Beyond the Snowman: Outdoor Winter Crafts

Snowman making and fort building may be synonymous with winter, but here are some winter crafts with a whole new twist!

Colourful Ice Bricks

Fill containers, such as sand toys, buckets, plastic tubs, ice cube trays, etc. with water to make ice bricks. Add a few drops of food colouring in each and then leave them outside overnight to freeze. When ready, bring them inside until a thin layer of water appears at the top. Next, take them back outside and dump out the ice bricks. Create forts, castles and sculptures by "gluing" the ice bricks together with wet packing snow.

Snow Painting

Prepare the "paint" in advance by adding food colouring to water and pouring it into spray bottles. Make as many different colours as there are spray bottles (which can be purchased at dollar stores).

Send your children out to build snowmen, snow sculptures, forts and igloos and then use the coloured water to paint them. Or have them create a canvas by mapping out a square frame in the snow and spray painting a masterpiece right on the front lawn.

Snowflake Mosaics

Place a can of aerosol hairspray and a piece of glass or acrylic (make sure the edges are smooth) into the freezer. Let them freeze. At the next snowfall have your child spray the frozen glass with the frozen hairspray. Next, place the glass outside and let some snowflakes land on the glass. Bring the whole thing inside and let thaw. Your child will be left with a permanent impression of the snowflakes, which he or she can take a closer look at by using a magnifying glass. Ask your child to describe each flake and draw pictures of them onto paper.

By Rochelle Strauss