Winter fun whether there’s snow or not.
BySamantha Cleaver
Dec 6, 2023
Winter brings shorter days, so fill them with fun outdoor activities, cozy indoor activities, and lots of learning about the winter solstice, the Arctic, and snow, snow, snow! Here are ideas for all kinds of winter activities that you can do to keep kids busy and learning until the first signs of spring.
Jump to:
- Winter Activities With Snow
- Outdoor Winter Activities
- Indoor Winter Activities
- Winter STEM Activities
- Winter Arts and Crafts
- Winter Sensory Activities
Winter Activities With Snow
Sometimes snow is the best! These activities are amazing ways to spend a snowy day.
- Make colored snow
- Hold a backyard Winter Olympics
- Make Swedish snowball lanterns
- Build a snowman
- Make Yeti tracks with huge cardboard footprints
- Go snowshoeing
- Go sledding
- Go sledding without a sled
- Go cross-country skiing
- Go ice bowling
- Go snow tubing
- Create a snow maze
- Make maple syrup snow candy
- Make snow ice cream
- Spray-paint snow
- Create a snowy obstacle course
- Make a Potato Head snowman
- Create colorful icicles
- Make a snow kitchen
- Make frozen bubbles
- Paint with colored ice cubes
- Create a snow obstacle course
- Measure snowfall with snow sticks
- Use squirt guns to paint snow
- Make a marble run from snow
- Build an igloo
- Make snow creatures
- Make snow angels
- Catch and study snowflakes
- Collect and weigh snow
Outdoor Winter Activities for Kids
If the weather is cooperating you can have all the fun outside in colder weather, even without snow.
- Make an outdoor ice rink
- Go ice-skating
- Create an edible tree for animals
- Make frozen colored ice globes
- Make winter bird feeders
- Make frozen suncatchers
- Build a fort
- Build a bonfire
- Make bark rubbings
- Make an evergreen mandala
- Go on a winter scavenger hunt
- Go outdoors and watch the stars
- Plant a winter garden
- Make ice lanterns
Indoor Winter Activities for Kids
When the weather outside is too cold, a day inside is just what’s needed. Indoor days don’t have to be dull. Here are ways to keep kids engaged when the weather outside is frightful.
- Build a giant snowman buddy
- Make hot chocolate
- Have a picnic indoors
- Make hot cocoa slime
- Read winter poems
- Read books about winter
- Have a winter song sing-along
- Make ice-skating penguins
- Have a winter-themed movie day (here is a list of movies that take place in winter)
- Have an indoor snowball fight
- Learn how to finger knit
- Make fake snow so it can snow indoors
- Build a milk jug igloo
- Build an indoor igloo
- Play in a virtual escape room
- Make a stuffed-animal sleigh ride
- Make a bubble-wrap runway
- Make snowflake window decorations
Winter STEM Activities for Kids
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There’s so much to learn in winter. Make a snowman explode. Create a snowstorm you can hold. Build an ice castle. Learn about the northern lights. Check out these winter learning activities for more ideas.
- Conduct a snow volcano experiment
- Experiment with snow and ice
- Study how snowflakes are formed
- Build a crystal snowman
- Make a snowman explode
- Learn why skis are so long
- Create a snowstorm in a jar
- Design a snowman house
- Build ice castles
- Create a northern lights sensory jar
- Make snowflakes from beads and pipe cleaners
- Make snowman play dough
- Make snow dough
- Make salt crystal snowflakes
- Make a fizzing snowman
- Freeze bubbles
- Go ice fishing
- Conduct a melting-snowman experiment
- Make a snowball launcher
- Create a snowy car ramp
- Engineer marshmallow catapults
Check out even more winter science experiments and activities.
Winter Arts and Crafts Activities for Kids
These arts and crafts activities are fun ways to spend an afternoon and decorate your house or classroom.
- Make snowflake window clings
- Make snow paint
- Make sparkly snowflakes
- Create tape-resist snowflake art
- Make winter solstice lanterns
- Paint with snow trucks
- Make pine cone owls
- Make pine cone crafts
- Make toilet paper roll snowmen
- Create a Snowy Day collage
- Make orange pomanders with oranges and cloves
- Make a snow globe
- Make pasta snowflakes
- Make stained-glass mittens
- Collect sticks and make stick stars
- Learn a new snow painting technique
- Cut up holiday cards to make puzzles
- Make winter trees
- Make snowy owls from pine cones
- Create with air-dry clay (perfect for snowmen)
- Make Elsa’s palace
- Make sparkly icicles
- Make snow prints from tissue paper
- Make a winter diorama
- Make a sticky-wall snowman for your child to decorate
Check out even more winter craft ideas.
Winter Sensory Play
From floating ice cubes to cotton balls, these winter sensory bins are a great way for kids to calm down and play.
- Make a sensory bin featuring ice-skating bears
- Make a snow pups winter sensory bin
- Make a squishy snowman sensory bag
- Create a “diamond dig” sensory bin
- Make instant snow
- Make winter bubble foam
- Make a cool iceberg sensory bin
- Make this iceberg sensory bin with gelatin
- Make an arctic habitat sensory bin
- Make a winter sensory bin using cotton wool for snow
- Make a snowman sensory bin
- Make “Winter in a Bag”
- Make easy winter discovery bottles
If you like these winter-inspired activities, check out theseactivities to celebrate your senses.
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