Oh, to be young and experience the pure unadulterated joy of a snow day. It’s the kind of thing kids dream of — hours upon hours free from school, during which the world is blanketed in beautiful white.
They envision endless snowball fights and building the kind of snowmen that would make Anna and Elsa proud. What snow day activities can you plan for your children?
But when you’re a parent, all you can think is, “How am I going to keep these kids entertained all day without them tearing down the house?!” Well, we’ve got ideas! Here are a few ways to keep kids busy for the hours upon hours remaining after the novelty of snowball fights has worn off.
Outdoor activities
Of course, that’s not to say you shouldn’t take advantage of the gorgeous backdrop. Expand your little ones’ horizons with these fresh spins on snow fun!
Maple syrup snow taffy
Don’t you just love a craft that you can eat? Nothing could make a snow day sweeter than using snow to insta-cool maple syrup into a taffy treat. Bookmark Wholefully’s recipe for the next day the temp dips low enough for the white stuff to stick.
Snow volcano
Oh, oh, how about a snow day activity that is also educational? This snow volcano from Science Sparks uses the classic baking soda and vinegar combo to create an exciting eruption. Your kids will love the contrast of the rich red “lava” against the stark white snow. And they may even learn something in the process!
Frozen bubbles
If you’ve ever wondered what happens to bubbles when the weather turns frigid, try this snow day activity from Shawna Coronado. Granted, your results may vary depending on just how cold it is, but figuring that out could be part of the fun.
MORE: 9 family activities for Thanksgiving Day
Water balloon snow marbles
We’ve got two words for you: snow marbles. Snow marbles, y’all. With a little food coloring and some water balloons, you can create colored orbs that kids will go gaga over. Queen Vanna has the 4-1-1 on her blog.
Snow ‘paint’
The world will be your child’s canvas when you concoct a batch of The Resourceful Mama’s super-simple snow “paint.” All you need is powdered tempera paint, spray bottles, some water and voilà! Your child becomes Vincent van Snow.
Indoor activities
You certainly don’t want your kids catching a cold on their snow day and having to miss even more school. So, when you need to head indoors to get warm, you’re going to want some activities on standby.
Treat extravaganza
Get your little culinary whiz in the kitchen to whip up an arsenal of sweet treats. Baking and snow days are essentially soul mates. Of course, in addition to cookies and other oven confections, we highly recommend whipping up a bowl of fresh snow cream. Head over to The Kitchen Is My Playground to find five different flavors.
Laundry basket skeeball
You know those ball pit balls that typically drive you crazy? Well, a snow day gives you the perfect opportunity to make them earn their keep. This craft-ivity — the brainchild of Frugal Fun For Boys and Girls — uses laundry baskets, a cardboard box and, yep, those pesky balls to create an irresistible at-home skeeball game.
Get the kids moving game
The last thing you want is for your kids to spend most of the day cooped up, complaining about being “so bored.” This energetic game from Life Over C’s gives kids something fun to distract them, but it will also burn off some energy so bedtime isn’t such a struggle.
MORE: Back to school: Set your child up for a successful school year
Paper airplane party
If your kids are anything like ours, they’ll spend hours playing with little more than a few paper airplanes. Snow day offers an ideal opportunity to step up that classic pastime a few notches. By cutting holes of various sizes in a piece of poster board and assigning them each a point value like Sewing Mama RaeAnna, you can put your kids through “flying school” (read: keep them busy all day).
Indoor camping
It may be too cold to pitch a tent outside, but that doesn’t mean you can’t bring the camping fun indoors. You’ll find no shortage of ideas on Pinterest, ranging from recipes for indoor s’mores to Free People’s faux-campfire.
