Just Add Snow: Games for Winter Days

These activities require a little preparation on your part, but your children can play them on their own, with you, or with friends/siblings.

Winter Wonderland Treasure Hunt

Pick something to be the treasure - coins, a toy, sweet treat, etc. Pack the treasure up in a re-sealable container and bury it in the snow. Next, come up with about 10 clues that will take your child from inside to outside, eventually leading to the treasure. Write up each clue on a piece of paper, or, for non-readers, use images, which you can draw or cut from magazines. Put each clue individually into a Ziploc baggie and place the clues in their correct spot. Finally, send your little treasure seeker on his/her way!

Snow Golf

Mini-putt with a snowy twist! Create a mini-putt course in your backyard by packing down snow to create putting greens. At the end of each green, sink a tin can in the snow. Decorate each green by building snow sculptures and/or using winter objects, such as hockey sticks, sleds, wreaths, etc. You can even build obstacles, such as snow ramps and tunnels. Use coloured golf balls, hockey pucks or ball hockey balls and an old putter and voila - snow golf in your own backyard!

Note: When your green is complete, try spraying it with a little water and letting it freeze over night.

By Rochelle Strauss