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In our part of California, we don't get any snow. While we try to make at least one trip to Tahoe every winter for a weekend of skiing and sledding, sometimes it's still not enough snow to satisfy my kids. To recreate some of that fun winter magic, we decided to make our own snow! It was a great way to have fun with sensory play.Looking for more crafts to decorate for the holidays? Create awesome decorations and have hands-on fun with a <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/rainbow-air-dry-clay-project-kit/5612" target="_self">Rainbow Air Dry Clay set </a>from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Pour 1.5 cups of baking soda into the tray.

The ratio of baking soda to shampoo is 6:1.

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Pour a 1/4 cup of shampoo into the same tray. 

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Use your hands to mix these two ingredients! The mixture will soon take on a crumbly, and less sticky, texture, which means your snow is ready for play! For extended fun, add food coloring to create vibrantly colored snow, find small toys to create an arctic habitat in the snow, or build mini snowmen with tiny button accessories!

tray

baking soda

measuring cup

shampoo (preferably white-colored)

Instant Sensory Snow

winter crafts

winter

tree

Christmas tree

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I love the idea of real DIY snow globes, but the potential for the water causing a serious mess has always kept me from trying it. These waterless mason jar snow globes are a low-mess solution, and are quick and easy to make. I created these as little gifts for friends, but a grouping of these in different sizes would make a beautiful display in a window or on a mantel.Want to explore more hands-on crafts without the hassle of gathering materials? Learn about chemistry and design out-of-this-world bath bombs with <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/planet-bath-bombs/3702" target="_self">Planet Bath Bombs</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Gather your materials. Just make sure your trees are small enough to fit into the jars!

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Unscrew the lid from the mason jar and set it upside down on the table. Hot glue the bottle-brush tree to the center of the lid.

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Pour a little bit of the artificial snow into the mason jar. You don’t need a lot, just enough to cover the tree nicely. When the glue is totally dry, screw the lid back onto the jar.

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Add a ribbon for embellishment if you’d like.

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Turn the jar upside down, and you’ve got a snow globe! Create several in different sizes for a Christmas display that will last for years.

hot glue gun

bottle-brush tree

mason jar with lid

artificial snow

ribbon or twine (optional)

Snow Globes

seasonal

painting

easy craft

This project is perfect your youngest artists. There is no "right" way for this project to look and the messier it gets, the more adorable the final product will be. My little guys just loved the freedom to paint any way they wanted and create "Frosty" after a day playing in the sun!Looking for ways to keep your young artist busy? Practice art skills and have fun with <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/draw-grow-planter/5703" target="_self">Draw &amp; Grow Planters</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Gather all materials.  This is a great project that can include as little as construction paper and white paint or as many different craft materials as you like.

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First, I gave each of the kids a piece of blue construction paper and some white paint and let them paint away.  We talked about what a melting snowman would look like and feel like.  My three-year-old tried painting circles, but my two-year-old mostly had fun splashing paint around!

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Then, I cut out a top hat, scarf, and twig arms out of construction paper for my two-year-old.  The older kids could have cut out these shapes for themselves, but they were at school.

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While the paint was still wet, my son put the different pieces of his snowman anywhere he wanted to on his page.

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The end result was a fun abstract painting.  My two and three-year-olds had so much fun and thought the idea of painting a messy, melting snowman was hilarious!

construction paper (blue and various colors)

paint and paintbrushes (white)

Wiggle Eye Set

glue (optional)

Scissors

Melted Snowman Painting

clay project

ornaments

Winter-fy your home with these charming DIY snowflake ornaments!

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Paint on your snowflake! We used metallic acrylic paint. Let dry.

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Once your paint is fully dry, use a clay tool to poke a hole in your ornament.

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Cut a length of thread to hang your ornament with.

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Thread the thread through the hole in the ornament and tie a loop.

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White Air-Dry Clay

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arts & crafts

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Paint your peg white. Let it dry completely.

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Use a pencil to outline details for the face and body.

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Paint on the details! We used a permanent marker for the black accents.

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Make a tiny top hat and scarf out of felt! For the hat, cut out a circle that’s a little wider than the top of the peg and&nbsp;a small rectangle. Then glue&nbsp;the rectangle into a cylinder and attach it to the circle.&nbsp;For the scarf, cut out a long, thin rectangle and use scissors to cut the ends into strips.

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Glue the tiny top hat and scarf onto your snowman!

Wood Peg People

Poster Paint Set

Felt

Glue

Permanent Marker

Snow Pal Peg People

Have some wintery fun creating these simple & fun pipe cleaner&nbsp;snowflakes.  They can also be easily turned into a handmade ornament for your tree or a gift.

