We are enjoying our first really big snowstorm of the year outside today. When the snowflakes start, it’s a great time to squeeze in a few moments as a family. Here are 6 ideas for snowflake projects you can try on a snowy day:
Start a Snowflake-Cutting Bedtime Routine
One of my favorite ideas, especially during the winter, is to cut a new paper snowflake every night together as you tuck your child into bed. You can cut and talk just for a minute. Even teenagers will enjoy this relaxing bedtime tradition. If you’re a snowflake novice, you’ll find easy-to-follow instructions at http://highhopes.com/snowflakes.html. These are beautiful six-sided snowflakes.
six-sided snowflakes are easy to make and the design possibilities are endless. The video tutorial below describes a method that will help your youngster grasp some basic designs and you can expand your creative genius from there:
Try a 3-D Paper Snowflake
Visit http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-3D-Paper-Snowflake or
Enjoy a Snowflake Nightcap at the End of a Cold Day
Make your “snowflake” out of marshmallows and toothpicks and enjoy with a cup of hot cocoa like this version from Real Simple Magazine:
And if you are just looking for a winter craft project, creating these fun snowflakes on a cold stay-indoors snow day will help pass the time and prevent some of that pent-up cabin fever.
Create Colored Snowflakes from Coffee Filters or Paper Towels
Cut a snowflake from coffee filter paper, color it with a washable marker, and then spray it with water to watch the colors run together (use newspaper underneath). The same method works almost as well if you use paper towels. Let the paper dry before cutting or speed up the drying process using a blow dryer.
Craft a Snowflake Garland with Paper Doilies
Make your snowflakes extra lacy by cutting them out of paper doilies and then string them together to make a garland to hang above your bed.
Start by making about a dozen six-sided snowflakes out of round paper doilies and then string them together to make a single garland.
Learn the Science Behind Snowflakes (Snowcrystals)
If you want to make snowflakes an all-day playing experience that’s educational as well, visit www.snowcrystals.com, a website maintained by Kenneth G. Libbrecht, Professor of Physics at Caltech. You’ll see spectacular photographs of actual snowflakes, learn how to grow ice spikes in your own freezer, and even learn how to freeze snowflake specimens in super glue for permanent “snowflake fossils.”
