A snow day can be a source of stress. After you've dug the car out of five feet of snow, you can't get it to start, and what's the point, because work just phoned and the office is closed anyway? The kids are off school and getting restless. You need some snow day tips to turn round the bad weather to your advantage. Here's a quick list of the best snow day ideas for you and your family this winter:
#1 Get out of the House and Have Fun in the Snow
Remember how you tingled with excitement when you were six years old and you woke up to see the trees and rooftops covered in a blanket of snow? Rekindle childhood memories by putting on your boots and gloves and getting out in the snow. If you have kids, you have the perfect excuse for being a kid yourself for the day. (If you're bold, you don't need an excuse.) Build a snowman, go sledding in the local park or just take a walk to enjoy the seasonal scenery.
#2 Play Board Games
Sometimes old-fashioned ideas are the most fun. Dust off Monopoly, Scrabble and Operation, get competitive and spend the day besting your opponents. But Dads: Just don't forget to let the youngest win once in a while.
#3 Cook up a Hot Treat and Invite Your Friends Over
Put a pot of soup on the stove or whip up some hot chocolate and invite over friends and neighbors. Chances are they're just as bored as you are. If you're going to have your plans scuppered for the day, you may as well suffer in good company. A great kids activity for a snow day is learning to bake cookies or make cup cakes. Make some winter treats and enjoy them together.
#4 Check on Your Neighbors
Being snowed in can be a positive opportunity to build community and help neighbors get to know one another. In December 2010, the BBC reported on how residents of a remote part of Staffordshire, England, rallied together to help their community get through the rough weather. You might have elderly or infirm neighbors who can't get out of the house, are running out of groceries or need a helping hand to shovel their driveways (children can help with this, too). You might gain some new friends and foster a new sense of kinship in the neighborhood this way.
#5 Share Babysitting with Friends
You probably know other parents who are being driven just as crazy by their cooped-up kids on a snow day. Take it in turns to look after the children, or get together in the same place to share the load. Chances are the kids will entertain each other, and keeping them occupied won't be too much of a chore with snowmen and snowball fights to keep them having fun.
