Indoor Winter Activities

If the weather is too frightful to play outside, or if your kids are longing for snow, try one of these indoor winter activities to liven up a dreary winter afternoon.

by Tiffany Doerr Guerzon

Overnight Crystals

This is a fun science project! Gather a few small, clear glass jars. Clear glass candle votives, Mason jars or even wine glasses work well. This project grows delicate needle-like crystals, overnight!

Ingredients: The recipe for these crystals is simple: equal parts Epsom salt and hot water. For a quart-sized Mason jar, use 1 cup salts/1 cup water. For a pint-sized Mason jar, use ½ cup salts/ ½ cup hot water, and for a small votive or wine glass, ¼ cup salts/ ¼ cup hot water. You can adjust amounts according to the jars you use, just be sure to measure the amount of Epsom salts you use so that you can add an equal amount of water.

Directions: Pour the measured Epsom salt into the bottom of your jar. Next pour hot water over the salts. Use the hottest water you can get from your tap. Stir this mixture for two minutes. Repeat with other jars. You can add a drop of liquid watercolors to the hot water to tint the crystals before mixing the water into the salts if you like. It’s best to make a few batches, just in case one doesn’t grow. Next, put your jars into the freezer for ten minutes. Remove the jars from the freezer and place in the refrigerator and allow to grow overnight. In the morning, gently pour off any excess liquid from the jars and enjoy your crystals! 

Jack Frost Paintings

This is another fun activity that uses Epsom salt to form crystals. Mix equal parts Epsom salt and warm water. Give kids paint brushes of various widths and they can dip the brushes into the Epsom salt solution and paint snowflakes or other designs onto dark- colored construction paper. Dark blue and black-colored paper works best. As the water evaporates from the paper, beautiful crystals are left behind.