10 Things I Enjoy Doing when It is Snowing ...

A light snowfall makes for a gorgeous walk along the back roads. My dog, Annika, loves chasing snowflakes. The deeper the snow, the more she likes it too! She will run circles around me, scooping up snow with her mouth, as I walk up the hill and back. Annika makes walking in the snow a very entertaining experience.

I don’t know what it is about the snowfall that seems to bring the birds out of the woods and into my front yard. I don’t see them flitting around in the trees on a nice sunny day, but as soon as the snow starts coming down hard they are everywhere. If I line the railing on the front porch with bird seed and sit very still by the open front door, I can get some great close-ups of all the fat little birds that come to check out the seed buffet.

This used to be a bigger pastime during the winter when my kids were smaller, but they still enjoy a good run now and then. I used to have a Siberian when my oldest son was very little. She was great at pulling him around the yard on his snow disc when we couldn’t make it to the hill to go sledding. I don’t think she ever knew he was on the sled, since he was such a lightweight!

I’m horrible about starting books and not finishing them before starting another one. I find that if I gather all the books I’ve started and set them on the table in front of the couch, then I actually sit down and read them when the weather is too cold to enjoy any outside time.

For some reason, I feel inclined to watch Christmas movies when it’s snowing outside. My favorites are Elf, Christmas Vacation, and The Holiday. It doesn’t matter how far past Christmas it is, snow equals Christmas to my poor brain. I even catch myself humming carols.

If you’ve never had homemade hot chocolate, then you don’t know what you are missing! It is absolutely the tastiest kind of hot chocolate there is. The dry ingredients can be mixed together in a huge container so that you can make a cup of cocoa any time you want. Combine 11 cups of powdered milk, 5 cups powdered sugar, 2 cups powdered baking cocoa, and 2 cups of powdered non-dairy creamer. To make a single serving of this tasty hot cocoa add a third cup of mix to three-fourths cup of boiling water. Don’t forget to top with tiny marshmallows!

There’s nothing that warms the house quicker than cake, pie, or a couple loaves of bread. I love baking when it’s snowing outside. I like being warmed by the oven and smelling the excellent aromas coming from the oven. It seems like waiting for the baked goods to emerge becomes a family affair as well.

Snowy days tend to make me long for spring time even more than usual. I have a stack of garden supply and seed catalogs in the living room that get thumbed through even more once the snow starts falling. I dog-ear pages, circle items for my wish list, highlight seeds for the veggie garden, and come up with new landscaping ideas to make all my desired plants and seeds fit in my ever-growing garden.

I’d still snuggle on the couch with my husband even without a cup of coffee in hand, but you have to admit that there’s nothing like a superb cup of Joe to make a snowy day more enjoyable! We are rarely able to sit on the couch without being joined by at least 2 or 3 cats as well. So, not only do I get to enjoy some time with my husband, we have personal little heaters to keep us company too.

My kids are well past a good game of Chutes and Ladders or Hi Ho Cherry-O, so game time in this household tends to involve the Xbox 360. I’m not very good at some of the games the boys like to play, but they humor me for a bit and give me pointers along the way. Lots of pointers.

If you ever find yourself at a loss for something to do on a snowy day, then maybe you’ll think of something from this list. These are just 10 things I enjoy doing when it is snowing outside. What do you find yourself doing once the snow starts to fall?

Top Photo Credit: Bahman Farzad