snow kidding! winter FAVES our Littles ♥!

Our Grand Lives
2 hours ago
8 min read

Friday, January 16, 2026

The temperatures are finally starting to dip in our world

(with the coldest temps of the winter expected this coming weekend).

We find that this season,

with its often frigid weather, blankets of snow and long shadows,

can sometimes lend itself to hibernating.

HOW ABOUT YOU?

However, for the Littles in our lives,

winter brings its own sense of magic

and we love seeing this season through their eyes!

And, when we get to share the joys of winter with our Littles

it truly adds sparkle to everything around us!

In today’s post, we’re sharing winter FAVES that are bound to bring big smiles, giggles, and memories worth bundling up for!

Lots of GRANDS (like Laurie) care for grandkids regularly!

And, of course, for parents and caregivers, winter can get oh so loooong,

caring for Littles day in and day out!

This time of year, those unexpected SNOW DAYS arrive, too,

which means we’re all looking for easy and engaging activities to fill our days!

In today’s post, we’ve got fun ideas (and photos)

- new and old -

as well as Instagram faves

that celebrates the snowy season upon us!

From snowy playtime to simple indoor activities,

this season is full of little moments our Littles love most.

Here are 5 activities that have kept our Littles busy

this winter and in years past!

❄️ Paint the Snow!

This is an activity your Little can do outside or even inside! As you can see below, we gathered some snow from a pile in our yard and put it in a glass 9 x 13 pan. Any pan or bin would work! (NOTE: This also made for easy clean up when we were finished!)

Little L used our favorite paint brush pens (we found them at Target) and she painted away.

Little L was intrigued with the paints and how the colors mixed together in the snow! Look closely… She even built a snowman and painted it!

OTHER OPTIONS: Your Littles can also use watercolors to paint snow OR you could mix up your own snow paints using the following recipe: Stir warm water and cornstarch in a jar so that the mixture is still runny and not a thick paste. Follow this first step to make multiple jars of the mixture, one for each color of paint you’d like to use. Then add food coloring to each jar to create your colors! HAPPY PAINTING!

❄️ Snow Cream!

Have you ever made snow cream? If not, you need to give this yummy (and simple) treat a try! It’s especially fun to make after a fresh snowfall! You only need four ingredients - plus a few “extras” you could add at the end!

Collect 8 cups of fresh snow in a big bowl. Cover and leave the snow outside while you gather the other ingredients. When you are ready, add 1 cup milk/cream, ⅓ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to the 8 cups of clean snow. Mix all the ingredients together. (If needed, add more snow to achieve a creamy consistency.) Put the snow cream in the freezer to set for 15 minutes.

Serve when chilled… feel free to top with whipped cream and sprinkles!

SNOOOOW GOOD!

❄️ Nature Ice Molds!

Did you know that January 20 is Take a Walk Outdoors Day each year! Take advantage and celebrate!

While it may seem tough to bundle up and head outside when the temperature drops and the snow accumulates (especially with Littles in tow), the rewards in doing so are great! We ALL benefit from spending time outdoors during the winter… the temps get our blood flowing, help improve our immune systems and provide needed nutrients!

Walking also increases a child’s sense of observation and wonder of the world around them. A winter walk, in all its glory, can be a quiet time to look around you and see what almost looks like a new world that has opened up with fewer leaves on trees and bushes. It is the simplest - and most awesome - of winter activities.

To add another layer of fun, encourage your Littles to collect natural items in the snowy landscape. Items like sticks, pinecones, dried grass, berries or leaves all work great.

A small box - like this matchbox - feels so special to Littles!

When you arrive home, arrange your items in a foil pan or plastic container. Cover the items with about an inch of water, add a piece of twine or rope sticking out of the water and set outside to freeze.

When frozen, remove the ice block from the container.

These look beautiful hanging from trees in your yard!

❄️ Move that Snow!

This is a great movement activity for young Littles and, with a few adjustments, older Littles will be equally challenged!

For Younger Littles… Shovel the Snow!

