5 fun (mostly outside) snowy day activities
We've gotten to hear those magic words twice this past weekend: SNOWDAY!!
So here are five activities my family has been enjoying out in the snow. If you're running out of steam use these for inspiration!
"Paint" the snow
We mixed up a few cups of food coloring and water, then brought them outside with our paintbrushes. We could paint designs in the snow with all our colors!
For some added variation, I brought out cookie cutters. We packed the snow in to the designs and then painted them like little snowy treats. We did not eat them because straight up food dye is a bit of a stretch for me, but they look pretty!!! Mostly I was THRILLED at how diligently my 2 year old worked on that activity.
You can also make snow statues in any shape you want. You could paint a face on the snow man just like in our favorite winter story, the snowy day!
Homemade icicle wreaths
Bring your family for a scavenger hunt to locate and pick some spruce or pine needles, holly, small pine cones, and brightly colored berries that the birds might have missed. This is a great learning opportunity to remind your children never to eat a berry they find outside without double checking with a grown up if it's okay to eat.
When you've collected some treasures, add them to a doughnut baking sheet or muffin tin. If you have lemon or orange peels at home you can cut those up and put them in too. Cover them with water and place the folded middle of a string into the water with the ends of the string emerging. Place your tray outside or in the freezer. Once it's frozen you can tie the ends of your strings together and hang your frozen ornaments outside to decorate your yard!
Twig stars
Collect 5 twigs that are straight and cut them all to the same length. Arrange in the shape of a star and secure the ends, either by tying with string or with a hot glue gun. Voila! You have a twig star that they'd charge you $40 for at the farm stand!
(This photo is from lovelygreens.com)
Experiment with different sizes of twigs, or see if you can bundle twigs in groups of 5 for a more textured look. Use the glue gun to add natural items from your scavenger hunt to decorate your star.
Check out a new sledding hill
Some local favorites in this area include:
Carnival hill in Wilton, NH. Apparently this one is a real workout to walk up and down, but you earn a great ride!
Bragdon Farm in Bedford, NH has a sledding hill that comes well recommended on local Facebook groups.
Roby park in Nashua is a great play area (and right across the street from Pressed Cafe if you need a little pick me up after!)
Warm up with homemade hot cocoa
After you have all that fun outside, warm yourself from the inside out with a cup of homemade hot cocoa. It's so easy to make and super decadent--plus, you know exactly what's in it :)
I like to make a big batch of The Pioneer Woman's hot cocoa recipe a few times in the winter. My kids have been practically guzzling it.
1 cup cocoa powder
2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups powdered milk
If you want it to look pretty you can sift it all together, or you can dump it all into a jar. You can play around to see your preferred ratio of mix:liquid. The recipe recommends 1/2 cup of mix to 1/2 cup of hot water, but that's way too rich for me (which is saying something!)
We normally go with 1/4 cup mix to 1/2 cup of water. We put a splash of milk in to cool it off, and if you've got a candy cane to stir with or marshmallows to top it off with then load it up! Either way you've got a yummy and hands on drink to warm up with after a full day of winter fun.