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Things to Do When It Snows
Outdoor play, kitchen experiments and indoor backups for a snow day with kids.
A real, editable checklist below — tick, tap a line to rewrite, drag to reorder.
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Snow days need a little prep before the fun starts. Airhead says sun reflecting off snow amplifies sunburn, especially at higher altitudes, so sunscreen goes on all exposed skin. It also says everyone, infants included, should wear some kind of eye protection. Take a bathroom break before heading out, too. Sort that out and the rest is play: sledding, snow ice cream, frozen bubbles, and a fort. This list leans toward kids and mixes outdoor ideas with indoor ones, for days when it's too cold outside to play. It skips ski resorts and anything that needs a trip.
Why these items are on the list
- Go sledding. Airhead says no kid is too young or too old for sledding and snow tubing.
- Try snow tubing. Inflatable tubes pack small, and a battery air compressor inflates them on site.
- Build a snowman. A classic for the days school is canceled and the roads are rough.
- Make snow angels. A snow-day classic, right up there with sledding and building a snowman.
- Have a snowball fight. Snowball molds let older kids stock up on ammo before the battle starts.
- Build a snow fort. A snow shovel does double duty: fort walls now, driveway later.
- Paint the snow. Fill small containers with food coloring and water, then paint the snow, inside or out.
- Make snow ice cream. Fresh snow, milk, sugar, vanilla, fine sea salt. Doesn't hold up well in the freezer, so eat it fast.
- Pour maple snow taffy. Boil real maple syrup, then pour lines onto packed snow. Knoxville Moms says it cools to taffy in seconds.
- Blow frozen bubbles. Knoxville Moms recommends 1 cup water, 2 tablespoons corn syrup and 2 tablespoons dish soap.
- Paint with colored ice cubes. Freeze food coloring and water in an ice tray, then let kids paint with the cubes.
- Fill a snow bin with trucks. Bring snow inside in a bin, add toy construction vehicles, and play until it melts. Then repeat.
- Fill a snow bin with utensils. No trucks? Try tossing in random kitchen utensils, maybe something to scoop with.
- Mix fake snow. Knoxville Moms says mix 2 1/2 cups baking soda with 1/2 cup white hair conditioner. Too wet? Add baking soda.
- Make hot cocoa. Knoxville Moms suggests ingredients like cocoa powder, sugar, marshmallows and milk. Hot drinks warm you from the inside.
- Make blue and white playdough. Add glitter and animal cutters for a winter theme, and talk about winter animals.
- Play with slime. One blogger says kids of all ages seem drawn to it. Try one or two recipes.
- Build an indoor fort. Pure backup plan for when it's too cold to stay out.
- Play a board game. Knoxville Moms lists it as an honorable mention for snow days stuck indoors.
- Do a puzzle together. Knoxville Moms lists puzzles among its honorable mentions for snow days.
- Have a movie night. Another honorable mention from Knoxville Moms for a snow day at home.
- Host an indoor playdate. Snow days won't last forever, so use the downtime to invite someone over.
Keep it open on your phone and tick off ideas as the day goes. When the weather flips, you can skip to the indoor half without losing your place.
When to use it
Use it on a snow day when school is canceled or it's too cold outside to play.