Rumors have been flying around that we might actually have a white Christmas this year. When I checked out the weather online earlier today, the weather guys had moved their snowy prediction to Sunday, the day after Christmas.

A lot of the people living and working in the Washington, D.C. area have an almost freakish fear of the snow–at least, if they so much as have to set a foot outside. It probably happens because we don’t get snow here very often, so people get relatively little experience driving in the snow. And just like anything that people don’t get to practice regularly, each time ends up feeling a lot like the first.

As infrequently as we get snow, an actual white Christmas is almost unheard of–but something often imagined as the ideal. Almost everyone has Christmas day off, and the white stuff really adds to the blissful atmosphere of the holiday. And if the snow holds off until the week after Christmas, that’s almost (if not quite) as good, since the kids are out of school and a lot of parents (and singles) are off on vacation. People can spend less time worrying about driving in the snow and more time enjoying it–and their families.

Here are five great things about getting snowed in on Christmas–or any day:

1. RELAX
Snow weather gives your family an excuse to relax. Since it’s inconvenient–and outright dangerous–to drive, you’ve got a good excuse for setting all those driving-dependent errands aside, freeing up time for–dare we say, TAKE IT EASY?

2. TAKE IN SOME FLICKS
Catch up on watching those movies you never seem to have time for. And sitting down with the fam along with a bowl of popcorn, cups of hot tea and foamy chocolate, and maybe a plate of holiday cookies can be a lot of fun.

3. READ
Read that book that you’ve been promising yourself you’d get to. Try gathering the family together, each with the book of their choice, and having “family reading time”–maybe in the living room with the Christmas tree all lit up. Not only is this activity enjoyable, it sneaks in a little educational time for the kids without them ever realizing that’s what’s going on.

4. PLAY IN THE SNOW
Get out there and enjoy the season! All too often, we miss out on enjoying the simple joys of playing in the snow because we’re too busy doing all that stuff we “have” to do. Make some snow angels with the kids. Throw a few snowballs. Take a sled to a nearby hill or slope and get in a little sledding. If you’re lucky, you might start to remember how it felt to be a kid, when having fun was the primary goal of each day. (And when you actually allowed yourself to have fun.)

5. ENJOY SOME BOARD GAMES
Make the day a board-game extravaganza. Pull out the Connect 4, deck of playing cards, Yahtzee, Monopoly–and play, play, play! Enjoy old favorites, and teach the kids some new games…you’ll have a day that your whole family will remember fondly for years to come.