Last Friday, we got some snow. For those of you living up North, I’m sure that snow is no big deal. For us in the South, however, ANY amount of snow is not only exciting but potentially disastrous. If you want a good laugh, google “Snowpocalypse” and see what a couple of inches of snow did to Georgia back in 2014. Since we don’t get snow consistently, it means people don’t invest enough in proper snow equipment for the roads, houses, cars, etc. So when we get any amount of snow or ice, schools and even businesses close since the roads become dangerous.
So back to last Friday. I had no idea snow was even in the forecast until that Friday morning. And since we never really know if we’ll get anything more than just rain, I figured it was a false alarm. Coen went to school like normal, but sometime mid-morning, much to my surprise, snow started to fall. Knowing how much people freak out once snow hits the ground, Whit went ahead and checked Coen out from school to make sure they got back home before the roads got bad. The snow kept falling the entire day and even throughout the night, and we got at least 9 inches of snow at our house. That’s the most snow we’ve seen since we moved to Georgia. It was the first time that Adi got to play in the snow; well, she mostly grabbed chunks/snowballs and ate as much as she could when we weren’t looking! Coen had seen snow in Canada, but this was the first time that he got to play with it at home. To say that they both loved the snow is an understatement. We were outside most of Friday-Sunday, only coming in to eat or nap! If you know me, you know that I don’t “do” outdoors, but I really enjoyed the snow just as much as the kiddos!
The trickiest part about our fun in the snow was our wardrobe situation. The same way that we don’t really invest in snow equipment, we don’t do it either in the wardrobe department! When you get snow once a year (if that!), it doesn’t quite make sense to invest in a full snow-proof wardrobe; especially if you have children that need new items every year as they move up in sizes! So here’s what we did: We used some of our “Canada weather” items that we had from past trips to visit family, some new purchases we made during black friday sales, and the rest we improvised with lots of layers!
If you occasionally get snow where you live and you don’t want to buy a full snow/winter wardrobe yet you want to enjoy it when it does snow (like us!), here are my tips on what to buy and what to sort of piece together.
Stock Up on Essential Items
Jackets
Get at least one good water-resistant jacket that will keep you warm and dry in the snow. The kiddos and I have puff jackets with hoodies, and they were great, even during our snowball fights! I just got Coen some frost-free jackets from Old Navy (navy, color-blocked) when they were on sale for only like $10 earlier this week!
Snow pants
This was the first year Coen had snow pants (thanks to a friend!) and they were a game changer. He was able to play and not worry about getting his legs cold or wet. Adi, on the other hand, had fleece pants (with a pj underneath) and they would get wet when she fell or tried to sit. Similar to the jackets, I found some snow pants on sale at Old Navy (navy) so I couldn’t resist!
Boots
Have a pair of water-resistant boots that can keep your feet warm and dry, whether that’s snow boots or even rain boots! Whit and Coen had snow boots from Canada trips, so they were good. I wore rain boots I bought at Gap a few years ago, with leg warmers, and they worked great. My feet were cold, so next time I’ll need thicker socks! Adi had neither snow nor rain boots; I had recently gotten her some tall boots, not really meant for snow, but they kept her feet dry!
Gloves
Gloves are definitely necessary, especially for the kiddos who want to touch and play with the snow nonstop. If you don’t plan on touching the snow too much, you can always get knit or fleece gloves to keep you warm. We all had knit/fleece gloves and mittens, and they worked for a while but I think I’ll need to get the kids some water-resistant gloves for next time!
Hat
Whether it’s a simple beanie or something meant for snow, keep your head warm with your fave hat or jacket’s hoodie.
Improvise
Now that you have your essential items covered, for the rest you can either get items meant for snow weather or improvise like this:
Layer up
To keep warm, layer up on pants and tops. If you don’t have thermal clothes to wear under your pants, you can always wear leggings, tights, or even pj pants. That’s what we did and it worked well!
Toys
If you can, go ahead and buy a sled and/or snow toys since you can use them year after year. If you don’t happen to have any toys specifically for snow, see what other toys your kiddos have that could work well in the snow. We used beach toys, and they loved playing with the beach shovels and buckets in the snow! If you don’t have a sled, try using some inflatables tubes/floats or large tub lids, and they may work just fine.
Shopping Tips
Now that you know what to stock up on, here are my tips on when and where to shop for them:
1. Take advantage of holiday sales and when stores want to get rid of winter inventory to make room for Spring items. I just stocked up for next year during some amazing sales this week!
2. Shop at consignment and thrift stores for good deals.
3. Check if family or friends have outgrown any items, or if they live up North they may find better deals and purchase items for you.
So that wraps up my tips for prepping for the sporadic snow day! What about you - do you buy a snow-proof wardrobe or improvise as needed?
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