How to celebrate the first snow of winter?
November 9, 2015 7:35 PM Subscribe
This will be my fourth winter living in a place that gets snow every winter. Every year I get VERY VERY excited when it snows for the first time. Other than squeeing joyfully, what is something I can do each year to celebrate the first snow of winter?
We always, always celebrate the first snowfall of the year with hot cocoa with marshmallows in it.
posted by Andrhia at 7:45 PM on November 9, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by Andrhia at 7:45 PM on November 9, 2015 [5 favorites]
As soon as it starts sticking, run outside no matter the time and attempt to make a snowball to throw at something.
I still do this and I'm an "adult".
posted by larthegreat at 7:48 PM on November 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
I still do this and I'm an "adult".
posted by larthegreat at 7:48 PM on November 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
Snow angel. Always a snow angel.
posted by Crystalinne at 7:49 PM on November 9, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by Crystalinne at 7:49 PM on November 9, 2015 [6 favorites]
I make a point of it to eat some of the first snow every year, either caught on the tongue or scooped off something clean-- perhaps you might make a tradition of making Snow Candy?
posted by The otter lady at 7:52 PM on November 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by The otter lady at 7:52 PM on November 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
Adult beverage, a crackling fire and music.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 7:53 PM on November 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 7:53 PM on November 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
In a similar vein to Snow Candy make Tire Taffy. If you're in a place that has maple syrup.
The only down side is if you let the snow melt you will likely find all kinds of crud in the melt water and retroactively feel bad, so dispose of the snow as soon as possible.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 7:57 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
The only down side is if you let the snow melt you will likely find all kinds of crud in the melt water and retroactively feel bad, so dispose of the snow as soon as possible.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 7:57 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Apple cider & cinnamon heated on stove (possibly with some booze) and a fire. Crack open a book and eat pistachios.
posted by parki at 8:02 PM on November 9, 2015
posted by parki at 8:02 PM on November 9, 2015
Run outside and get the patio furniture into the garage?
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:04 PM on November 9, 2015 [16 favorites]
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:04 PM on November 9, 2015 [16 favorites]
Scoop up a clean mouthful and eat it. Fresh-fallen snow is delicious! You can also try snow ice cream: http://www.food.com/recipe/snow-ice-cream-108298
posted by stillmoving at 8:06 PM on November 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by stillmoving at 8:06 PM on November 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
If you live in a place with driveways, give your neighbours a little coupon for a free shovelling, redeemable whenever they have a cold or other unpleasant thing. Help those who can't help themselves because they hate winter. I'm totally with HuronBob on this.
posted by kmennie at 8:20 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by kmennie at 8:20 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I think you should go outside and skip joyfully around the garden while catching snow flakes on your tongue. I love love love snow too and have only spent a few winters where it occurs and I think I add joy (well, amusement) to those around me when I get so excited about it. Ok, so their happiness is more along the lines of 'oh, the poor demented dear' but eh, it makes them smile and I am euphoric :-)
posted by kitten magic at 8:26 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by kitten magic at 8:26 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Snow cream.
1. Keep a big mixing bowl in your freezer when you know it's gonna snow.
2. When the snow starts, put the bowl outside and let it get about half full.
3. Meanwhile, mix some cream and powdered sugar and a dash of vanilla together.
4. Bring the snow inside and mix in your sweet cream.
SNOW CREAM!
(um, maybe don't do this if you live somewhere with a lot of air pollution)
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:29 PM on November 9, 2015 [7 favorites]
1. Keep a big mixing bowl in your freezer when you know it's gonna snow.
2. When the snow starts, put the bowl outside and let it get about half full.
3. Meanwhile, mix some cream and powdered sugar and a dash of vanilla together.
4. Bring the snow inside and mix in your sweet cream.
SNOW CREAM!
