Do you remember your first snow day as a kid?
I don’t remember the first, but I definitely recall the general feel of them!
There was nothing like the excitement of throwing open the curtains in the morning to find a white carpet covering the ground outside.
After spotting the snow, the next activity was to tune in to the local radio station. Everyone in the household would listen intently to hear if our school was closed.
Sometimes, if the principal had called in to the station early with closure news, there would be an immediate sigh of relief. On other occasions, there would be a long and anxious wait, made almost unbearable by hearing the long list of other lucky schools being read out again and again throughout the morning.
Very rarely, our school remained open when the majority of others were closed. Those felt like very dark days indeed!
But usually (due to our school having a wide catchment area and lots of school buses) we got to stay home.
We even got sent home halfway through the school day once because the principal was worried we were going to get snowed in.
Of course, as kids we loved it, but looking back I realise we hadn’t a clue about the complications the bad weather often caused for our families.
Childcare at short notice, dangerous roads and frozen pipes are just three of the difficulties I’m now aware of from an adult perspective. Snow days weren’t necessarily fun for all the family!
My First Real Snow Day As A Parent
Although we’ve had snow a few times since my three year old was born (including the 2018 Beast from the East!), this year is the first time he has been old enough to properly enjoy it and play with it.
Two Saturdays ago, we woke up to a relatively small snowfall, but enough to enjoy and play with. Little Man was shaking with excitement at the prospect, while the eight-month-old looked on with a certain amount of cynicism.
Given the fact that we are currently in Lockdown however, a lot of the worries a parent might have about a snow day didn’t matter. It was a Saturday anyway, but we didn’t have to sit around and wonder should we cancel plans. It’s not like we were allowed go far anyway.
So I had the privilege of my first proper snow day as a parent being a fun and worry-free experience!
Snow Day Family Fun
The only problem with our snow day was this: the snow was WAY too powdery to stick together.
After much effort, neither my husband or myself were able to produce more than the tiniest snowball before it crumbled away.
Collage Snowman
While we were getting ready to go outside, we had been chatting lots about building a snowman. Unfortunately, we hadn’t factored in the powdery snow; we probably should have checked first,.
But we needn’t have worried, as Little Man wasn’t the slightest bit worried about any of this. He was determined that the carrot he’d found was going to used as a nose regardless.
And so he went about gathering items to make a snowman “picture” on the ground.
To our parental eyes, it looked nothing like what we thought a snowman should. But to him it was perfect.
The photo above was taken before it was fully finished. A few snowballs which we had struggled to make were added to the art.
Making a natural collage from objects you find in nature is something you could try at any time. Ours looked a particular way because of the snow, but think of the possibilities that the beach or forest could provide in terms of materials.
Another possibility is to try making a natural collage a few times in the same location, but in different seasons and weather. It would be a helpful way to explore the differences in nature as the year passes.
Snow Sculptures
The next day the snow was much more workable and we managed to build a real snowman and a snow baby. At some stage, a carseat was designed for snow baby.
We didn’t get much further than that, but there are so many ways you could have fun sculpting snow that go beyond the usual snowman.
- Snow animals
- Snow “sandcastles” using buckets and spades
- Digging and sculpting roads, tracks and tunnels for toy vehicles
One other thing we tried was building an igloo.
We scooped snow into lunchboxes and packed it in as tightly as possible before tipping the boxes over. These made snow bricks.
A few snow bricks later, we had managed to build a baby igloo.
With lots of time and patience, you could build a wall, a fort, or even a closer-to-life-size igloo.
If you plan to build something you can actually go inside, think carefully about how you build your roof, just in case it might collapse on someone!
There’s no shame in putting a board across the top if you are having difficulties keeping things stable on top.
A Cosy Campfire
Years and years ago, my mum got me a fire pit from Homestore and More for my birthday. It’s got lots of use since, and we find that a simple campfire is a really nice thing to all enjoy together.
We’ve spent ages teaching Little Man about fire safety; I guess it helps that we have an open fire indoors too, so he’s been aware of being careful around flames since he was really small. Of course, toddlers are so unpredictable that we still need to keep a really close eye on him just in case.