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Start by gathering your supplies.  Next create the base of the snowflake.

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With scissors, cut 2 pipe cleaners in half.  Using 2 halves crisscross and twist once.  Add another half, and cross & twist it across the initial two.  (V.'s not quite old enough for scissors yet--but of course this is a step that slightly older kids can do on their own).

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With the snowflake base created, add the pony beads to each stem.  This is the part where you can let them have fun with sequencing and patterning.  V went right into creating a uniform pattern all the way around.  After this beading, sequencing, & patterning step is completed it is time for another mom step.

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Using your last 2 pipe cleaners, cut them in half, & then in half again.  This will create 4 pieces for each pipe cleaner, 8 pieces total.  Along each stem, have your child twist these smaller pieces above the threaded beads.  Optional: repeat the last two steps to create yet another dimension to each stem.

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To create a hook for ornamental purposes, place a pipe cleaner under the completed snowflake.  Next, wrap around and twist creating a hook.

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And there you have a super easy & simple winter craft: pipe cleaner snowflakes!

pipe cleaners (4, white)

pony beads (white)

Pipe Cleaner Snowflakes

indoor game

Bring the snow inside. Build a road for cars, make snow soup, create a miniature snowman and so much more. A great activity for when it's just too cold to stay out any longer.  It's also a fun activity for a child who is sick and can't go out to play in the snow:  bring the snow to them!

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We collected various objects that seemed like they'd be fun to play with in the snow: spoons, cups and a scoop, a measuring cup, toy cars, a sand rake. Choose whatever you have on hand.

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Next we went outside and filled a tray with snow. I placed a towel underneath the tray to absorb any melting snow. Then we got our mittens out.

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My four year old immediately set about scooping and moving the snow around.  He was thrilled to be able to continue playing in the snow after being outside on a bitterly cold day. Outside snow play is fun but sometimes you just need to warm up.

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My daughter had fun playing with the snow road she built.

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Then she had another clever idea: "I want to make snow soup, Mommy!"  We gathered some fun "ingredients" from our craft room: buttons and colored craft match sticks. You can use whatever you have on hand.  We collected some more snow from outside and put it in a big mixing bowl.

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This snow was very hard and compact so stirring wasn't easy. She dove in with her mittened hands and mixed it up that way.  Later, when the snow melted, we removed the buttons and sticks, put them on a towel to dry, then returned them to our craft supplies. 

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Our final project was to make a miniature snow man. Unfortunately, this snow wasn't the right kind of snow for shaping and molding and it wasn't easy to get a snowman out of it, but we did our best.

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Here's a miniature snowman we made a couple of winters ago.  We used blueberries for eyes, slices of peppers for the nose and toothpicks for arms.  When done, we set them outside to keep them from melting. They greeted everyone that came to our front door. 

tray, cookie sheet or large bowl

Toys and other objects

Indoor Snow Play

luminary

recycled craft materials

Since the weather's turned cold and winter is upon us, I've been thinking about winter-inspired DIYs. I've been wanting to come up with a way to make a snowman luminary with my kids. Some of the ideas that I've seen from others are adorable, but they rely on glass bowls. Given the potential for breakage, glass is simply not going to fly with my crew. So when we were sipping on a Pom Wonderful juice, the bottle spoke to me. We discovered the perfect medium for a snowman luminary!

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To start, we painted the bottle white. Given the label on the bottle, this requires a couple of coats. Basically paint the bottle, wait for a little while to allow it to dry, and then paint again. Allow your snowman to dry completely.

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To allow for maximum glow, do not paint the bottom of the bottle.

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Now you can take your sticky felt and cut out eyes, nose, mouth, buttons, etc. Feel free to be creative in accessorizing and designing your snowman. It was a lot of fun to see how different the snowmen - and snowwomen - could be!

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To make your snowman's hat, trim off the top of a sock. You can line it up with the top of the bottle to approximate how much material you might need for the hat. 

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Place the sock tube on your snowman's head and tie the string around the top. This brings your hat together. You'll make the top into a pom pom. The bottom will keep your snowman's head nice and warm.

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Make little slits along the top of the sock (above the string) to create a pompom at the top of the hat.

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If you'd like to give your snowman a scarf, cut a long rectangle of material out of a sock.

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Now you're ready to bring your snowman to life. We recommend putting the hat on first so you know about where his eyes should go. Stick and tie everything on.

16 at-home snow projects for kids

Screen-free fun!