This activity was simple to set up and the materials needed - cotton balls, a plastic spoon and two containers - were easy to gather.

At first, Little L sat on the floor and the snow fell from the sky around her! (I actually dropped several cotton balls around Little L as I chanted, “The snow is falling down…” to the tune, The Farmer in the Dell. Then Little L shoveled the snow by scooping up the cotton balls with a spoon and transferring them to a bowl!

As an extra challenge, Little L had fun transferring the snow (cotton balls) from one container to another with the containers placed further apart! Little L had fun moving from container to container while keeping the snow on her spoon! Eventually, once she figured it out, we moved the containers even further apart!

For Older Littles… Plow Through the Snow!

Set up a tray or box with “snowballs” and toy snow plows and your Littles are ready for loads of fun! You could certainly bring a bin-full of real snow inside to use for this activity or you could use cotton balls for the “snow”. You’ll see that we even added a few bottle brush trees to the scene for our Little’s trucks to maneuver around!

Another idea for older Littles? Let them make their own snow!

Here’s the recipe:

Add some toys to your snowscape, as well.

TIME TO PLAY!

This snow can be stored in the refrigerator for multiple days of play!

❄️ Snowball Numbers Unwrap!

Perhaps you’ve seen the activity where your Little unwraps magnetic letters that have been hidden inside a “snowball” made from crumpled up paper. We adapted a few things to practice number recognition and our preschool Little loved it!

We wrote down numbers from 0-4 on small sheets of paper and then we crumpled each into a “snowball”. We also had on hand a pipe cleaner and some pony beads.

NOTE: At this point, you could hide your “snowballs” around the house, but we just put them in a bowl on the table.

Little L chose a “snowball” and unwrapped it to discover what number was written inside. Then she threaded that number of pony beads onto a pipe cleaner. After each addition, we counted up how many beads she had all together!

It wasn’t long before she could do this activity independently!

Over on Instagram and Facebook, Laurie has been busy

adding winter content to our sites!

We also found ourselves scrolling back to past years

and found a few seasonal posts we thought you might enjoy!

❄️ Our Winter Dressing Song!

Ask any preschool or kindergarten teacher, parent or grandparent what the most frustrating part of playing outside with Littles in the winter is and we’re guessing they will say – winter dressing! Check out Laurie’s song, set to Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes! to help you and your Littles organize the process! You’ll find the post here!

If you are looking for more inspiration (and singing from Laurie),

Check out this post to help your Littles put on their mittens correctly!

❄️ Indoor Ice Skating!

When it’s REALLY cold outside and your Littles need to burn off some excess energy, try indoor skating! Use wax paper for skates! Each Little will need two pieces of wax paper, one to put under each shoe or sock. This works on tile or carpet! Be careful though… just like real ice, it’s slippery! See it in action here!

❄️ Let’s Make Animal Tracks!

After looking for animal tracks while exploring outside, come indoors and make your own tracks, using Play-Doh and plastic animals!

This was a hit!

Check out the post here!

❄️ An Indoor Snowball Fight!

Who doesn’t love an old fashioned snowball fight??? This activity works well with a few people or for many and it will definitely get all ages laughing! Learn more here!

We’d love to hear how YOU make snowy days special with your Littles…

from outdoor adventures to simple snow-day fun at home!

Drop your favorite snow activities in the comments

so we can all enjoy a little more winter fun together.

THANK YOU!

We’ll be back early next week

with the January edition of our monthly feature,

We’ve got another delightful story to share as well as a few related activities…

We hope you’ll stop by!

IT'S BOUND TO BE SNOW MUCH FUN!

So you don’t miss a thing, may we suggest

that you consider subscribing to our blog!

(We only contact you via email when we publish a new post!)

SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!

There’s nothing like it to inspire winter fun!

We hope our ideas encourage YOU... Now and in the future!

Winter has a special way of inviting us to slow down, step outside, and see the world through the eyes of our Littles. Whether it’s snowy adventures or cozy moments spent together indoors, these winter FAVES remind us that play and wonder don’t have an age limit!