Little Sister was safely strapped in her buggy out of harm’s way!
It felt kind of magical having the fire lit on a sunny, snowy morning and I discovered that snow and fire is a really calming combination. I think it’s probably something to do with the silence that snow brings. The little crackles and creaks from the fire seemed much more audible than usual.
Initially, the plan was to cook our lunch on the fire pit for a bit of excitement: beans on toast. We did cook the food, but got hungry so early it ended up being elevenses more than lunch!
You don’t need a fire pit to have a small campfire. It’s handy, but a small circle of stones/bricks in a safe place will have the same effect. Of course, if you’re not in your own garden/yard or on your own land, do make sure you’re following local by-laws.
Some fun recipes to try out (which are next on our own bucket list) are:
Drawing and Writing
Finding a stick provided lots of entertainment as we “wrote” (squiggled) everybody’s name in the snow. I think we also drew some machinery; I’m not fully sure, but if we drew anything it was probably machinery!
Older children could use a stick to play games such as noughts and crosses in the snow, or even mark out a giant draughts board and use stones etc. to play on it.
Another idea is to draw a giant maze and challenge each other to find a way out.
Ice Decorations
These don’t involve snow specifically, but I had come across the idea for these all over the internet lately and was delighted to have a cold snap of weather to try them out.
They look gorgeous when finished and are really really simple.
We filled some small bowls with water and then searched the garden for natural items like leaves, pine needles and sticks to submerge in the water.
A kind friend had given us a homemade wreath at Christmas, so we repurposed some items from that such as berries. The berries added a lovely boost of colour.
Sliced up oranges were another lovely source of colour.
Finally, we added a piece of ribbon to each bowl. We made a loop from the ribbon and made sure both ends were fully covered by water. The ribbon just happened to be what I could find in the house; you could use twine, wool, or whatever you have lying around.
Feeling hopeful, the bowls of water were left to freeze overnight. To our disappointment, when we woke in the morning the temperatures hadn’t dropped low enough to have any effect.
Conditions were more favourable the next night however, and we were rewarded with our completed decorations.
I really recommend giving these a try. If you don’t have access to many natural items to freeze in the water, don’t worry! You could try adding a variety of chopped up fruit; when the decorations melt the birds will have a treat.
Or if you have craft materials like pom poms, sequins or googly eyes, they would look great too. You could even freeze small toys such as Lego men if you wanted.
If you freeze non-natural objects though, just make sure you know where they’re going to land after the decorations melt!
More Ideas For Snow Day Family Fun
Aside from what we got up to, there are so many other ways to have fun on a snow day.
Look For Tracks In The Snow
A fall of snow can make us realise just how many living things we share our gardens and parks with. All of a sudden the tracks of birds and animals are clear for all to see.
On Day 2 of the snow, we came across what I think were probably fox tracks. It’s an exciting way for kids to get a sense of the wildlife all around them.
DIY Sledging
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think it’s pretty rare for Irish families to have a sledge in their house. It’s unusual enough to even see them for sale, although I do remember shops stocking up on them back in 2010 during The Big Freeze.
With this in mind, creativity is key if you want some downhill snow fun. In my own childhood I remember using coal sacks/animal feed bags, and a deflated inflatable chair (I think that was the best of all). I think I remember friends using bodyboards too.
You’re sure to find something suitable lying around the house. At the very least a bin bag!
Snowball Fights
Little elaboration is needed here. I think throwing snowballs seems to be a natural urge that none of us need to be taught!
Snow Angels
How big a host of angels can you make in your garden? Make sure to make some parent-sized as well as kid-sized ones! 😉
Paint The Snow
I’ve never tried this, but it looks like fun. For me, as much as the kids! All you need is food colouring, water and paintbrushes. Oh, and snow. Of course.
Wrap Up and Have Fun
Depending on where you live, perhaps snow days are your normal days. But if snow is rare for you like it is for us, snow days with kids are really special days to be treasured if at all possible.
If you’re fortunate enough to get to enjoy one with your kids this year, comment and let me know. I’d love to hear what snowy memories you managed to make together.
