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Snowball Activities

As tempting as it is to stay indoors curled up with a cup of hot chocolate during those snowy winter days, it's just as important to get outside and get some exercise in the winter as it is in the summer. Snowballs can be created out of snow and, with a little imagination, can be used in a number of fun and exciting winter games. In fact, snowball games can be so fun you might consider creating artificial snowballs and playing games with them all year long.

Snowball Bowling
- Set up 10 empty soda bottles in a triangle formation similar to the way bowling pins are set up. You can use any size of bottle but all 10 bottles should be the same size. Designate a starting line and challenge contestants to roll their snowball like a bowling ball. Use standard scoring for bowling or simply award one point for each pin knocked over. An alternate game requires players to roll their snowballs from a designated starting point down a hill and see which snowball is the largest at the bottom.
Snowball Catapult
- Locate two trees that are only a few feet apart or set up two strong stakes. Poke two holes in the center of a plastic flying disk and thread a bungee cord through the holes. Attach each end of the bungee cord to the trees or stakes. You can use a pair of pliers to crimp the bungee cord hook around a limb or screw-in hook. Place a snowball on the disk, pull the disk back, and let the snowball fly. See which snowball goes the furthest. Do not use the catapult to shoot snowballs at people, animals or houses; shoot snowballs only into open areas.
Snowball Fort Fight
- Divide players into two teams and assign each team a location. Instruct each team to build a fort out of snow. Mix some snow in a bucket with some food coloring. Make snowballs out of the colored snow and place them in a pile between the two forts. Challenge contestants to run to the middle, grab the colored snowballs, and try to hit other players with them. Each player hit by the other team's snowball scores a point for that team. Designate legal and illegal points. For example, arm, leg or torso shots count, but a purposeful face hit does not count and requires the culprit to sit out the rest of the game.
Indoor Snowballs
- Create fake snowballs by balling up pieces of white paper. Any white paper will work: tissue paper, printer paper, newsprint and event wrapping paper. Challenge contestants to throw the snowballs into a laundry basket, through a hula hoop, or to knock a ping pong ball off a soda bottle with a snowball without tipping the bottle. Alternatively, have each player write something about themselves on a piece of paper, create snowballs out of the paper, and have a 30-second snowball fight. At the end of the fight, each player picks up a snowball and tries to find the person who wrote the the message.

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