7 Unique Snow Activities and Frozen Treats

By Melody Chi on February 6, 2015

Image via Brett Davis on Flickr

As much as I hate being cold, I’ve discovered over the years that a little snow makes the perfect environment for fun activities you can’t do anywhere else.

Now, we all know about classic activities like skiing, snowboarding, and sledding, but the following five games are a little more creative than that.

1.) Snow Bowling:

Image via Redjar on Flickr

Bowling in the snow might sound ridiculous, but let me assure you, it’s actually tons of fun. Forget those icky bowling shoes and just step outside instead, because that’s all you need for this engrossing activity!

The Set-Up: Build a line of 6-inch high pillars out of snow.

The Rules: After standing back a few feet, each player takes turns making a snowball and then throwing the snowball at the columns. Each pillar that’s knocked over counts as 1 point, and the game ends when all the pillars have tumbled. The player with the most points wins.

Something Extra: Instead of just making a single line of pillars, make a complete bowling triangle of columns for more targets, more challenge and more fun.

2.) Snowball Bocce Ball:

Image via Ian Kennedy on Flickr

This game is like horseshoes, but without the annoying clanging. Let the bocce (snow)ball battle begin!

The Set-Up: Clear a large, flat area in the snow and construct a small mound of snow on one end.

The Rules: On the opposite end of the “field,” players make 3 snowballs each and take turns rolling them as near to the mound as they can. The player whose snowball is ultimately closest to the mound wins.

Something Extra: To make it even more challenging, any snowball that falls apart while/after rolling is disqualified.

3.) Basket(snow)ball:

Image via OakleyOriginals on Flickr

Don’t worry, this game doesn’t require you to make a basketball hoop or even have a ball, so it’s the perfect last-minute activity for anyone and everyone.

The Set-Up: Build a basket (a semi-deep, foot-wide hole surrounded by a 6 inch high wall) of packed snow.

The Rules: Stand a few feet away from the “basket” and take turns attempting to toss a snowball into it. If a person makes a basket, they earn 1 point and another attempt at throwing. Each subsequent basket (with no misses in between!) earns one extra point; that is, the second basket makes 2 points, a third snowball in makes 3 points, etc.

Something Extra: Build a “handle” on your basket (this can be on the side or over the top). If a person’s snowball hits the handle, they lose all their hard-earned points.

4.) Snowball Baseball:

Yep, first there was basket(snow)ball, and now there’s snowball baseball. Well, we have to have all of our national sports, right?

The Set-Up: Clear a large space in the snow and build 4 mounds (for first, second, third, and home bases) equidistantly along a baseball diamond shape. Place an empty water bottle on the top of each mound.

The Rules: One player at a time stands in the middle of the diamond and throws snowballs at each mound (starting with first “base” and ending with home “base”), with the goal being to knock over the water bottles. The player who knocks over all the water bottles with the fewest throws wins.

Something Extra: Fill the water bottles with snow, dirt, or even pebbles to make them harder to knock over.

5.) Pin the Hat on the Snowman:

Image via Heather Sunderland on Flickr

Building a snowman is a classic winter activity for a reason, but this game kicks it up a notch by putting the competition into high gear.

The Set-Up: Have fun building a snowman (whatever size). Grab a hat, such as a top hat or cowboy hat.

The Rules: Take turns throwing the hat and trying to land it on the snowman’s head. The first player who successfully lands the hat on the snowman’s head wins.

Something Extra: Put a pair of stick arms into the body of the snowman and try to land the hat on the end of those for extra points.

For the sake of fairness, I’ve also included some activities for those of you who don’t particularly like the snow (or don’t have it near) but still want to experience a little frosty fun:

6.) Eating Hot Chocolate Snow Cream:

Image via Jennifer Leal on Babble.com

That’s right: snow cream. If those words aren’t enough to make your mouth start watering, this simple but tasty recipe sure will do the trick.

Just mix whole milk (or a combo of half-and-half and low-fat milk) with hot chocolate powder, heat, and then pour over a few cups of fresh snow! The result is a scrumptious slushie dessert that you can even eat in front of the fire.

(I assume you can also just used shaved ice if you want this treat year round or don’t actually have snow on hand.)

After all, the only thing better than romping about in the snow is getting to cozy up at home with a little dessert afterward.

7.) Playing with Glow in the Dark Ice Cubes:

Now, you might not have snow, but everyone has ice! Of course, not everyone knows how to make ultra-special glow in the dark ice cubes though, so I’ll share my secret with you.

Did you know that tonic water glows in the dark when exposed to black light? Apparently, quinine (one of the ingredients in tonic water) is what makes tonic water fluoresce so brilliantly that it still shows up even if you freeze it.

All you have to do is pour tonic water into an ice cube tray, stick it in the freezer for a few hours, and viola, instant party ingredient! If you’re going to be putting those tonic water ice cubes in drinks but don’t like the taste of tonic water, you can even dilute it with regular water and then freeze this mixture.

This page here tells you all about it, and even gives helpful suggestions of drinks to mix these fun ice cubes in.

As an extra amazing bonus, you can also use tonic water to make glow in the dark Jell-O (!!) based on the same principle (essentially, quinine makes the Jell-O glow). You can find the recipe here.

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