When you don’t live in an area that gets snow often, you tend to not really think about having a snow day until it’s almost here. Add having excited kids in the mix and you literally get the perfect storm. We like to take time every year and “prepare” for a snow day. That preparation comes well before the actual snow day (like a month). It can take a lot of stress off and make for a really fun family day.

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Here are some tips to help you prepare for a fun snow day with the kids:

• Make sure you have the correct size snow pants and boots. Kids grow so fast that they can grow out of their snow gear in under a year. Having the right gear will allow the kids to stay outside and enjoy the snow longer.
• Make sure they have waterproof mittens or gloves. Those little cloth gloves that they wear on cold days won’t cut it on a snow day. They want to make snowmen and have snowball fights, without frozen fingers.
• Snowball makers. These are super fun and make the perfect snowball every time!
• Get some sleds. They don’t have to be anything fancy or big. If you get a decent one, you can store it to use year after year. You can actually get inflatable tubes that fold up too. Kids love to sled, even if it’s on a tiny little bump in the yard and let me tell you, laundry baskets don’t work well.
• Have a snow shovel. Depending on how much snow you get, you may need to shovel your walkway or driveway.
• Keep some hand warmers around. These are just wonderful little packs for inside mittens or quickly warming up cheeks.
• Gather your snowman materials. We actually have a snowman kit and it has buttons, a carrot nose, hat, and gloves. I mean most people use outdoor materials, but our kids always were without a carrot nose because I am allergic.
• Have some hot cocoa in the pantry. Kids are beyond excited to come inside and have a little hot cocoa after playing in the snow. We like to keep mini marshmallows or frozen cool whip on hand too.
• Have something to bake. For some reason snow days make for good baking. We keep a cookie kit or cake and icing on hand at all times.
• Have a new game or activity tucked away. The kids won’t have school and when they get done outside, they suddenly get “bored” in 4.5 seconds. It’s fun to have a new game to play or activity to do together.
• Have a waterproof pouch for your phone. They make these neat little necklace waterproof pouches that you can put your phone in. That way it is easy to have your phone for some fun pictures.
• Get an ice scraper for your car. When you are ready to go out, it is likely that your windshield will not be ready. Using a loyalty card to scrape your windshield is never fun.
• Have your emergency kit ready. This is a kit that you take out if you lose power. With ice and snow, you never know if you are going to lose power. Keeping a kit with flashlights, batteries, candles, lighters, battery packs, and so on is super helpful. That way you don’t have to hunt it all down in the dark.

Hopefully, this reminded you of something you needed or gave you a new fun idea to prepare for a snow day. So, get ready to make snow angels, take great pictures, have some family fun, and make the most out of a family snow day!

Check out my post on the Top 5 Classic Board Games you should have on hand. These make for a fun indoor activity after all that playing in the snow.

-Kristy M., Mommy to Many