Once the first fluffy, white flakes of snow start to fall, I almost feel giddy with the inner child in me coming out. My daughter and I both love the cold and over the years we have found ways to stretch our fun past the typical sledding and snow angels. Here are a few of our favorites to have outdoor fun this winter!
Snow Ice Cream
This one quickly became a favorite in our house! Snow ice cream is easy to include the littles in- my daughter has helped make it since she was three. Bonus, it’s only three ingredients and delicious!
Recipe:
- 10-12 cups fresh snow
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 can condensed milk
Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. You can add more snow if the consistency is too thin, or more condensed milk if it’s too thick. You can also top with chocolate chips or sprinkles- whatever your snow-loving hearts desire!
Ice Marbles
This one is as fun as it is pretty! All you need are water balloons, food coloring, and water. Add a few squirts of food coloring to your water balloon, fill with water, and tie off. Take all of your filled balloons outside and place them in the snow. Once completely frozen, you can use scissors to snip the balloon and reveal the beautiful ice marbles! My daughter was so excited the first time we made these, she used them to decorate a snow castle she had made!
Snow Painting
There are many ways to enjoy snow painting, but this is by far our favorite! You use cookie cutters to make snow shapes. You’ll need cookie cutters, a watercolor paint set, and brushes. Find a patch of clean, white snow, and place your cookie cutters down where you want them. All you have to do now is paint inside the cookie cutter with your watercolors and viola, you have painted hearts, stars, etc. in your snow!
Decorate a Snowman
A snowman with an icy twist! You just build your snowman and get creative! Think Mr. Potato Head toys for the head, lollipops for buttons, yarn balls for earmuffs. There are no official rules when decorating your snowman, so have fun with this one!
Crockpot Hot Chocolate
We can’t forget about the best way to warm up after our toes have frozen and our nose is tingling; hot chocolate! We have found how convenient it is to throw all of the ingredients in a crockpot and let the hot chocolate warm while we are out enjoying the snow! It’s steamily refreshing to have the hot chocolate hot and ready for us right when we come inside shaking off the aftermath of the snow!
Recipe:
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 7 cups milk
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Add all ingredients in your crockpot and whisk together. Cover and cook on low for about two hours and enjoy!
We love trying out new and creative ways to enjoy the winter! We would love to hear your favorite way to enjoy the snow, or what you are trying first off the list above.
Most of all, have fun this winter!
Make sure you never miss out on a parenting or community-related blog post: sign up to receive Cedar Rapids Moms posts in your inbox. While you’re at it, join our VIP List to ensure you’re one of the first to know about upcoming Cedar Rapids Moms events and promotions!!
