Where I live, snow falls fairly infrequently. But when it does happen, the city basically shuts down, people sled in the streets, and snowmen pop up all over the place. I thought maybe I’d give you a little inspiration for things to do with the snow that go a little above and beyond the traditional!
Ice Dragons
Courtesy of Ice Carving Secrets
Obviously, these sculptures are a little too complex for the average ice carver. Unless I’m totally misinformed about the hobby. I’ve always loved dragons, and seeing the way these colors light up the sculpture are amazing. The website, Ice Carving Secrets, has many other (easier) examples, though!
More Ice Sculptures
Courtesy of Reuters/Sheng Li
GOOD GRAVY. This entire photo set on Boston.com are simply mind blowing. Aside from the fact that I hate the cold, I would love to live in one of these amazing ice palaces. The craftsmanship in these sculptures… simply mind boggling. Consider maybe carving a much smaller version in your back yard? 
Igloo Village
Courtesy of Kakslauttanen
So clearly, this are not purely made of snow. But they’re pretty fantastic, all the same! They can be found in the resort of Kakslauttanen, over in the Arctic circle. If you happen to decide to take a trip there, please let me know. I will pack myself into a very large suitcase. It’s definitely possible to make smaller versions of these at home, and might become a permanent fixture on your property (sans snow)!
Rainbow Igloo
Courtesy of Daniel Gray
You may have seen this igloo pop up recently on various social networks. The story can be found here, and it really is endearing. It took Daniel roughly 150 hours to complete this igloo, but wow, does it look amazing. Some of the photos from the inside of the structure make it look a lot like stained glass.
Unique Snowthings
Courtesy of Chris Hillman
I can’t really call them Snowmen, or even Snowpeople, because a couple of these pictures from The Chicago Tribune are definitely not people. If you’re not feeling up to crafting an igloo or an ice sculpture, maybe you’d be more interested in spending a little bit of time on a unique snowthing. There’s a pretty cute snow Loch Ness in there that I’d love to build in my yard… if it would ever snow here.
Snow Art
Courtesy of Simon Beck
I actually had no idea this was a thing that existed until I started looking up ideas to give you folks. But his album… it’s truly amazing. His projects are enormous and beautiful and how did he get everything so perfect looking?! On a much smaller scale, it’d be fairly easy to do something like this in a yard at home.
Hopefully you’ve got snow this year. And if you do, hopefully this post has given you ideas for ways to play outside in the cold. If you don’t have any snow, don’t worry… you probably know someone with a freezer, and maybe a lot of time on their hands.
