Winter Family Snow Play

The first snow day of winter finds children peeking out the windows excitedly dreaming of snowmen and snow angels, snowball fights and sledding and coming indoors all rosy-cheeked and breathless. In contrast, parents peek outside with thoughts of shoveling, a long to-do list that will have to wait, and a messy house filled with kids looking for something to do. Next snow day, have no fear. Check this handy list of outdoor activities you can do right in your own backyard, a nearby park, or even at the beach and you’ll feel like a super-parent while having just as much fun as the kids! Best of all, every activity on this list can be done with supplies you already have on hand.

Be Prepared

Half of the stress of a snow day is not having the right materials on hand. Got a kids? This supply checklist is for you:

• Check that each person in the family has the following items, making sure they fit: Waterproof gloves or mittens, snow boots, hats, snow pants and winter jacket.
• Ingredients to make hot cocoa, herbal tea, soup and other warm favorites.
• Cold remedies. Just in case someone gets sick, you don’t want to head outdoors in a storm!
• Healthy snacks so you don’t spend the day eating marshmallows and cocoa.
• Snow shovels and rock salt or ice melt.
• A pile of towels, dry clothes and a box of tissues by the front door.
• Patience.

Outdoor Fun

No one really needs tips on how to play in the snow. But if the usual fun starts to get old, try these ideas:

Snow Painting

What you’ll need: Spray bottle, food coloring, water.

What to do: Fill a spray bottle with a few drops of food coloring and water. Spray paint the snow. Experiment with the amount of food coloring and the nozzle concentration. You can colorize a snow-person, make rainbows, or paint a winter scene in the snow.

Build a Mini Snow City

What you’ll need: Plastic food containers, bowl of warm water, paint brush.

What to do: Fill containers with snow and pack them to make mini bricks just as you would make a sand castle. Paint each snow brick with warm water to make them stick to each other to make buildings. When you’ve created a whole city, paint it using the spray method above.

Build a Fort

What you’ll need: Bowl of warm water.

What to do: Shape the snow into walls. Rub warm water on the walls to harden them as you build.

Have a Snow Beach Day

What you’ll need: Beach/Sand toys such as shovels, buckets, plastic cups and toy cars.

What to do: Use beach toys and build snow castles; dig until you see grass; make tunnels. If you live near a beach and the weather permits, bundle up and head down to the beach and play in the snow/sand. It’s just unusual enough to be very memorable, and it gets everyone out of the house for an hour or two.

When you’re done having fun in the snow, check out our article on Indoor Winter Activities!

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• Hit the Beach for Family Fun
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