Winter Fun… Indoors

Hey, fun doesn't have to stop with cold outdoor temperatures.

Beat cabin fever with the following cool, creative and cost-effective ways to hang out when you’re snowed it.

Bring the outdoors in! Let the kids play with snow in the kitchen sink, or with a load of snow in the bathtub. Cover them up with raincoats or outdoor play clothes.

For a little science experiment, fill a bowl with snow and let it sit until it is completely melted. Take a guess as to how much water you will have when it melts. You may be surprised how little water is actually leftover.

Snowflake Examination

Take a piece of heavy dark construction paper or a brown bag and freeze it for a few minutes. Then when it’s snowing, run outside and let some flakes fall on the chilled paper. Once you have several, come indoors and view with a magnifying glass to see what real snowflakes look like.

If you’re short on snow – make your own with the following quick and easy recipe.

Fun Snow Dough (*Adult help required)

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 - 3 tsp. dry white tempera paint (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Heat over low heat. Stir constantly until dough thickens and separates from the sides of the saucepan. Knead until smooth. Store in an air proof container or plastic bag.

For more ideas on bringing winter indoors, try the following:

Snow Crystals (*Adult help required)

2 white pipe cleaners (chenille sticks) for each snow crystal
1 pencil
3 cups boiling water
1 wide-mouthed, heat resistant jar
9 tbsp borax (always keep borax out of kids reach)

You can also make some sparkling snowflakes by dunking shaped pipe cleaners into a crystal solution. Although this activity takes a while to complete – it’s worth the wait. The directions are for one crystal only. Repeat if you wish to make more than one.

Start by bending the first pipe cleaner into an interesting shape – a star, a heart, a spiral etc. Attach (by twisting) one end of a second pipe cleaner to top of the shaped one. Now wrap the opposite end of the second pipe cleaner to the centre of a pencil.

Pour 3 cups of boiling water into the jar, slowly add 9 heaping tablespoons of borax. Stir. Note the mixture will be cloudy. Now set the pencil over the mouth of the jar and drop the shape into the liquid. You want to immerse the shape but also leave approx. 1 inch from the bottom of the jar and 1 inch from the sides to allow the crystals to properly form.

Set the jar aside where it wouldn’t be disturbed. Allow it to sit overnight. Crystals will form as the mixture cools. In the morning, the pipe cleaner should be sparkling with crystals. Carefully remove the crystal from the jar and let air dry. Remove the pencil and the second pipe cleaner and hang with a ribbon.

Cinnamon Snowflakes

Here’s a cool idea for a creative snowflake snack. Fold a large flour tortilla n half, and half again. Using clean scissors make tiny cutouts in the tortilla. Unfold, and spread with butter or margarine and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Twig Snowflakes

For one-of-a-kind snowflakes gather a ruler, assorted twigs (broken into 3" to 5" pieces), twenty 2" plastic-foam balls, and three cans of spray snow. Gently stick enough twigs into each ball to cover it thoroughly. Spray the balls with snow until totally white. Let dry. Lay the balls over outdoor tree branches.

Snowman Character Gloves

Turn inexpensive kid’s winter gloves into fun finger puppets. Each finger of the glove serves as a snowman puppet. Glue on a felt hat, carrot nose and fringed scarf. Use a permanent black marker for the eyes and mouth. Create different snowmen by changing the facial design or the colour of the scarf.

Build An Indoor Snowman

The idea behind this fun game is to be the first person to finish a snowman picture by throwing a die. The correct number must be thrown in a specified order before each part of the snowman can be drawn. For example, come up with an order like: body (6), head (5), hat (4), scarf (3), three buttons (2 for each), eyes, then nose, then mouth (1 for each).

Snowball

This fun game is played with a simple cotton ball. Two teams of players sit at a table. A cotton ball is given to one team. The players with the cotton ball are to pass the ball between them under the table, then place both fists on top. One person from the other team guesses which fist holds the ball and then touches it and yells “snowball!” The ball is passed to the other team if the guess is correct. If not, the play continues as before until the correct fist is guessed and the other team gets the snowball.

Melting Snowmen

For this game you will need five dice and a pencil and paper. Each player takes turns throwing all five dice. It’s important to keep score of your total. Add up all the numbers you throw with the exception of any ones and sixes. Instead for every one or six you throw, you lose one of your dice. For example, if you threw 2, 1, 4, 6 and 3, you would score 2 + 4 + 3 = 9, and you would only be able to throw three dice next time. Once you have lost all five dice, you “melt” and have to drop out of the game. The winner is the one with the highest score.