What Are Some Good Activities for Kids During a Snowstorm?

Sledding, snowball fights, snowmen, snow forts. Followed by hot chocolate and a fire in the fireplace.

I mean you can go out while it is snowing, ya know?

Teach them different card games like Hearts, Gin Rummy, 21 etc. Board games, baking or cooking something. Make a craft of some kind, go play in the snow, build a snowman, etc. Then come inside for a warm meal and hot chocolate. Have a movie marathon of Harry Potter, Star Wars, some kind of theme or just movies you like.

Make sure you have long johns for them and you. Face masks (like if you were skiing) and good gloves. Boots. And then let them play in the snow. Snowmen, snow forts, and hot chocolate for when they come in. Throw the wet stuff in the dryer and let them rest. Making cookies is so nice after playing in the snow!

One thing my kids liked and I loved as a child, was making snow cream. Put a pot outside and let it fill with snow. (No sleet, just plain snow.) Use sugar and condensed milk and make it into the consistency of ice cream with your spoon, adding enough snow to the concoction to make it just right. (If you feel it needs a litte, add a touch of vanilla flavoring.) We like to do once it got dark that first night, and everyone was warm and cozy and still enjoying the thought of the snow. (You can imagine after a week of that mess outside, the last thing you want to do is rejoice in the snow!)

I'd make sure that you've got everything you need so you don't have to drive anywhere. Make a pot of chili or sup and fun projects for the kids like math, vocab, that kind of thing, especially if they'll end up missing school at the beginning of the week. you can find that stuff on line. Card games, board games, movies. Just don't let them ignore the family by being stuck on the computer...

Good luck with all this!

A nap. I live in AZ so I have no idea. LOL Maybe baking something yummy?

Inside activities: build a blanket fort - bake and frost cookies - play board games

We get these often!

We make the most of the snow - my kids love it. So - we do a run and the kids snowboard down our hills. Or they just sled or play in snow, snowmen, etc. Friends over if the roads are ok.

Snow doesn't phase us much - so while we're out there digging out, they enjoy themselves.

For inside, we have movie day (sometimes in pajamas), games (board games), kids go on electronics (a given around here), but I get something going. For little ones, we recently set up our old fisher price Geotrax system. Some used it for the train, some had their Shopkins as part of it, or little ponies ... so I will set ONE big toy up and they will play. Or - Lego. I'm at a good place now where all the kids will play Lego. So one room in our house (easiest to heat) gets closed off for Lego. They have the entire floor and will play side by side for hours. Those are the moments I love.

So .. I like a good snowstorm! Good luck to you :) I hope it's not too bad and you can dig yourselves out :) Stay safe!

Bundle them up and throw them out the door to play!

What age, Jake?
And how messy do you want to get?

Make playdough.

Fill up a bin/pans with beans or macaroni (or whatever your child will play with and not eat) and give them measuring cups, spoons, funnels, etc. If you don't have that on hand, a pan with water is great. You can add bubbles or ice cubes for fun. I usually put a blanket on the floor under the pan for easy cleanup and no slipping on the floor.

Make a fort under the table. Blanket forts are awesome. We rig ours up with Christmas/twinkle lights underneath, in the fort.

Read stories together.

Make an obstacle course through the house. Use painters tape on the floor to make places to hop, make a tunnel of chairs (or a table) to crawl under, small 'hurdles' to jump over.

Blow bubbles in the bathroom while they are in the tub.

Tape paper to the window, use non-permanent markers to make 'stained glass' pictures.

Play dress up. It's amazing what kids can do with dishtowels and rubber bands when you are in a pinch.

Get out the tape, some scissors and the recycling bin and make crazy constructions.

Cut out snowflakes or snowmen. Trace a circle onto paper (use a cup/s) to either make circles for the snowman or cut out circles to fold and do snowflakes with.

Older kids will be able to handle shaving cream with a few drops of food coloring... let them mix the two together with spoons and whisks.

Are you looking for inside or outside ideas?

I personally would not be out during blizzard like conditions and that's not because I currently live in Florida, I grew up in NJ and saw my share of snow storms.

Board games, baking, movies, reading, Legos, painting or drawing. Plan out a what they can build in the snow once the storm is done. With so many electronics now a days I cant imagine it would be too hard for them to find something to do.

