Family-friendly ways to spend Boxing Day 2024 in Regina

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The cookies have been eaten, the stockings have been emptied and the gifts have been opened.

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Now what?

For families looking for ways to fill the day after the holiday that don’t involve shopping for deals, here are some other options for Boxing Day 2024.

Regina is a winter city, so there’s plenty of outdoor fun to be had.

We’ve built a map of all the city-maintained rinks, fire pits and sledding hills open to the public this year:

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The City of Regina maintains 50 outdoor skating rinks for free use as long as the weather permits. Most are already open, although a handful are still in the process of being flooded. Free public skating indoors is also available on Dec. 26 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Clarence Mahon Arena

For those more interested in a pick-up game of hockey than a leisurely skate, there are six shinny rinks available to use. All outdoor ice surfaces are first-come, first-served, unless booked in advance through the city.

While the City Square rink and warm-up shelter in Victoria Park aren’t scheduled to open until Dec. 27,  the skating loop at Echo Valley Provincial Park, about an hour-long drive from Regina, opens on Boxing Day. 

Skate the Park is a 900-metre frozen loop around the Aspen Campground. It’s strung with lights, making it a perfect evening activity. If you’re out in Echo Valley, the park also has a crokicurl rink, snowshoeing trails, cross-country skiing and a wooden barrel sauna. A Sask Parks pass is required to enter and can be purchased for $11 for a day or $45 for an entire year.

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There is also a designated cross-country skiing trail inside city limits at Tor Hill Golf Course open daily. The Regina Ski Club also keeps an up-to-date list of other local trails and when they were last groomed on its website.

Though Regina is pretty flat, there are 19 city-designated toboggan hills worth checking out. With the snow we’ve had this winter, these spots are sure to be busy with families making sledding memories.

If any of these outdoor plans sound chilly, the City of Regina has a number of community fire pits sprinkled throughout its parks available for residents to use to warm up.

Four new pits have been added this year at Fairchild Park, Horizon Station Park, Rochdale Park and temporarily next to the Neil Balkwill Civic Arts Centre. You’ll have to light your own flame and the city reminds anyone using the pits to be extra careful — and to put out the embers when you leave.

Maybe spending the day outside in the cold isn’t enticing — that’s fine, because there are indoor options, too.

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The Saskatchewan Science Centre is open from noon until 6 p.m. on Boxing Day. Admission is $17 per adult, $12 to $14 per child depending on age. Toddlers 2 years and younger are free.

The Regina Floral Conservatory is open for special hours Dec. 26 , offering a tropical escape from the chilly weather outside from noon until 8 p.m. Admission is by donation.

The George Bothwell Library is the only branch that will be open Boxing Day, with operating hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. In addition to the usual library offerings, a social mahjongg event is planned for 1 p.m.

There’s also the option to catch a show at one of Regina’s movie theatres. If you’re looking to keep with the holiday spirit, Moonlight Movies in the Golden Mile has matinee and evening showings of a few Christmas classics: Home Alone, The Santa Clause and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

While the Royal Saskatchewan Museum is closed Boxing Day, it will offer drop-in holiday activities from Dec. 27 until Jan. 3, including a gallery hunt in the Life Science Library.

Nature Regina’s annual Christmas Bird Count is set for Dec. 28 at 8 a.m. Birding experience isn’t a requirement and the club welcomes all to join in tallying the many different species that spend their winters here.

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Anyone interested in taking part is asked to RSVP to the count co-ordinator in advance. Contact details are available on Nature Regina’s website.

lkurz@postmedia.com

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