BREAKING: It’s winter. Which means it’s cold. Which means you probably don’t want to leave the house. That’s understandable! But also not good for your mental health, at least that’s what my therapist tells me. Thus, you should probably get out of the house and do something. Since “being outside” is out of the question, here is some of DCist’s writers’ favorite indoor activities to do during the winter. Cool? Cool

Photo by Rebecca Schley.

GO SEE A PLAY: A recently released survey from the National Endowment for the Arts found that 22 percent of the people who wanted to go to an arts event in 2012 but didn’t cited having no one to go with as their reason for not attending. A fact that is 100 percent depressing. Resolve to make a friend this year, then go take said friend to a live theatrical performance at any one of the city’s awesome venues [http://dcist.com/2014/10/the_best_theater_venues_in_dc.php]. For the thrifty and under-30 crowd, most venues offer age-related discounts. — Riley Croghan

GO TO A MUSEUM: Our city’s many free art museums are great options to do something edifying while staying warm inside—and better yet for crummy days, most of them are within a block or two of the Metro. The American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery in Gallery Place offer two museums in the same building: A wide-ranging collection of works from colonial times to contemporary art, and much more than portraits of old guys. I had avoided the Portrait Gallery for some time, figuring it wouldn’t be very interesting, but was proved wrong on my first visit: The portraits of each President shows how different and similar they are as well as how they’d like to be seen. The rest of the museum shows just how varied portraiture can be (plus there’s LL Cool J and Stephen Colbert.) There’s also a great museum shop and a cafe in the covered Kogod Courtyard, a nice place to relax for a bit.

There’s almost too many others to mention. Some of my favorites on the National Mall are The National Gallery of Art and the Hirshhorn Museum. While the NGA may be partially closed (the East Building is being renovated,) there’s still an entire building full of fantastic art from ancient times to today—Old Masters, Napoleon with his hand in his shirt, Impressionists, and lots of others you should see yourself. Textbooks never do the actual works justice.

The Hirshhorn across the Mall offers contemporary and modern art: Sculpture, photography (I really enjoyed Olafur Eliason’s Reykjavik series of photos of buildings in the city) and a temporary exhibit about time. A bit more adventurous than the other choices, it’s also a museum you can see in as much or as little time as you’d like. — Andrew Wiseman

You can find a full list of free Smithsonian museums, and their locations, here.

POTTERY PAINTING: Pottery painting is a great way to spend a frigid afternoon and end up with a personalized item to eat out of, hang up, or give as a gift. In the D.C. area, check out All Fired Up, Color Me Mine, Clay Cafe, and Paint This!—some of them welcome you to bring snacks, beer, and wine. There are tons of pottery options (from kitchenware to coasters to mezuzahs and ornaments), and almost as many tools at your disposal (like more kinds of paint than you knew existed, stencils, sponges, and glitter). When you finish your masterpiece, it will be glazed in the kiln and ready for pickup in a few days. — Nicole Dubowitz

All Fired Up is located at 3413 Connecticut Avenue NW. Color Me Mine is located at 823 Ellsworth Drive in Silver Spring, Md. Clay Cafe is located at 101 North Maple Avenue in Falls Church, Va. Paint This! is located at 1013 King Street in Alexandria, Va.

INDOOR ICE SKATING: If you love ice skating, but can’t handle the outdoor temps, head to Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Ballston, where you can have fun and enjoy winter sports without freezing your butt off. The rink at Kettler is used as the Caps training facility, as well as youth and adult hockey leagues, so be sure to check the public skate schedule before heading out. But unlike a lot of the city’s tiny outdoor rinks, this one is big enough that you don’t get dizzy after your second lap, and there’s enough room in the middle for you to try out that double axle.

Kettler Iceplex is located near the Ballston metro at 627 North Glebe Road in Arlington, Va.

INDOOR ROCK CLIMBING: This is a great option for active folks that either have a serious aversion to the cold or a serious aversion to slipping on the pesky patches of ice that are somehow still on the sidewalk. (Seriously, why is there still ice on the sidewalk??). Let out your inner Global Guts contestant or Rocky Mountain hiker and try rock climbing in the comfort of an enormous heated room with helpful colorful hand holds. It’s a more adventurous way of exercising than the stationary bicycle and it also doubles as a unique date idea. In D.C. proper, the only two rock walls that we’ve located are at the Results Gym in Eastern Market and the YMCA Anthony Bowen in Cardozo. For those who don’t want to invest in a membership to either place, there are dedicated rock climbing gyms in Alexandria (Sportrock Climbing Center) and Rockville (Earth Treks Climbing Center). A day pass and gear rental at either location won’t take more than $35 out of your pocket and going after work is an option as both are open as late as 11:00 p.m. on weekdays. — Valerie Paschall

Sportrock Climbing Center is located at 5308 Eisenhower Avenue in Alexandria, Va. Eart Treks Climbing Center is located at 725 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Md.

Via Shutterstock.