I guess it kinda depends on age of kids. They could put on dress up clothes and make up a play, make sock puppets and do puppet show, make peanut butter play dough, bake 2 batches of cookies- one for you and one for the folks at the fire station after the storm. Move furniture out of the way and put every cushion/pillow in the house on the floor and let them jump around. If, however, they conk heads and are knocked unconscious, please take immediate action and call 911 (wink, wink)

It's been a while but the kids would go out and play in the snow and slide down the snow piles. They would just dig tunnels and play forts outside. There was a hill that was about 100 feet in drop that all the kids played on and had a ball all day long on. So when they came in, it was time to warm up to a warm meal and a nap. Inside they would play a few games and have fun.

Of course I am talking about living in Quebec. But we had snowstorms like the one described almost every week up there. A snowblower was as common as a sled for clearing the snow from the roads. We also had snowmobiles that were running on the roads more than cars. There was a highway system for crossing fields to towns that was marked and the trails were groomed.

I kind of miss it but not the digging out of the driveway every morning to get out to go to work (hubby) or to go to the store. Baking and cooking homemade meals kept me out of trouble when not outside.

the other S.

If the wind chill is not too bad - get them outside in the snow for a few hours every day!
Keep them out of the streets, and if sledding down any hills make sure they won't be hitting any trees (it happens - injuries can be bad).
DO NOT pull sleds or tubes behind cars or ATVs - way too dangerous but people do it thinking it looks like fun and the injuries can be horrendous.
They can make snow angels, snow forts, snow men (or other snow sculptures - I make a pretty good snow polar bear myself), snow ball fights are alright as long as they aren't throwing at cars or faces.
They can also grab a shovel and shovel the sidewalk.
Send them out with a camera! - you'll all LOVE the pics especially when it's July and 90+ degrees outside!
They need to dress in layers - hoods/hats are fine but if it's windy they need a scarf or balaclava across most of their face (and a good moisturizer) else their cheeks will get chapped.
Vaseline on lips helps keep them from drying out.
Have them use the bathroom BEFORE getting all their snow gear on.
Be prepared to dry (in dryer) or hang up wet clothes, coats, mittens, etc when they come back inside.
Have warm cider or hot chocolate ready when they come in.

Enjoy! but be safe about it!

As far as doing things inside goes - they can get their homework finished before they forget about it - then play games, watch videos, READ BOOKS, do puzzles, etc.

Outdoors you have tobogganing, snow shoeing, Cross country and down hill skiing, snowboarding, snowman and snow fort building. Indoors at home you can do movies, video games, board games, crafts, baking, karaoke, housework and fort building. Indoor venues outside the home such as bowling, swimming, trampoline place, indoor mini-golf, library, indoor rock climbing, movie theatres and indoor play structures. Oh, yeah, teach the kids to shovel the walk and the driveway.

Our kids would be out in it the moment it was clear air. Snowmen, sledding/riding those disk things they sit in, and then coming in and going straight to a warm bath tub to play for a while to get deep down warm.

Hot cocoa and hot soup/stew.

Find tons of activities online at family fun.

I hope you have a way of staying warm if the power goes out or a shelter you can make it to.

Hi Jake, We live very close to you for another year...then we go back to New Mexico. :) Today I am breaking out the cross country skis and if it really does snow a lot we are going to go ski on the street or the Mt. Vernon Trail. I can't wait. We also have snowshoes the 6 year old is excited to try out. I used to skijorr (husky pulling you on skis in races) when we lived in Alaska and now the kids love it when we put our dog in her harness and have her pull them in a sled. Boy I am going to be disappointed if it does not snow much. When there is snow the kid's job is to sweep/shovel the walkway. They really get into it. Today before the snow we are going to play games (Pandemic and Settlers of Catan are the favorites right now). I'm getting out the Spirograph. I'm getting out the big roll of paper to lay on the floor...then we will draw and paint on it. I'm going to put up the play tent if I can find it in our basement. My son is going to want to play too many video games. But he has a list of school work to do that his teacher sent. I'm hopefully going to spend a couple hours getting my work done on my laptop. And we are going to take the dog out for a walk and go to the doughnut place up the road. That's my day. I hope you think of fun things to do!

I would like my daughter to not ask inane questions to distract from the fact that she's in trouble/got taken to task for something she did that I didn't agree with.

Aside from that, sledding. Duh.

Board games, treasure hunt inside the house, dress up (have extra costumes on hand....or make them. That
keeps them busy.), make presents for Christmas, crafts, indoor bowling (use whatever you have on hand for
the pins....use any kind of ball), puzzles, pant pottery or canvases, play store, watch a movie together,
toss a bean bag around like it's a football, watch movies & make popcorn if you have power, play cards, make
a fort, put up a tent in the living room just for fun & to keep them occupied.

google 'minute to win it' games