(um, maybe don't do this if you live somewhere with a lot of air pollution)
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:29 PM on November 9, 2015 [7 favorites]
My mother used to make Jello when it snowed. She would hide it out in the snow to "refrigerate" it, and when I came home I would follow her crazy footstep trails until I found the buried treasures. Maybe make something that needs to chill?
posted by Grlnxtdr at 8:32 PM on November 9, 2015 [9 favorites]
posted by Grlnxtdr at 8:32 PM on November 9, 2015 [9 favorites]
close your eyes and look up!
posted by perrouno at 8:36 PM on November 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by perrouno at 8:36 PM on November 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
ISN'T WINTER JUST THE BEST? WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
If the first snow is just a bare dusting, I go out onto the porch and scrooble my foot around to make a mark or otherwise Formally Note the presence of snow and then I come back in and solemnly inform biscotti and the vallhunds that Winter Is Coming in my best Sean Bean, which is just terrible.
Understand, I do this as a mental exercise and not in meatspace because I have shreds of dignity and self-respect. But I'll go out on the back porch or front stoop and offer my best anteater COME AT ME BRO.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:01 PM on November 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
If the first snow is just a bare dusting, I go out onto the porch and scrooble my foot around to make a mark or otherwise Formally Note the presence of snow and then I come back in and solemnly inform biscotti and the vallhunds that Winter Is Coming in my best Sean Bean, which is just terrible.
Understand, I do this as a mental exercise and not in meatspace because I have shreds of dignity and self-respect. But I'll go out on the back porch or front stoop and offer my best anteater COME AT ME BRO.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:01 PM on November 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
I make drop doughnuts during the first snow. They are hot and sweet and I put lemon zest in them, and they are just the thing to reinvigorate you between bouts of snowball fights or snowman construction. MeMail me if you want the recipe!
posted by Maecenas at 9:02 PM on November 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Maecenas at 9:02 PM on November 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Make a snowball and stick it in the freezer to keep till summer!
posted by Otter_Handler at 9:08 PM on November 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Otter_Handler at 9:08 PM on November 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Go for a walk. Snow makes everything so quiet and glittery and magical.
Maple snow candy.
Shoveling driveways for the older people in your neighborhood.
Baking!
Fire! Don't have a fireplace? Light some candles. Bonus points if they smell like pine.
Feed the birds. If you like photography, it's so much fun to photograph the birds with snow falling around them. Snow brings all of the birds out.
posted by Ostara at 9:09 PM on November 9, 2015
Maple snow candy.
Shoveling driveways for the older people in your neighborhood.
Baking!
Fire! Don't have a fireplace? Light some candles. Bonus points if they smell like pine.
Feed the birds. If you like photography, it's so much fun to photograph the birds with snow falling around them. Snow brings all of the birds out.
posted by Ostara at 9:09 PM on November 9, 2015
You could donate a new blanket to a shelter or organization that distributes things to your local homeless population. Sorry to be a downer, but a blanket can mean so much to a person, especially a little early in the holiday season when things can be hardest.
When I was a kid we sometimes made pine cone bird treats - you tie twine around a pine cone with a long tail, "butter" the pine cone with peanut butter (get unsweetened if possible) and roll it in bird seed. Then tie it up to a tree and watch the critters get crazy. It was a nice indoor activity with a short outdoor component (foraging for the pine cones, then finding the right spot to tie them), and good to do in early winter when the birds who have stayed are fluffing up for the season.
posted by Mizu at 9:12 PM on November 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
When I was a kid we sometimes made pine cone bird treats - you tie twine around a pine cone with a long tail, "butter" the pine cone with peanut butter (get unsweetened if possible) and roll it in bird seed. Then tie it up to a tree and watch the critters get crazy. It was a nice indoor activity with a short outdoor component (foraging for the pine cones, then finding the right spot to tie them), and good to do in early winter when the birds who have stayed are fluffing up for the season.
posted by Mizu at 9:12 PM on November 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
Bundle up, take a walk in the woods with your favorite camera, and find the perfect shot.
posted by moons in june at 9:40 PM on November 9, 2015
posted by moons in june at 9:40 PM on November 9, 2015
Make chili.
Make stew.
