides on the Youth Services Hub.

You can also take part in one or all of our monthly Virtual Activity Adventures! We encourage families, groups, and classes to work together and share the experience! These programs are designed for people of all ages and abilities.

For the month of December, our featured Activity Adventure is Family Stories. Let’s share stories passed down from generations and celebrate our histories! Explore these virtual activities together to reflect with those that you call family, near or far, related or not. Tell your origin stories, listen to stories from loved ones, and build new memories together. Tales of laughter, adventure, and love can carry us through the years.

Stay tuned for more virtual activity adventures to come. In January, we’ll be celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and February’s adventures will honor Black History Month.

More Family Fun at the Free Library

Join us for in-person, outdoor storytime at Philadelphia’s Christmas Village, every Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. through December 20.

Drop by your library’s LEAP After-School Program for a variety of inclusive, holiday-themed programs featuring crafting, cooking, games, and more! LEAP provides free homework assistance, leads hands-on STEAM and humanities programs, and promotes a love of reading at libraries throughout the city. Check with your neighborhood library or visit our events calendar for details.

Virtual Sundays on Stage will feature a past performance of The Nutcracker filmed live at Parkway Central Library, as well as an exploration of voices and bucket drummer with Leon Jordan and Alexandra Day! Catch these and earlier virtual performances while they’re still available for viewing on the Youth Services Facebook page. 

Around Town:

Find a nearby Hannukah celebration. Celebrate Kwaanza with the African American Museum in Philadelphia. Take your family to enjoy some of the best holiday light shows around the city, or go for a spin on the ice at one of your local skating rinks.

When you get home from all that fun, take a moment to find your slippers, make yourself a steaming mug of hot cocoa, and get cozy with a good book. It's our favorite pasttime, after all. 

However you choose to spend the season, we're wishing you a wondrous winter from Free Library Youth Services!