RECORD SHOPPING: With the vinyl revival in full swing, record shopping makes for a wonderful afternoon of rare finds, regulated temperatures, and the pleasures of buying stuff. With 18th Street NW in Adams Morgan being home to Smash, Crooked Beat, and Red Onion, it’s easy to hit a few spots without having to bare the brutal winter weather for long periods. Som Records on 14th Street NW is a great way to live out your inner Rob Gordon with its personal collection-turned-store vibe, while Joint Custody on U Street NW is the perfect spot for punks and metal heads. However, for those wanting to get immersed in rows on heavy-gram goodness, a short ride up the Red Line to Joe’s Record Paradise in Silver Spring often makes mincemeat of an afternoon. Newly opened Bump and Grind is not too far away and pairs your music fix with a bolt of coffee, beer, or a burrito. — John Fleury

You can find a list of all the local record stores and their locations in the D.C. area here.

INDOOR MINIGOLF: With the sidewalks covered in salt and most of the city’s greenery a depressing wilted version of warmer days, there’s not a better time to pick up a putter and get involved in some indoor mini golf action. Here in the city, head over to H Street Country Club. Zombie Presidents, familiar landmarks as obstacles, and the usual trials of high-intensity putt-putting are all available without having to trek outside. The course takes about 35 minutes and should be combined with ample margaritas beforehand, during, and afterwards to ease the pains of defeat and all the feels of victory. If this course is too much D.C. for you, head up to Monster Mini Golf in Gaithersburg, Md. for a spooky take on the year-round game. — John Fleury

H Street Country Club is located at 1335 H Street NE, Monster Mini Golf is located at 9116 Gaither Road in Gaithersburg, Md.

WINERY, CIDERY, BREWERY, AND DISTILLERY TOURS: Just a decade ago, the idea of hitting up your local wineries, cideries, and breweries without driving for a few hours was unheard of. Now we have so many local sources of booze to go visit and interact with. Most of the local establishments have tasting rooms, tours, and stores to purchase merchandise and other accoutrements to show your local pride in a spiritual (get it???) way. — John Fleury

You can find a comprehensive list of all the area breweries, wineries, cideries, and distilleries, along with their locations, here.

FINDING COZY CAFES/COFFEE SHOPS: The ultimate un-suck winter combo: Book + hot beverage. There are only so many times you can do that in a bed or on a couch without feeling totally pathetic. But if you take that combo off the couch and put it in a cafe, suddenly you’re hip and chic! Look at you, sipping a hot toddy tucked in a corner booth, adjusting your Warby Parker glasses and giving off an intellectual vibe. You go, you! For those in upper Northwest, or willing to take a Sunday adventure, Little Red Fox in Van Ness is a sure bet—although the fabulous Fireside Fox Cider (hot cider with caramel and cardamom) won’t be on their menu much longer. Still, you won’t be disappointed with their regular hot cider or coffee. For the U Street NW crowd, stop in at Peregrine Espresso and its dark wood atmosphere (there are also locations in Union Market and Eastern Market, although I can’t speak to their commitment to dark wood). Nauseated by the unending sea of chain restaurants in Chinatown? Take refuge in Chinatown Coffee, where the coffee is dark and strong. If you’re somewhere between Foggy Bottom and Dupont, stop in at Soho on the corner of P and 22nd NW. You’ll never, ever feel pressured to leave, your drink may be served to you in a mason jar and their chicken salad sandwich is ta die fawhr. But of course, there’s plenty of other cozy cafes for you to discover—The Coffee Bar, Big Bear, SOVA, Blind Dog—go out and explore, or consult this list. — Tori Kerr

Little Red Fox is located at 5035 Connecticut Avenue NW. Peregrine Espresso is located at 1718 14th Street NW, 1309 5th Street NE, and 660 Pennsylvania Avenue SE.

PINBALL: Humble bragging: My roommates and I recently acquired a mint condition Lethal Weapon 3 pinball machine, so my winter plans are currently set, thank you very much. However, if I wasn’t the proud new owner of a Lethal Weapon 3 pinball machine (seriously, it’s so awesome, you guys), I would gladly make the cold, miserable bike ride to either Lyman’s or Black Cat to get my pinball fix on. With Black Cat’s newly renovated Lucky Cat game room (machines include: The Addams Family, The Wizard of Oz, Whodunnit?, and The Twilight Zone) and Lyman’s six—six!—machines (Star Trek, The Walking Dead, AC/DC, Road Show, and Twister), there’s plenty of options for District pinheads to get their fix. If you’re nice, maybe I’ll invite you over to play my Lethal Weapon 3 machine (oh my God it rules). — Matt Cohen

Black Cat is located at 1811 14th Street NW. Lyman’s Tavern is located at 3720 14th Street NW.

SEE A DAMN MOVIE: The 2015 Oscar nominees are out! I’m guessing you haven’t seen all of them. Get your ass to a theater then. — Matt Cohen

Whatever movie you want to see is probably playing in or around D.C. Consult Fandango for showtimes.