8 Tips & Activities for kids in Snow!

 

It’s half term here and we were so lucky yesterday to wake up to a lovely layer of snow glistening across our garden and street. I love the snow, despite being a woman who is always cold and hates to be cold, but snow play makes it worth while. I decided that we would go sledging and enjoy the cold weather to the max, after all living in the countryside in Northern England, we are rarely put off by cold weather! Just in case you have been treated to some snowy weather, here’s a few tips for enjoying activities with kids in snow.

1.) Dress for the occasion.

Sounds like a no brainier, but very few people really dress for snowy weather. When it’s horrible like this, the boys wear vests, tshirts, jumpers and then their outer layer clothing which is always water proof and wind proof (ski jackets from Muddy Puddles are our favourite). Sounds pretty normal but we layer up on our legs too. We are huge fans of leggings from La Loi and when it’s freezing cold we wear these under our jeans/lined trousers if we’re out and about for the whole day. For Edith I usually choose a good long sleeve bodysuit, outfit, cardigan and then snowsuit. Thick socks (and in Edie’s case knee socks over tights) are a must!

2.) Build a snowman, woman, dog or funky sculpture!

Ok, easy. No self respecting snow lover would miss the opportunity to build a snowman, but what about making it a little competition for your kids? Get the dress up box out and make a builder, doctor, vet, fairy or princess… Anything!! It’s great fun and way cooler than just making your run-of-mill snowman (though that in itself is high on the awesome factor when you’re 4!)

3.) Painting inside? Erm, no! Get snow painting!

This is super duper fun and you will almost certainly have what you need in the house. You use food colouring and water to make a coloured solution (make sure it’s cold water or everything will melt!) Use one of those squeezy icing bottles of you have them, or if not an old water bottle with a hole made by scissors in the top or a washing up liquid bottle. Squirt the water into a multitude of patterns on the snow. The kids will LOVE this… Just avoid yellow…

4.) Take a change

A change of clothes is a must for most parents even in the sunniest of weather – I’ve lost count f the amount of times I’ve not taken a change of clothes for the boys because it’s sunny, only to find they decided to get waist deep in the stream at Dalby Forest – but during snowy times I think it’s  important to take a blanket and maybe if the kids have dressing gowns take them to wrap up in the car. Don’t worry about loading up the car, that’s what it’s there for!

5.) Taking a pack up? Make it filling!

In this kind of weather, stopping for hot food is usually the best course of action you get warmed up, full bellies and resting your feet after running about isn’t a bad call but if you don’t want to do that then make sure you pack something filling and if possible hot. Things like pasta are great for filling bellies, which in turn will heat you up. Best of all, take some soup in a flask with bread roll sandwiches. Yum! If you or the kids can handle it, spicy food is another good warmer. Make sure you have a tonne of water and, again, flask up some hot drinks for that extra warmth boost or grab a coffee/hot chocolate from a cafe.

6.) Build an igloo!

There is nothing more fun than a den, am o right? The boys are almost constantly in trouble for building dens in their room using my rocking chair, their duvet and virtually every pillow in the house. Don’t get me wrong, I offer no complaint over the actual den, rather the fact that they abandon ship and conveniently “forget” they made it until bed time, scrounging an additional 15-20mins before bed time. Clever buggers. Anyway, if building a den out of duvets and pillows can insight such happiness and glee, think what will happen if you build one out of snow. If you want to be official, use something like the inside of a shoe box covered in foil to mould the bricks, or just roll up a big wad of snow and use a knife to cut into shape.

7.) Go Sledging!

Woo hoo! My favourite part of snow has to be sledging. The kids (including Edith) LOVED it, and I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t too. We have a lovely little place just around the corner from our house that is a small bowl like grass area, perfect for sledging. We started off on the slight slopes, just to warm the kids up (and me!) then the boys moved on to the very steep hill, which scared the crap out of me I have to say! I would advise going for the less beautiful plastic sledge over a traditional wooden one I’m afraid. Despite my love for a big wooden sledge, too much can break and the kids wouldn’t be able to hold on as easily. I also let Roo hold Edie and take her down one of the slight hills, but I do firmly believe that you have to operate within your own comfort levels. With all sledging, don’t over do it, try to have one person at the top and one at the bottom *just in case* someone falls off and bumps themselves… If this isn’t possible, wear good shoes and be prepared to jog down with the sledge should you see a bump. Lastly, if it’s really busy, keep little ones on a tight reign, as a nurse my mum saw more injuries from sledging than a little, but almost always because of crashes!

8.) Be Flexible.

Kids moan in the cold, come to think of it, I moan in the cold! It’s fun for a time and then it’s too much for some of us, so be prepared to be flexible. If the cold is just too much, head home and try out some baking, bath time play time or even some painting/crafting.

There you have it! My tips and ideas for activities for kids in snow – stay safe and enjoy everyone!

H x