10 Things to Do on a Snow Day with Kids

School's closed, the driveway's buried, and the kids are already bouncing off the walls. Good news: the best snow day activities don't need much planning. The top pick on this list is renting a private indoor pool by the hour through Swimply, so the crew can swim in 85-degree water while it's 15 degrees outside. The other nine ideas mix backyard fun, kitchen projects, and cozy indoor games that actually hold a kid's attention.

Here's the full lineup, then the details on each one:

• Rent a private indoor pool for a few hours of warm, splashy chaos
• Build a snow fort or snow sculpture in the yard
• Make snow ice cream with four pantry ingredients
• Paint the snow with spray bottles and food coloring
• Run a backyard science lab with a snow volcano and frozen bubbles
• Build a blanket fort and host a movie marathon inside it
• Bake mug cakes and set up a hot cocoa bar
• Set up an indoor obstacle course to burn off energy
• Book an indoor sport court for a pickup game
• Make maple taffy on snow, then finish with a board game tournament

1. Rent a private indoor pool by the hour

Nothing resets a stir-crazy household faster than a swim. Swimply lets families book private indoor pools by the hour, so the kids get a whole pool to themselves without sharing lanes with a swim team. Search results show which listings are indoor, heated, and kid-friendly, and most pools also include restroom access.

Heated matters in January. Swimply's standard for a heated listing is 80°F, and many indoor hosts run warmer. Several indoor pools in Portland stay between 87°F and 92°F year-round, and Chicago indoor listings include enclosed pools with hot tubs. Around New York and New Jersey, indoor pools start around $48 per hour for the whole group, not per person.

Parents already use these pools exactly this way. One guest at Portland's Mad Men Pool called it "wonderful for a no school Friday for the kids," and another said it's the "perfect place for a swim no matter the weather." A guest at an all-year indoor family pool in New York described it as "a great getaway in middle of the winter."

How to make it work on a snow day:

• Filter for Instant Book. Those reservations confirm immediately, and the address shows up right after checkout. Request-based listings wait on host approval, which is fine if the plan is for tomorrow.
• Book two hours. That's the average Swimply reservation length, and it's the sweet spot before little swimmers get pruney and cranky.
• Pack light. Towels, goggles, and snacks. Many hosts leave pool toys out, and a few even add floats and games for kids' bookings.
• Bring a game plan. Swimply's list of 30 pool games for kids and families has age-sorted options like Marco Polo and sharks and minnows.

Swimming also pays off after the booking ends. It's a low-impact, full-body workout, and Michigan State University Extension notes that swimming builds endurance, strength, and cardiovascular fitness without stressing joints. Translation: kids who swim at 11 a.m. usually sleep great at 8 p.m.

2. Build a snow fort or snow sculpture

Fresh, packable snow is a gift. Hand out plastic shovels, sand buckets, and a spray bottle of water, then let the kids press snow into buckets to make bricks. A quick mist of water between layers helps the walls set, and a stack of bricks becomes a fort, a castle, or a snow dragon.

Keep it safe and warm. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests dressing kids in several thin layers plus one more layer than an adult would wear, with warm boots, mittens, and a hat. Kids lose heat faster than grown-ups and often won't come inside on their own when they're having fun, so set a timer for warm-up breaks.

3. Make snow ice cream

This one takes ten minutes and zero special equipment. Scoop about 8 cups of clean, fresh snow into a big bowl right before serving. In a separate bowl, whisk together the base, then fold in the snow until it looks like soft serve.

The classic snow ice cream recipe from Gimme Some Oven uses:

• 1 cup milk (any kind, including oat or almond)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• A pinch of fine sea salt
• 8 cups clean snow

Top with sprinkles, chocolate chips, or a drizzle of maple syrup. Skip the first snowfall of the season and anything near the road or under a roofline. Pro tip: chill the mixing bowl in the snow first so the ice cream doesn't melt on contact.

4. Paint the snow

Snow paint needs two ingredients: water and food coloring. Fill dollar-store spray bottles or squeeze bottles with water, add a few drops of food coloring to each, and shake. The Best Ideas for Kids has the full walkthrough, and it works for toddlers through tweens.

Turn it into a challenge. Younger kids can paint rainbows on a snowbank. Older kids can spray a target on the ground and play snowball bullseye, or paint a hopscotch grid and jump it in boots. One rule: spray the snow, not siblings. Food coloring stains snowsuits.

5. Run a backyard science lab

Snow makes a great science classroom, and the two experiments below need only kitchen staples.

