Snow Day Activities for Kids: 16 Easy Ideas, Indoors and Out

A simple plan for a snow day

Snow days usually arrive with little warning, so it helps to have a loose shape for the day and not a schedule:

1. Go out while the snow is fresh, if the weather is safe to be out in.
2. Come in to warm up. Put wet clothes somewhere to dry, then have a warm drink and a snack.
3. Do something at the table or on the floor. Pick a project that can stay out for the afternoon.
4. Finish with something quiet, such as a story, a drawing or a game you can all play.

Before you head outside

• Dress in layers, with a hat, mittens and waterproof boots if you have them. Keep a dry spare pair of mittens by the door.
• Swap long scarves and hood strings for a neck gaiter, because long ends can catch on things.
• Come in if your child is wet, shivering, or says their fingers or toes hurt or feel numb. Warm them up gently, and call your doctor if skin color or feeling does not come back.

Outdoor snow activities

1. Build a snow family. Skip the giant snowman and make one small figure for each person in the house. Use sticks and leaves for arms and hats. Damp snow packs best. If it is too powdery, try again later or try the next idea.
2. Tramp a snow maze. Walk paths through a clean patch of snow to make a simple maze with dead ends, then take turns walking it. Older kids can design one for a younger sibling.
3. Follow the tracks. Look for footprints from birds, pets and people. Guess who made them and where they were going. Then make your own trail for someone else to follow.
4. Target practice. Draw a big circle in the snow, or use a bucket as the target, and toss soft snowballs at it. Throw at the target only, never at people or cars, and use loose snow without ice in it.
5. Low snow walls. Fill a bucket or plastic container with snow, turn it over and stack the blocks into a low wall. Keep walls below waist height with no roof, so nothing can fall on anyone.
6. Sledding, with an adult. Pick a gentle slope that ends well away from roads, trees, fences and water. Sled sitting up and facing forward, one at a time, and walk back up along the side. A helmet is a sensible extra if you have one.

Snow science to try

7. How clean is snow? Melt a cup of snow on the counter, then pour it through a coffee filter or a paper towel and look at what stays behind. Pour the water away afterward. This is also a good way to show why we don’t eat snow.
8. Measure the snow. Push a ruler straight down into the snow and read the number. Older kids can check the same spot at different times and write the numbers down.
9. Melt test. Put equal scoops of snow in three cups. Leave one on the counter, one in the fridge and one near a sunny window. Guess first, then look again in an hour.
10. Snowflake watch. If it is still snowing, chill a piece of dark paper or fabric outside, catch a few flakes on it and look at them with a magnifying glass, if you have one.

Indoor snow day activities

11. Blanket fort. Use chairs, sheets and pillows, and keep cords and lamps away from it. Eat a snack or read inside it. Use a flashlight for light, not candles.
12. Cardboard box town. Cut doors and windows in delivery boxes (an adult handles the cutting), then color them in. Toy cars, animals or dolls can move in.
13. Tape roads. Stick masking tape on the floor to make roads and parking spots for toy cars. Check first that the tape comes off your floor cleanly.
14. Paper airplane contest. Fold a few designs and test which flies farthest down a hallway. Measure with footsteps, then change one fold and try again.
15. Bake something simple. Use a recipe you already know. Kids can measure, stir and scoop, while an adult handles the oven and anything hot. Let kids choose how to decorate.
16. Make a snow day record. Draw or write what happened today, staple the pages into a little book and add the date. Younger children can tell you the words while you write them down.

What to pick by age

These are only rough guides. Go with what your child enjoys, and count on doing fewer things than you planned.

When you want a quiet hour

Keep a few simple things ready for the afternoon: paper, crayons, a deck of cards and a stack of library books. If you have a printer, our free ABC, number and shape tracing workbooks are ready to print for younger kids, with no sign-up. A Personalized Reading Challenge chart (ages 3 to 7) can give a stack of books a goal, and the Toddler Busy Book (ages 2 to 4) can keep a younger sibling company. Both are optional.