Bundle up and go for a late night walk, truly awesome, but only if you live in a place where it's safe to walk around at night.
posted by BoscosMom at 9:47 PM on November 9, 2015
Make stew.
Bundle up and go for a late night walk, truly awesome, but only if you live in a place where it's safe to walk around at night.
posted by BoscosMom at 9:47 PM on November 9, 2015
Best answer: I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Winter Cup.
You need to go outside, with a cup or mug, and collect the first snowflakes. These will be very few, and may just line the bottom of your Winter Cup.
Carefully take this inside and then add 1 tablespoon of Brandy to your Winter Cup.
Let it sit for 5 minutes. This is very important.
Then, take one egg yolk and whisk it in a bowl until frothy.
Add a tablespoon of cream and a tsp of sugar and whisk it again.
Slowly add your Winter Cup mixture to the cream mix, then add 1/4 cup of milk, and then again 1/4 cup of Brandy.
That's your Winter Cup mix.
Now. Put that into a mug or a glass mug with a handle. Pour in a mix of boiling hot water and whisky, half and half, you got it? Half whisky and half water, boiling. Over the top of each mug.
Each mug has to have a bit of cinnamon on top and some orange zest. After that, a bit of cream would go nice, to represent the winter. Toss it all back and complain, there you go, a bit of Winter.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 10:14 PM on November 9, 2015 [11 favorites]
You need to go outside, with a cup or mug, and collect the first snowflakes. These will be very few, and may just line the bottom of your Winter Cup.
Carefully take this inside and then add 1 tablespoon of Brandy to your Winter Cup.
Let it sit for 5 minutes. This is very important.
Then, take one egg yolk and whisk it in a bowl until frothy.
Add a tablespoon of cream and a tsp of sugar and whisk it again.
Slowly add your Winter Cup mixture to the cream mix, then add 1/4 cup of milk, and then again 1/4 cup of Brandy.
That's your Winter Cup mix.
Now. Put that into a mug or a glass mug with a handle. Pour in a mix of boiling hot water and whisky, half and half, you got it? Half whisky and half water, boiling. Over the top of each mug.
Each mug has to have a bit of cinnamon on top and some orange zest. After that, a bit of cream would go nice, to represent the winter. Toss it all back and complain, there you go, a bit of Winter.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 10:14 PM on November 9, 2015 [11 favorites]
Throw on your winter coat (but under dress just a bit because being a little cold is part of the fun) and then run outside and try to make a snow ball/snow man, stick out your tongue to try to catch a snow flake, run around, etc, etc. Also maybe take some pictures. Oh, don't forget the snow angel.
Then go inside, take off your wet clothes, change into some comfy PJs, throw on a cozy bathrobe, and have some hot chocolate with whipped cream (or marshmallows, if you prefer).
If you're into this kind of thing, maybe listen to some Christmas carols. If you have a fireplace, definitely get a fire started. Then curl up in front of it and read a book or watch a favorite (preferably winter or seasonal) movie.
Also, don't be embarrassed about embracing the part of you that just wants to run outside and jump around like a small child. I definitely felt like this for the first five or so years after I moved to a snowy part of the US. Now, at nine winters and counting, the first snow fall gives me a momentary feeling of excitement which is almost instantly crushed by a sense of, "Shit, it's starting. Winter is here. It will be cold forever. Soon the snow will be piled up above my head. There will be nowhere to walk, nowhere to drive. And even though the calendar tells me spring is just a few months away, I know that's a lie. It's always a lie. Spring in New England is a myth. It will be cold forever."
Um, sorry, I'm still scarred from last winter.
posted by litera scripta manet at 10:23 PM on November 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
Then go inside, take off your wet clothes, change into some comfy PJs, throw on a cozy bathrobe, and have some hot chocolate with whipped cream (or marshmallows, if you prefer).
If you're into this kind of thing, maybe listen to some Christmas carols. If you have a fireplace, definitely get a fire started. Then curl up in front of it and read a book or watch a favorite (preferably winter or seasonal) movie.
