Christmas > ParentingDecember 17, 2005

Frugal Winter Fun with Kids - Outdoor Fun

Winter is upon us. The kids get cabin fever quickly when their outside free time is limited. You're looking for some fun things to do before you all start climbing the walls. You don't need a wallet full of cash to enjoy the cold, snowy days. There are all kinds of frugal ways to enjoy the winter season together both indoors and outdoors. Here are a few frugal boredom busters to have as your 911 plan for the winter blahs.

Outdoor Fun

1. Homemade Snowman Kit

It's just not winter fun without building a snowman. Assemble a snowman kit to have handy. Your kit can contain the following:

A hat, scarf, mittens, plastic carrot nose, charcoal briquettes, (place in plastic baggie) buttons, and can add two dowels or branches for arms.

2. Obstacle Courses or Winter Olympics

Jump over the mounds of snow or have relay races.

3. Snow Paint

Mix food coloring and water and add to spray water bottles and spray the snow to make colorful works of art outside.

4. Homemade Bird Feeder and Bird Identification

Need large pine cones, peanut butter, and birdseed. Add peanut butter to pine cones and roll in birdseed. Keep a journal of birds in your yard. Can borrow a field guide from your local library.

5. Snow Ice Cream

Mixing together a quart of milk, an egg, 1 cup sugar, teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract in a pan. Cook on stove top until mixtures thicken and cool to room temperature. Pour this mixture over fresh clean snow.

Or

  • 3 cups loose clean snow
  • 2 Tablespoons milk
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix all the ingredients.

6. Snow Golf

Use a tin can buried in the snow for the holes or just carve out holes in the snow.

7. Winter Photography

Take pictures of nature. Icicles, birds, trees, etc.

8. Identify Tracks in the Snow

Check out a book from your local library on animal tracks.

By Sara Noel is a freelance writer and the Editor/Publisher of http://www.FrugalVillage.com and http://www.HomesteadGarden.com

Feedback

Read feedback for this post below.

By Sal (Guest Post) 11/08/2007

You body should have immunity. Treating the body all the time to pure things lessens the immunity in you. It does not mean all the time use snow in your recipes. With out that immunity..the natural anit-bodies in you, human evolution would not have been possible till now. Please do know about this. Why do you think we visit doctors so often.

By Peg (Guest Post) 05/31/2006

I agree with Joankay---one year our water froze and I tried to melt snow on top of our wood stove in a clean pan from what looked like very clean snow. After it melted it was absolutely filthy! I believe it was because there were so many people in our neighborhood that burned wood as a heat source at that time but I'm sure there could be other things in the air that could be a problem also.

By jeggie (Guest Post) 05/31/2006

I know this is really late for this email, but I'm going to have a baby this year and am looking for some cool traditions and other things to do. Is there anything like this that you can do when it's cold like that out but there is no snow??? We live in GA and in 05 I don't remember any snow until we visited family in KY/IN.

By
12/17/2005

These are all good ideas, but I would hesitate to use snow in a recipe. Even "clean" snow can contain pollutants from the air.

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