Winter is coming. No, that isn’t an allusion to Game of Thrones. Just a friendly reminder that you should have a list of winter activities for kids handy to keep your little one occupied and entertained throughout the holidays. Winter break is one of the best times to engage in fun games and spend time with the family if you are not heading out on vacation. Here are some interesting winter games for kids that you may play with your little one this season.
Fun Winter Games For Kids
For a kid, winters are about playing in the snow, inside the house, and anywhere else they can! So here is a list of winter games you can play with the kids!
1. Snowman Slam
Snowman slam is a fun game that the entire family can enjoy. But this is a no-snow game, which means your kids will be playing this game indoors. And, here’s how you do it! You will need:
6 large white paper cups Brown velvet paper Orange velvet paper Glue Cotton (lots of it!)
How to: Play for as long as your kid wants!
2. Snowman bingo
Snowman bingo is a fun game for kids, but not so much for the parent! Why? Because it is the parent who has to create the snowman-themed bingo cards. You will need:
Plain bingo cards or chart paper Pencil Ruler Sketches or pens
Preparation: You can opt for the simpler snowman-themed word bingo or the complicated image bingo. For image bingo, you will have to draw small pictures of the nose, scarf, eyes, hat, mittens, snowflakes, and anything else you can associate with a snowman. In the other version, you just write the words. Make as many bingo cards as there are kids to play. You could also print out snowman bingo cards from the internet. How to:
3. Snowball relay
When you have a lot of kids to engage on a snowy day, the snowball relay is a game you can rely on. You could also play this in schools and communities. You will need:
Snowballs Space to play Two buckets
You will need at least ten kids to play this game. How to:
4. Freeze
Freeze is a musical game where the kids get to dance to their favorite tunes. That is until you, the ‘snow lord’, turn them into statues. You will need:
Music Space to dance
How to: Take pics of the kids as soon as they freeze and show it to them! We guarantee that your cheeks will hurt from laughing.
5. Snowy treasure hunt
Treasure hunts are passé. But add snow to the equation, and they suddenly become appealing. You may be wondering how in the world is someone supposed to find treasure buried in snow? Well, you gotta play it to know it! You will need:
Small pieces of paper Stick Thread Objects to hide, big or small depending on how deep the snow is
How to: The kid who finds most things wins!
6. Snowman hat-trick
Come winter and snowfall, and everyone wants to make a snowman. And why not? Building a snowman is fun. But this game is better than that. You will need:
Snow (duh!) A top hat
How to: One who gets it most times wins!
7. Snow dodge ball
Snowball fights are fun, as long as they are taken in the right spirit. You will need: A snowy day! How to: Note: For all outdoor activities that involve playing in the snow, ensure that the child wears appropriate winter clothing including jackets, gloves, and shoes to prevent frost bite.
Outdoor Winter Activities For Kids
Snow or no snow. You can’t stay holed up inside the house all through the winter. Sometimes, you can take the kids out for fun winter activities for kids. Wondering how? Read on!
8. Make snow angels
Snow angels are not sculptures, but impressions that you make on the snow-filled ground. Make sure that your child has put on enough warm clothing. Do not try this without proper clothing. You will need:
A snow-filled area, preferably a park or your backyard
How to: This is best done when it is not snowing.
9. Build snow forts
Too much snow in the yard? Well, use it to build an igloo or a fort! You will need:
A lightweight bucket or rectangular planter box Space
How to: You can build a small fort or a big one, depending on how much snow there is and how excited your child is about the activity.
10. Snow painting
One of the most beautiful things about snowy winters is the whiteness of the snow! As peaceful as it can be, lack of color can be depressing too. So, how about adding some color to your immediate surroundings? You will need:
Eco-friendly, washable paints Paint brushes Molds
How to: You could also pick specific snow-filled patches here and there, around the house to make the area look nicer.
11. Build a cairn
A cairn is a tower made of flat stones. This is an activity for no-snow regions. It is also an excellent way to spend time during winter picnics. You will need: Flat stones of different sizes – big and small How to: Just make sure that the stones do not have any sharp edges, to prevent cuts and bruises.
12. Get sporty!
Who says your child cannot play when there is snow all around? Here is a list of outdoor sports your child can indulge in during winters.
Skating: If there is a skating rink near your house, go ice skating. If your child doesn’t know how to, this is the right time to teach him or her!
