Back when we had our recent snow days, I found myself thinking about my aunt & uncle, as well as my two cousins. They all live up north and deal with lots of snow each and every winter.
One of my cousins, Debra, is the mother of three little ones. I was curious to know what advice she could give me & my family for our occasional snow days. I emailed Debra and asked if she'd write up some of her best snow tips for me to share here on the blog. Next winter when my family has snow again (maybe), I'll look back on this post & be glad to have Debra's snow advice on hand.
Thank you, Debra!
-Abbie
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Snowy & Cold discussion with Warm Thoughts from the Frozen (but thawing) North
I was so excited when Abbie asked me to write a few thoughts and ideas about a snowy and cold blog post. I’ve never blogged before but always have been curious about the blogging world!
A little about me: I’ve lived up North for 20 years now (hard to believe) transplanted from the South and I’m the third member of GADE, as Abbie has blogged about before. I am a wife to a wonderful husband and mom to three fun and sweet kiddos.
Abbie has asked if I could compile some ideas and wisdom about the cold and snowy weather. It’s definitely not one of my favorite things, but living through many winters, I do have to say I’ve learned a thing or two!
Snow days around here are few and far between because our cities are well equipped and mostly prepared for winter’s worst weather. However, we do relish those days that we are blessed with a “Snow Day” off from school. Here are some ideas we put to full use on those glorious days off from routine, when the weather is too frightful to run errands or otherwise be productive outside the house!
When stuck inside for a snow day, I’ve learned most of my friends and I choose to bake with the kids. My favorite place to find tried and true recipes is AllRecipes.com.
Some of our favorite recipes to bake those days are:
- Banana Banana Bread - This is a great breakfast treat or afternoon snack!
- Butterscotch Banana Bread - Recently I found this great recipe for Butterscotch Banana bread and found it makes a great treat in either loaf form or muffins.
- Snickerdoodles - We made these for our neighbor after he helped us shovel the end of our driveway. When the snow plows come through, whatever snow you’ve cleared off the end your driveway, gets piled back by the plows clearing the street! Sometimes, depending on the snowfall, it can be thigh-deep!
For breakfast, oatmeal is always good for a full tummy to play out in the snow, but here are two fun twists on plain old oatmeal:
- Baked Oatmeal - Add with a little milk and it's not your usual mushy oatmeal!
- Coconut Oatmeal - Slightly sweeter oatmeal, but a good snow day treat.
For family meals on those cold snowy nights, here are a few recipes that my family enjoys:
- Chicken Enchiladas - Definitely a good, filling dinner option!
- Beef Stew - A good hearty dinner that even the kids love and has a great flavor with a few veggies thrown in!
- Quiche - is always a good, versatile dish to make too, for the pickiest eaters it can be plain cheese or you can add a garden variety of veggies to it as well to make it heartier. This recipe is a great base quiche to start with!
The best snow gear makes the difference of coming inside for hot chocolate sopping wet all the way down to your skin or just having wet outdoor wear to throw into the dryer! Tried and true, Land's End gear is far superior in providing protection for your skin from the snow. We’ve bought coats and snow pants from other retailers in the past, but to really stand up to the snow, you get what you pay for!
For great snow play you definitely need:
- A snow coat
- A pair of snow pants or ski bibs
- Snow boots that will keep little toes from Jack Frost’s touch
- Mittens or gloves that are waterproof
- A hat or ear warmer that will keep little ears from freezing!
- Depending on the temperature, a scarf can be used to help protect the cheeks and neck from the cold air.
On returning indoors from playing out in the snow, it’s best to simply throw all wet outdoor gear into the dryer. Unless you’ve gotten it muddy, simply drying it should get it ready for the next frolic outside. I laugh remembering snow days in the South as a kid, where bread bags or Ziploc bags were used as an added water proof layer inside boots! Now with the boots available, those plastic layers are not really necessary.
Once inside a good cup of hot chocolate, my favorite is Hershey's Goodnight Kisses and a Scotcharoo or Snickerdoodle cookie will warm you up in no time. Then, to warm back up, sitting down with some good books in front of the fireplace or turning on a movie is another great way to pass the afternoon.
My kids, all born up North, must have come automatically programmed with a love of the snow and cold! They will play outside in the snow like it is sand at the beach. They literally take our sand toys out in the snow to make forts and dig in the snow. This year, they were making “rooms” in the snow in the front yard. There was a living room and a bedroom, bathroom and reading room! They dig tunnels and trenches all through the yard. They do sell kits like this one that will give you forms and molds to make your very own snow castles (think very cold sand castles…).
We do have sleds as well, if we ever decide to go to a sled hill that most of our public parks seem to have. For babies, a pulling sled is a must, since strollers really don’t roll well on the snow! This type of sled is a good one for older infants who can sit unassisted or toddlers who get tired tromping around in the snow.
For the bigger kids who can ride together or by themselves down the hill, toboggan style sleds are good as well as the saucer style of sled. Just be sure to use your feet as the brakes to stop! Make sure the end of the sled run is also debris free and obstacle free. You don’t want to have to run into a fence or something else to make sure your sled stops!
While it is a lot of fun when the first snowflakes fall in late Fall or early Winter, by this time of year, a fresh snowfall will likely be met with grumblings of waiting for Spring to arrive. The snow and cold are fun for a while, but after having to drive around in it for months, the Spring Thaw is always a welcome change too.
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Please leave a comment if you have any snow advice/traditions/equipment to share! -Abbie
