After a heavy snowfall hits, it can be tempting to stay snuggled indoors with a few board games and a kettle of hot cocoa — but after a day or two, the cabin fever gets real. While the occasional day spent hunkered down can feel cozy, staying inside all day brings down your energy and can leave you feeling restless — especially when you’re with kids. So do some snow games or snow activities instead!
Wondering what to do in the snow other than build a snowman and go sledding? Here are 101 fun snow games and activities.
1. Blow bubbles! Watch them freeze in the air if it’s below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Get crafty and make your own snowshoes and go for a hike!
3. No two snowflakes look the same. Grab a black piece of construction paper and a magnifying glass, carefully catch snowflakes on the paper, and observe their fascinating details with a magnifying glass.
4. Make real ice cream with snow.
5. Make snow paint by putting a Kool-Aid packet or food coloring in an empty spray or squirt bottle, adding water and shaking.
6. Learn how avalanches work by building this fun homemade avalanche project.
7. Build a city of snow sand castles using snow, shovels and beach pails.
8. Play tug of war, which is much safer in the snow than grass or pavement.
9. Use templates to create sugarplum fairy ballerinas, hang them on your porch and watch them dance in the wind.
10. Search for nests in the bare trees.
11. After a heavy snowfall, wrangle up a team of friends and shovel out a maze in your backyard.
12. Walk around the yard or park, looking for animal tracks.
13. Host a wintertime scavenger hunt. Truly, one of the best snow games out there!
14. Make a balance beam out of hard snow and see if the kids can walk across it without falling.
15. Make a human snowman! See how well you can cover someone in snow… while they’re standing up.
16. Go snowmobiling.
17. Follow the leader: snow version. With sturdy boots, make a path in fresh snow (or have one of the kids do it). Tell the rest of the kids to see if they can try to step exactly in the footsteps, to make it look like only one person has walked through the snow.
18. Make a snow volcano, using baking soda, dish soap, vinegar and red food coloring.
19. Hide buried treasure in the snow and have kids hunt for it.
20. Build an upside down snowman.
21. Build a table and chairs out of snow and have lunch outside.
22. Play a game of flashlight tag.
23. Build a snowball centipede.
24. Pass the icicle. Just like Hot Potato, everyone passes the icicle around the circle to music (while wearing gloves!) If you’re holding the icicle when the music stops, you’re out. Keep playing until the ice is completely melted.
25. Play snow soccer.
26. Bring glow sticks out into the snow.
27. Make colorful ice cubes using food coloring and make a design in the snow.
28. Pin the carrot nose on the snowman, just like pin the tail on the donkey. Blindfold players and spin them around three times, then gently push them in the direction of the snowman.
29. Build a snow game obstacle course, asking kids to do things like make a snow angel, jump over a snow mound, toss a snowball at a target, etc.
30. Give a helping hand and shovel the driveway for an elderly neighbor.
31. Build a rainbow igloo using milk cartons.
32. Make your own sled out of an old cardboard box and duct tape.
33. Have a three-legged race in the snow.
34. Have “Winter Olympics” in the backyard.
35. Hula hoop! It’s much more of a challenge to hula when you’re all bundled up.
36. Catch snowflakes on your tongue.
37. Spend a couple of hours building forts on either side of the backyard and play capture the flag in the snow.
38. Head to the playground, where the slides will go faster than usual.
39. Create a stunning nature ice wreath.
40. Have a winter campfire.
41. Create a tic-tac-toe board in the snow and play.
42. Have a snowman fashion show. Let the judges decide who has the most fashionable snowman.
43. Snow sketch. Do you have markers that are drying out? The moisture in the snow does a great job of pulling out any leftover ink.
44. Make a pretend ice cream shop. With a real ice cream scooper, take turns doling out scoops of snow.
45. Have a snowman-building race!
46. Buy some snow cone papers and make real homemade snow cones.
47. Play a game of snow baseball.
48. If your dog loves walking outside in the snow, buy a pair of reindeer ears and pretend he’s Dasher, Dancer, Prancer or Vixen!
49. Take a walk and admire everyone’s snowmen.
50. Build a family of snowmen, then add some unique details to make them look like your family members.
51. Have a snowball fight.
52. Bake snow cookies using cookie cutters to create crisp, fun shapes in the snow.
53. Have children practice writing their names in the snow.
54. Practice math by counting snowballs.
55. Spend an afternoon making these beautiful ice suncatchers.
56. Spend a weekend taking skiing and snowboarding lessons.
57. Play a game of snow golf.
58. Create a snow mural using spray paint made from food coloring.
59. See who can walk the quietest in the snow.
60. Give your snowman rosy cheeks. Add some red food coloring to water, pour it into a spray bottle and spritz the cheeks with the mist.
61. Play hide-and-go-seek. Dress all in white for an extra challenge.
62. Collect pine cones, sticks, rocks and berries and create artsy patterns with them in the snow.
63. With tubes and boogie boards, take turns sliding down a hill, pretending you’re riding down a wave!
64. Get some honey and make some great pine cone bird feeders.
65. Go on a toboggan ride.
66. Play snow house. Bring out a mini table and chairs and pretend the winter wonderland is your home.
67. Have a snowman hat-toss — take turns trying to throw and land a hat upon the snowman’s head.
68. Go winter camping.
69. Footprint tag! It only works if you tag someone while standing in another’s footprints in the snow.
70. Stage snow theater! Pick a play and start rehearsing.
71. Make a pyramid out of snowballs.
72. Play dodgeball with snowballs instead of regular balls!
73. Create a life-size snow globe. Get out the extension cords and fans and watch the snow swirl around.
74. Have a winter picnic.
75. Have a snowball rolling contest to see who can roll the biggest snowball in two minutes!
76. Play bumper cars with tubes on a frozen pond.
77. Check out your local zoo, which may have free admission in the winter.
78. Make a candy-coated snowman. Give him gummy peach slices for eyes and leftover candy corn for a nose.
79. Have a sledding race.
80. Make these simple yet gorgeous “Ice Luminaries” with just some balloons and tea lights.
81. Pour maple syrup over cups of fresh snow for a sweet treat.
82. Make snow angels.
83. Draw large circles in the snow and have a snowball tossing contest. Whoever can get the most snowballs in the circles wins!
84. Build a catapult for launching snowballs.
85. Need a break from the cold? Bring some snow inside, and create small sculptures.
86. Go cross-country skiing.
87. Be a good Samaritan and sprinkle sand on your neighborhood’s sidewalks so that your neighbors don’t slip and fall.
88. Get crafty and build an igloo.
89. Make paper snowflakes and hang them outside on your porch or in a tree.
90. Go on a winter morning hike.
91. Make some hot chocolate, pour it in a thermos and go for an after-dinner stroll.
92. Go ice fishing.
93. Play hopscotch in the snow.
94. Take turns sliding down the hills the snow plow makes.
95. Skate on a frozen lake.
96. If you live near a ranch, go horseback riding in the snow.
97. Fill a single-spout plant waterer with warm water and slowly pour it over the snow in swirls and shapes. Add food coloring to the warm water for extra fun!
98. Freeze popsicles in the snow instead of the freezer.
99. Make a hanging butternut squash or coconut shell bird feeder.
100. Make a snow beach. On a sunny day, get out some towels and sunscreen and lay out on the snow as if you were on sand.
101. Try walking on stilts in the snow. If you fall, the snow will cushion your fall!
