Snow Dates

Dog Sled Ride
See if your area has companies that offer recreational dog sledding. Rides can be anywhere from an hour to all-day events and are a lot of fun! While mushing along you will learn about the dogs, sledding techniques, and the history of the sport.

Make Fresh Snow Ice Cream or Snow Cones
Ice Cream: Start out with a large bowl of clean snow, 1 cup evaporated (preferably) or whole milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup sugar. Pour the milk into a chilled bowl and mix snow in until you get the desired consistency. When it's just right, mix in the vanilla and sugar and it’s ready to eat! Try adding other flavors, I recommend substituting eggnog for milk around Christmas, or crushed candy bars or fruit.

Snow Cones: Pick up some flavored syrup from the store or make it yourself with 2 cups sugar, 1 cup water, and a package of Kool-Aid powder. Bring the ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan, chill, add to snow! Good page about it here.

Moonlight Snowshoe Walk
Borrow snow shoes or rent a pair from an outdoor gear company like REI and find a nice meadow or other quiet, undisturbed spot for a nighttime walk. Use the link to the right to plan for a full moon. Bring along a thermos of hot cocoa or coffee and something sweet like chocolate.

Make Snow Art
Indulge your inner artist by creating a painting that will only last for a day. Find a spot with undisturbed snow and make paintings using food coloring and water in spray bottles. Bring lots of different colors and make your paintings in a public place for others to enjoy (holiday-themed?). Remember to incorporate a walkway or two into your designs so that you can paint the entire area and get back out when you're done. Best painting wins a back rub!

Build a Snowman (snowperson?)
A little cliche, but also a lot of fun when you build one together or have a contest to see who can make the funniest or best themed snowman. You can even paint them up using spray bottles filled with water and a few drops of food coloring. Best one wins a free cocoa! Snowmen always remind me of those horrific snow scenes Calvin used to create. Next to his neighbors' nice snowmen would be his scenes of snowman death and destruction. Loved em.

Snow Football
It's still football season, so get some friends together for a game of football in the snow! Mark the field and end zones using spray bottles with water and food coloring. A variant is powderpuff football where you mark a line across the middle of the field and each team gets 4 attempts to move the ball over the midfield line for a touchdown. If a team doesn't score, they punt to the other team and they get 4 tries. Repeat until someone gets hurt.

Broomball
Grab a few brooms, some kind of a ball (tennis?), and head out to an empty cul de sac or the street in front of your house for broomball! The rules are basically like hockey, just pick a few 'goals' and have fun. Get some friends together or play 1-on-1!

Enjoy the View
Take a few beach chairs out to a spot with a nice view and enjoy getting to know each other while you drink hot tea and snack on cookies.

Ice Skating
Ice skating is available year-round at indoor rinks but there's something different about doing it at an outdoor rink or on a frozen lake or pond. Bring along some hot cider to keep warm while you're watching others skate after you've finished.

Car Skating
This one is probably against the law in some states but we sure had fun doing it where I used to live. Find an icy parking lot and take turns pulling each other around behind the car. Bring kneepads, wrist guards, and helmets to be safe...well, safer.

Snowmobiles
Rent a snowmobile or two and go racing through the back country!

Sledding or Tubing
Get close to each other on one sled or see who can get down the hill first with a pair of inner tubes!

Ice Fishing
Go online and look around your area for frozen lakes with ice fishing. Reserve a private shed, bring lunch, and have fun getting to know each other while you catch dinner.

Sleigh Ride
Take a horse-drawn sleigh ride around town while you cuddle under a blanket and sip hot cocoa.

Skiing or Snowboarding
I don't think these need any explaining, get out there and hit the slopes! If you're not up for being active and waiting in lines, go to the ski area anyway and drink coffee while you watch the snowboarders on the half-pipe.

Take Photos
Snowy weather not only provides great backdrops for photos but gives you the healthy glow to go along with it! Grab your camera and have fun capturing the season.

Have some favorite snow dates of your own? Add them to the suggestions below!