Also, don't be embarrassed about embracing the part of you that just wants to run outside and jump around like a small child. I definitely felt like this for the first five or so years after I moved to a snowy part of the US. Now, at nine winters and counting, the first snow fall gives me a momentary feeling of excitement which is almost instantly crushed by a sense of, "Shit, it's starting. Winter is here. It will be cold forever. Soon the snow will be piled up above my head. There will be nowhere to walk, nowhere to drive. And even though the calendar tells me spring is just a few months away, I know that's a lie. It's always a lie. Spring in New England is a myth. It will be cold forever."
Um, sorry, I'm still scarred from last winter.
posted by litera scripta manet at 10:23 PM on November 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
I only did this three times, but I would wait for the first heavy snowfall that continued into the evening, then when my parents went to bed I'd put on my parka, take off my shoes and socks and run around the block barefoot; the first year, I could still see the prints the next morning on the sidewalks that hadn't been shoveled yet as I walked to school, and they were recognizably human, which hadn't even occurred to me as a possibility, and that was kind of cool.
I cut my foot the last time, but not too badly, and it seemed almost fitting since I'd be away at college the year after.
posted by jamjam at 10:35 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
I cut my foot the last time, but not too badly, and it seemed almost fitting since I'd be away at college the year after.
posted by jamjam at 10:35 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
If the snow packs right, I make a snowball, pick a target, and try to hit the target. If I miss, I try again until I hit the target. Then I take it as a portent that it will be a fun winter ahead.
If the snow doesn't pack right, I just swoon around trying to catch as many snowflakes on my tongue as I can. And then I take it as a portent that it will be a fun winter ahead.
posted by not_on_display at 11:18 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
If the snow doesn't pack right, I just swoon around trying to catch as many snowflakes on my tongue as I can. And then I take it as a portent that it will be a fun winter ahead.
posted by not_on_display at 11:18 PM on November 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Make a snow person every year and take a photo.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:20 PM on November 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:20 PM on November 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
Go for a walk. Grab friends if you have some nearby. Sing snowy songs on your walk. Then back home for a hot drink.
posted by chickenmagazine at 2:52 AM on November 10, 2015
posted by chickenmagazine at 2:52 AM on November 10, 2015
Best answer: My husband and I have a strange tradition....we have two breakfasts on the day of the first snowfall.
posted by barnoley at 5:54 AM on November 10, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by barnoley at 5:54 AM on November 10, 2015 [5 favorites]
Put on snow boots and a warm coat and go outside. Focus on the sounds. The muffled noises, the quiet, the snow under your boots. The sound of the first snow is just so magical, every year again.
posted by Fallbala at 8:26 AM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Fallbala at 8:26 AM on November 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
Compose a commemorative haiku. Post on social media, or not.
posted by koucha at 12:12 PM on November 10, 2015
posted by koucha at 12:12 PM on November 10, 2015
Response by poster: Thank you! These are all great!
posted by ilovewinter at 1:58 PM on November 10, 2015
posted by ilovewinter at 1:58 PM on November 10, 2015
Read Owl Moon. Or Walk on a snowy night, by Judy Delton. There are a plethora of magical children's books that are perfect for the first snowfall!! And I highly recommend taking walks during night time snowfall. Especially a quiet heavy snow. Magical in every way.
posted by LaBellaStella at 3:27 PM on November 10, 2015
posted by LaBellaStella at 3:27 PM on November 10, 2015
Our family always makes soft pretzels on the first snow day.
posted by zem at 6:20 AM on November 11, 2015
posted by zem at 6:20 AM on November 11, 2015
I would watch Fahrenheit 451, especially the ending, but maybe that's just me.
posted by Rash at 2:25 PM on November 11, 2015
posted by Rash at 2:25 PM on November 11, 2015
Pass out candy canes to your friends/family/coworkers/etc. Mint is such a winter flavour to me.
posted by Lay Off The Books at 3:21 PM on November 15, 2015
posted by Lay Off The Books at 3:21 PM on November 15, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by clockwork at 7:43 PM on November 9, 2015 [3 favorites]