Win in Winter
If you are lucky enough to experience all four seasons, you know that winter can sometimes be a drag. The cold and snow feel relentless, leaving us to wonder if we will ever see summer again.
However, when the wind dies down and the sun comes out, winter’s unique playground is hard to beat. If you are looking for outdoor winter fun beyond building a snowman, take a look at some of our suggestions below.
1) Go on an ice cube scavenger hunt – Mix water with food coloring and pour into dollar store ice trays. When frozen, hide in the snow with just a peak of color showing and see how quickly the kids can find them.
2) Create ice mosaics – You will need a round cake pan and a plastic cup. Rub the outside of the cup with Vaseline and place in the middle of the pan. Add some of nature’s colorful items – leaves, small berries, sticks, small pebbles and enough water to cover. Let freeze overnight. When frozen, place bottom of the pan in hot water to loosen edges and remove ice from pan and cup. Place outdoors near a window.
3) Make a snow maze – Find an open area in your yard or park with fresh snow. Using your footprints, create a maze. You can either design as you go or find a maze design online and try to recreate it.
4) Have an outdoor picnic – Set up a picnic table complete with tablecloth. Bring out a tureen of hot soup or a crockpot of chili. Create a DIY hot dog bar with all the trimmings and roast your hot dogs on sticks over the fire pit. For dessert, make your own snow ice cream.
5) Make snowpeople stencils – Use foam board to create stencils of shirts, pants, hats and shoes plus people heads and hands. Fill water bottles with colored water and spray over stencil to create colorful snowpeople.
6) Freeze bubbles – When the weather drops below freezing, head outside and blow some bubbles. Try blowing the bubbles directly onto a glove or snow pile to see it’s beautiful patterns. Warning: Bubbles that freeze in midair might break when they land.
7) Winter shot put – Freeze colored water in small balloons overnight. The next day, make colored lines in the snow with paint and have players throw their ice ball as far as they can. You can also use those frozen colored ice balls for snow golf or snow tic-tac-toe.
8) Make a snow castle - This is just as much fun with snow as it is doing with sand, except you can’t color the sand! Pull out your sand buckets, shovels, and molds to create a castle and then accent with paint, colored water or items you find outside.
9) Bring winter indoors - When the kids can’t play unsupervised, bring the snow inside to the bathtub. Let them build, create, and play with the snow while sitting on stools just outside the tub. When play is over, let the snow melt and wash down the drain.
10) Make your own slushies – Fill cups with clean snow, packing it down tight. Pour soda or carbonated flavored water over the snow for a quick treat. You can also make your own snow cone syrup with equal parts of water and sugar and a package of Kool-Aid mix.
11) Build a snow volcano – Fill a disposable cup with baking soda and a few drops of food coloring. Place in snow and mound the snow up around it to resemble a volcano. Do not cover the top of the cup. When you are ready, pour vinegar into cup and watch the show.
12) Winter mini trip – If the snow is sparse in your city this year, take a weekend trip nearby to enjoy winter ziplining, tobogganing or ice fishing. Check neighboring cities for outdoor winter festivals that embrace the snow, even if they have to create it themselves.
Pam Molnar is a freelance writer and mother of three. With a little creativity, she and her family can embrace winter – snow, cold, and all.