Games for Children to Play in the Snow

Races

• In "Alaska Serum Race," teams try getting a serum (sled full of kids) to the doctor. A leader designates four stations, spread across the play area, and children divide into teams of two or more, each team tying a rope to the front of a sled. Teams transport the serum to the doctor by crossing the four stations. At each station, the sled puller switches places with one of her team members. The first team to reach the doctor wins. As a variation, children compete individually and place a cup of water on the sled. Kids exit the race if the "serum" spills.

  Children also may race each other laying on their bellies or using objects such as cross-country skis, garbage-can lids, heavy cardboard or inner tubes.

Snowball Games

• Rather than baseballs, children use snowballs to play "Strike Out." Kids create snow mounds about 2 feet high and 20 feet apart, using them as home plate, first base, second base and third base. On top of each mound, kids stack tin cans or place an empty water bottle. Kids take turns "pitching" snowballs at each mound, as they stand in the middle of the baseball diamond. The child who knocks down each bottle or can with the fewest pitches wins.

  Children may engage in snowball-throwing contests. Kids use colored water to create a bright circle in the snow, determining a winner by whoever lands the most snowballs in the circle, or whoever lands a snowball in the circle with the fewest attempts. As an alternative, children paint a bull's-eye target on a piece of cardboard and attach it to a tree. After assigning each colored ring a point value, kids get five chances to hit targets with a snowball. The child with the most points after all players have their turn wins.

  Following the rules of dodgeball, children divide into two teams for a snowball fight, facing each other from opposite sides. A child exits the game if an opponent hits him with a snowball. If a team loses all of its players, the opposing team wins. Kids also may compete individually in a free-for-all snowball fight, with the one child who evades getting hit winning.

"Swing Away"

• Children engage in a snowy version of golf when playing "Swing Away." By packing down a section of snow every few feet, children make a golf course fairway and a green. To make holes, kids plant open tin cans halfway in the snow, marking them with small flagsticks. Children use hockey pucks or small plastic balls as golf balls, and hockey sticks or plastic/miniature golf clubs for clubs.

"Tug of War"

• Snow adds a twist to the classic "Tug of War" game. Children build a wall of snow at least chest high, and carve a hole in the wall through which to run a long, thick rope. After dividing into two teams, kids take their place on opposite sides of the rope and wall, put their hands on the rope and start pulling. The winning team pulls the losing team into the wall, possibly knocking it over.