I thought I would build on Sara's post about snow day activities by ranking snow-related crafts. Having grown up in Alaska, I feel that I am highly qualified to perform this task. Also I live near Seattle now, where it is 50 degrees today, and that is 100% on purpose because snow is the worst.
Anyway!
Snowman: A+
You can't go wrong with your basic snowman. Not only is this easy and visually appealing, it's also strangely satisfying to start with a hand-packed snowball and end up pushing a huge ball of snow around the yard. The only down side to snowmen is that they work best when the temperatures are warm, ideally right around 30 degrees. When it gets too cold, the snow doesn't pack properly.
Dyed icicles: A-
The icicles around your porch can be dyed with food dye, patience, and time. The only down side is that it can be a tedious process, and one warm day ruins all your hard work.
Snow Castles: B+
You can buy kits with plastic molds you can use to pack snow into bricks, or you can just use buckets. This is a painstaking craft, better for older kids and/or long winters. But the results are totally worth it.
Snow angel: D
This is the thing everyone knows how to make. You just fall over backwards and move your arms and legs. Then you have to get up without ruining the design, which is a challenge. And once you're up, you find out that your angel is basically wearing culottes, thanks to the snow that bunched up between your legs on the down stroke. Also, now you are covered with snow, and it's cold.
99% of the fun here is the first part, where you fall backwards into the snow with a big "floomp." Everything else is a disappointment.
Igloo/Ice cave: F
This sounds like a great idea, especially if you're a kid who has been raised on a steady diet of Looney Tunes cartoons. But these things collapse and smother people to death all the time. Don't try it, kids. For reals.
Image courtesy Flickr/opencontent
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