Hockey: You could take your kid to watch or play a game of ice hockey. If there is a children’s ice hockey rink near you, you could even get the kid trained in the sport!
Skiing: Not everyone lives near a ski resort. But if you do, do not waste any time thinking about taking your kid skiing. Instead just go and have fun.
Saucer swirls are the best alternative to skiing for the younger lot. If your child is aged less than five, try saucer swirls in a snow park.
Snowboarding best suits teenagers and pre-teens. Similar to skiing, snowboarding does not have skis to support. So we recommend that the child try skiing first and then get to snowboarding when he or she has learned how to balance when moving on the snow.
Sled rides are for the entire family If there are slopes near your home, you can create a makeshift sled using old wooden tables or planks and have fun.Care must be taken to ensure the child’s safety when trying these sporting activities. See to it that the child has the necessary safety gear in place before they play. Also, keep in mind the child’s age and capabilities before picking a sport.
Indoor Winter Activities For Children
When it is too cold, or when there is a snowstorm preventing you from stepping out, you can trust these indoor activities to keep you company.
13. Holiday Movie Nights
When it is too cold, what better way to keep your child warm and happy than having a cozy family movie night? Just collect a bunch of your child’s favorite DVDs, make a hot cup of cocoa, and snuggle up on the couch to watch the movie. Here are our top 12 picks!
Frozen The Polar Express Ice Age Happy Feet Home Alone The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe How The Grinch Stole Christmas It’s A Wonderful Life Miracle Rise of the Guardians Jack Frost March Of The Penguins
14. Have an indoor picnic
Is your child fretting over canceled vacation plans? If the weather is not letting you go out, have an indoor picnic or vacation for fun.
Clear out some space in the attic or one of the rooms that you do not often use. Or clear out some space in your living room. Prepare picnic food. Spread the picnic blanket and put the food in a basket (you gotta go all the way!). Pick a few games (indoor, of course) that you’d play when you go out for a picnic.
Enjoy!
15. Make holiday greeting cards
If your child is a busy little bee and likes to keep himself or herself occupied with little projects, think about making holiday greeting cards. Don’t worry if you don’t have material for fancy greeting cards. You can make the prettiest cards with just craft paper and coloring pens. Use green and red colors generously for Christmas themed cards. Or just use a bit of black, orange, and red for snowman themed cards. Whatever you do, get creative and encourage originality.
16. Decorate the house
If it is almost time for Christmas and you have the decorations ready, why not start decorating the house. If you don’t have decorations, you could begin cleaning the house and preparing it for when you can get the decorations from the store. An interesting idea would be to get the children to create X-mas tree decorations at home, using cotton, ping-pong balls, color pens, glitters, and other materials.
17. Make marshmallow slime
How do you make slime without mud? Well, just use marshmallows. Read on to know how you and your kids can make marshmallow slime! You will need:
250g marshmallows 300g cornflour 1 ½ cup water
How to: The slime, which is solid one minute and liquid-ey the next, is ready!
Experimenting With Snow And Ice
No list of winter activities is ever complete without interesting ice and snow experiments. So how did you think ours was?
18. Indoor ice art
When we say ice art, we mean ice sculptures, but the kind that kids make. Confused? Keep reading, and you will understand! You will need
A lot of water Molds of different sizes Eco-friendly or food colors Liquid droppers
How to: This is a pretty simple experiment that can be conducted indoors or outdoors. Here is how. You could also try mixing different colored semi-frozen sculptures in a bowl and freeze them to get a multi-colored ice art. Note: You can also try making Popsicles with water, milk, fruit juices, and so on to teach children that liquids freeze at subzero temperatures.
19. Melting ice
Ice melts at room temperature. You know that. But does your child know that? Use this experiment to teach the child how quickly or slowly ice melts in different conditions. You will need:
Water Medium-sized bowl Liquid water colors Droppers Ice cubes News paper aluminum foil Soil Tray or cups
How to:
Here, we will try two different experiments.
Melting ice colors How quickly does ice melt now? The ice cube without any insulation starts melting at room temperature. However, the ice cube wrapped in the aluminum foil melts faster as aluminum quickly transfer heat to the ice cube. The ice cube wrapped in newspaper melts slower than the others because paper insulates the ice. You can also try the same experiment by wrapping the ice cube with a plastic sheet and a cotton towel and see the results.