• Snow volcano. Pack snow into a cone around a plastic cup. Pour in a few tablespoons of baking soda and a squirt of dish soap, then add vinegar tinted with red food coloring. The foam erupts down the sides and refreezes into colorful "lava."
• Frozen bubbles. On a very cold day, well below freezing and ideally single digits, blow bubbles with regular bubble solution. They'll frost over and form ice crystals in seconds. Try catching one on a gloved hand before it pops.

Ask kids to guess what will happen before each experiment. That one question turns messy fun into an actual lesson.

6. Build a blanket fort and host a movie marathon

Push two chairs or the couch and a coffee table a few feet apart, drape a flat sheet across the top, and pin the edges with clothespins or heavy books. Fill the floor with pillows and sleeping bags, then string battery-powered lights inside. Leave one side open so it stays airy.

Make the movie part feel like an event. Let each kid pick one film, print paper "tickets," and pass out popcorn in paper bags. A double feature with a snack intermission easily covers an afternoon, and the fort usually survives until bedtime.

7. Bake mug cakes and set up a hot cocoa bar

Mug cakes are perfect for small helpers because each kid owns one mug and one mess. Stir 4 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, a pinch of salt, 2 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and a dash of vanilla in a microwave-safe mug. Microwave for about 90 seconds and top with whipped cream.

While the cakes cool, build a hot cocoa bar on the counter with small bowls of mini marshmallows, crushed candy canes, chocolate chips, and cinnamon. Kids can "order" from a menu they design themselves. Bonus: it doubles as a warm-up station between outdoor rounds.

8. Set up an indoor obstacle course

When the outdoor energy needs an indoor outlet, clear a hallway or living room and build a course. Use couch cushions as stepping stones, a line of painter's tape as a balance beam, chairs to crawl under, and a laundry basket for a beanbag toss finish.

Run it one kid at a time and time each attempt with a phone stopwatch. Non-slip socks or bare feet beat regular socks on hardwood. Move fragile items first, then let them race for a "record" that gets rewritten all day.

9. Book an indoor sport court

For basketball-obsessed kids, a snow day doesn't have to mean a day without hoops. Swimply also lists private basketball courts and pickleball courts by the hour, and city search pages include an indoor filter. A private court means no waiting for a turn and no crowded rec center gym.

Pickleball is a great pick for mixed ages because the court is small and the paddles are light. Bring a couple of families together, split the cost, and turn it into a round-robin tournament with a homemade trophy. Availability varies by city, so check what's nearby before promising anything.

10. Make maple taffy on snow, then hold a board game tournament

Maple taffy, also called sugar on snow, is a Québec and Vermont tradition that feels like magic to kids. An adult heats pure maple syrup in a saucepan to about 235°F, then pours thin ribbons onto a tray packed with clean snow. Within seconds it turns chewy, and kids roll it up on popsicle sticks. Adults handle the hot syrup, kids handle the rolling.

End the day with a bracket-style board game tournament. Pick three or four quick games, write a bracket on poster board, and crown a snow day champion. Prize suggestions: picking tomorrow's breakfast or an extra 20 minutes of bedtime reading.

Quick snow day safety cheat sheet

A few rules keep outdoor play fun instead of miserable:

• Check the wind chill, not just the temperature. The National Weather Service notes that at a wind chill of -19°F, exposed skin can freeze in 30 minutes. The AAP says to avoid outdoor play when wind chills drop below -15°F.
• Swap wet layers right away. Wet mittens and socks pull heat from small bodies fast.
• Watch for pale, waxy, or numb skin on fingers, toes, ears, and noses. Head inside and warm up gently.
• Schedule the warm-up. Alternate 30 to 45 minutes outside with a cocoa break indoors, or plan an indoor pool swim as the midday reward.

Why Swimply makes snow days easier

Swimply is a marketplace where hosts rent out their private pools, backyards, and sport courts by the hour. It's facilitated more than 4 million experiences across 15,000 hosts in 150-plus cities in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. For a snow day, that means a private, heated, indoor pool for a couple of hours, no hotel booking or crowded public pool required.

Booking takes a few minutes. Search by city, filter for indoor and heated pools, check the photos and reviews, and reserve. Instant Book listings confirm right away, and guests pay the host's hourly rate plus a small service fee.

If a storm shuts down the roads, Swimply's weather policy lets guests message their host to reschedule, and Support honors any refund or reschedule the two sides agree on. Every eligible booking is also backed by the Swimply Protection Guarantee, so both guests and hosts can relax.

Turn the next snow day into a pool day

Snow day activities don't have to mean six hours of screens. Build the fort, paint the snow, eat the snow ice cream, and then trade the mittens for goggles. A private indoor pool by the hour gives the kids a warm place to burn energy and gives parents a genuinely quiet afternoon afterward.

Book a private indoor pool on Swimply before the next forecast turns white.