Healthy Family
Don’t waste a snow day! You can have fun, be productive, and form family traditions that will create memories that will last a lifetime! Here are some suggestions on how to make snow days fun.
If the weather man is right, our little family should be enjoying another snow day today in North Carolina.
They don’t come often, but when they do, our town shuts down, and cheers from school children can be heard all over the county.
But the parents, on the other hand, are not always so keen on snow days, especially if they last more than 24 hours.
By day two, everyone begins to get bored and more than a little stir crazy.
I am convinced, though, that snow days can be fun, productive, and with a little help from mom and dad, a highlight of our children’s childhoods.
Best part? All this fun doesn’t cost a penny!
1. Drink hot chocolate together.
I make our hot chocolate from scratch, so it’s not something we drink every day, but I always enjoy making a big pot of warm cocoa during the holidays and on snow days.
It’s the perfect treat to warm up the girls when they come in from playing outside, shivering and covered in ice and snow.
If you grew up drinking hot chocolate from powdered Swiss Miss packets (those bring back fond memories for me!) but want to try you hand at making homemade cocoa, check out that 3 naturally-sweetened hot chocolate recipes.
And for the grown-ups, there are 35+ hot drinks you can make at home.
2. Make snow cream.
Making snow ice cream has become a favorite family tradition of ours every time we get a enough snow to make it.
This recipe for snow cream can be made dairy-free, and it tastes just like vanilla ice cream!
3. Go sledding.
This is especially fun if you live within walking distance to a good hill.
When it snowed here about a month ago, we had a blast sledding down our neighbor’s front year. See this video me me sledding with our oldest daughter!
4. Build a snowman.
Do you want to build a snowman? Don’t hate me that now you have the Frozen song in your head!
Children absolutely love building snowmen. My husband is the one who usually helps our girls build them, while I work on making the hot chocolate inside.
5. Bulk bake.
Although I am not a prolific baker, I do enjoy having some treats baked and tossed in the freezer, especially now that I am following the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan.
This helps me to stay on plan and still eat treats on-the-go.
I don’t have a lot of margin in my days and weeks to do this baking. Instead, I like to either take a weekend or a snow day–when our little community shuts down–to bulk bake.
6. Read a novel.
If you can’t get out anywhere, you might as well cozy up by the fire with a warm cup of tea and a novel you’ve been itching to read!
Need some inspiration on what to read? Check out my favorites reads from these posts:
I almost always read on my Kindle Paperwhite. The best novel I read in 2016 was Dear Mr. Knightley. I loved this book SO much!!
7. Put on a movie and pop some popcorn (by the fire, if you have a fireplace!).
Or maybe you’re more of a movie person. Our girls love having family movie days with popcorn when there is snow outside.
Yes, they play out in the snow, too, but at some point my little Southern belles get cold enough to want to come inside and snuggle.
We make our popcorn in this air popper. My parents gave it to us for Christmas one year, and it’s one of those gifts we use every single week!
8. Serve up soup or chili.
Nothing warms you up better on a snow day than a bowl of steeping hot homemade soup! Here are some of my favorites:
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili
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We’re having a snow day today, too! As a teacher, I LOVE snow days. 🙂 My kiddos and I will be building forts, making snow angels, watching movies, listening to an audiobook, and coloring today.
Erin
FUN!! My hubby is a teacher too (and I taught up until our first was 6 months old). Snow days are so much fun for teachers!!