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

Puffy Paint Snow People

This fun, inexpensive puffy paint spreads like frosting and dries into beautiful 3-D paintings. To make puffy paint, mix equal parts white shaving cream and white liquid glue. This paint can be hard to wash out of bowls, so you can mix this in either a disposable container or in a gallon resealable plastic bag. If you mix up the paint in a container, give kids popsicle sticks or disposable, plastic knives for “painting.” Paintbrushes don’t work well! If you use a plastic bag, mix ingredients by kneading the sealed bag with your hands until well combined. Squeeze the paint into one corner of the bag, and then snip off the corner with scissors. Kids can “paint” by squeezing out the puffy paint from the bag as they would a pastry bag. It is difficult to make precise lines and shapes with this paint. The best kind of pictures to create with puffy paint are ice cream cones, snow people, cupcakes, etc. Fun additions: You can color the paint by adding a few drops of liquid watercolor paint, or use food colors. Or, add texture to the paint by drawing lines with disposable forks before it dries. For added bling, give the masterpiece a sprinkling of glitter before it dries. Allow to dry 12-24 hours, more if the paint is extra thick!

Vanilla Scented “Cookie” Play Dough

Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to the ingredients to Cooked Play Dough Recipe (below) and then cook, cool and knead as directed. Give kids this delicious smelling dough along with a rolling pin and cookie cutters to create pretend cookies.

Scented Sparkle Play Dough

Add three drops lavender or peppermint essential oil, plus a few drops food color to the ingredients in the Cooked Play Dough Recipe and then cook and cool as directed. Place the dough on a cutting board or mat and sprinkle with glitter. Let the kids knead in the glitter, then play! Experiment with fine and chunky glitter in a variety of colors.

Cooked Play Dough Recipe

1 cup flour
½ cup salt
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
 
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture forms a ball. Remove the dough from the pan to a plate or cutting board and allow to cool completely. When cool, knead the dough with your hands until smooth. Store in a sealed container or bag in the refrigerator.