Remember when “snow days” meant more than just canceled classes? When you got that “no school” call and had your snow pants on before your mom could even hang up the phone? We all secretly long for those times, when snow-covered clothes and mild frostbite meant it was a successful day.
So if this warm weather ever subsides and leaves us buried beneath the cold stuff, don’t just stay indoors and make Easy Mac (although you can certainly do that too). Channel your inner child and have some good old-fashioned winter fun.
Build a Fort. Gather your friends and compete to see who can build the best one or combine your efforts to make a mega-fort. Either way, you’ll be whisked back to a time when those little snowy walls seemed to tower over the world. Now you’ll need to build it bigger, of course, so get to work.
“My friends and I used to build snow forts,” junior economics major Chris Desilets said. “When the snow banks got really big, we’d dig them out and then we’d have our own little spot.”
When your fort is finished, either use it as a spot to hang out and enjoy some hot cocoa with friends or as a base for the upcoming battle.
Have a Snowball Fight. What’s more fun than pelting chunks of snow at your friends? Nothing, of course. This playful pastime will have everyone in hysterics as the fluff begins to fly. Use your fort as cover and play until the sun goes down–or until someone gets an ice ball to the face. Then it’s time to sled to the health center.
Go Sledding. One of the most popular childhood snow day activities is still very much alive on campus. Many students use cafe trays or bin covers, but honestly you can pick up a cheap sled at Walmart that you’ll be able to use more than once. There are plenty of hills on campus to explore–please don’t use the Giant–so get out there and go for it! Want more of a thrill? Find a safe spot and build a jump to get some extra airtime.
Build a Snowman. I dare you to complete this task without making any “Frozen” references. Go back to the days before Disney’s winter wonderland and create your own. Make it as silly as you want, work with your friends or make it a competition.
Sophomore biomedical science major Supriya Goel said she loved building snowmen with her brother and her friends when she was younger.
“We’d all work together to build the lopsided snowman or we’d get super competitive and try to pelt each other with snowballs,” Goel said.
If you’re really artistic, try and sculpt a QU-inspired creation in the snow.
Decorate with Food Coloring. Take that boring white snow and make it pop. While you’re out getting a sled, pick up some food coloring and create a masterpiece in the frozen canvas. If you did this when you were little, it probably consisted of a lot of squiggly lines. So go crazy. As long as it’s appropriate, of course.
Think about what you used to do as a kid, and next time it snows let your inner child loose. I think you’ll be surprised at how much childish wonder the wintertime can still bring out in even the most cynical college student.
