Ask A DFW Expert: 5 Best Snow Day Activities

The DFW area has very few snow days each year, which brings about a pair of a problems. The first is that it is dangerous to travel anywhere when the Dallas roads are iced over, and with so few snow days, there are always questions about what to do on snow and ice days. When it is too dangerous to travel, but snowy enough to bring joy to kid's lives, here is a look at five of the best snow day activities in the DFW area.

Deborah K. Heisz
Live Happy Magazine
4006 Belt Line Road, Suite 120
Addison, TX 75001
(212) 886-6704
www.livehappy.comDeborah K. Heisz, the COO and co-founder of Live Happy LLC, has an MBA from the University of Dallas and has worked with Live Happy in Dallas for the last nine years, helping families by promoting educational resources and community awareness news through a magazine, website and weekly podcast. Heisz and the editors of Live Happy are also working on a new book called "Live Happy: Ten Practices for Choosing Joy", which will hit stores in 2016. According to Heisz, these are the best things to do in Dallas on a snowy icy day.

Play In The Snow"Because it rarely snows, kids will be fascinated by the snow," Heisz said. "Just going outside in the snow is a true adventure for them." This offers the rare chance for kids to see the snow and a great chance to go out and experience what it is like to actually play in the snow. "Just walk around. It is the best thing ever because they never get to do that. It is memorable for them. Make sure to get outside because it only happens two days a year and its really special for the kids."

Go Sledding OutdoorsOf course, since it rarely snows in Dallas, many kids don't own their own sleds. Despite that, there is a way to go sledding down the numerous hills in DFW neighborhoods. "Bring a plastic pool wrap with you or maybe a cardboard box," Heisz said. "Find the local sledding hill, which is always within walking distance of your house. Get over there and let them sled, even if its just a 15 foot sledding experience. They will have a blast."

Camp Indoors"Something we love to do as a family when we are home bound is camp indoors," Heisz said. "We put up little pup tents in the living room and turn on the fireplace. We make s'mores in the fireplace and make it like a mini vacation. We create a little camping environment. We are at home, but are having a good time like we are on vacation." Heisz also added that it doesn't have to be camping, and a family could pretend they are at a ski lodge or whatever is special. "Create an event out of it," Heisz said.

Related: 5 Sports Best Played In The Snow

Have A Big Craft Day"Make sure you have crafts on hand," Heisz said. "Make sure you have things on hand for family bonding." Heisz mentioned playing games like Uno or creating homemade Christmas ornaments. Another craft is baking cookies together. "[Do] something you can do together as a family that is special that you don't normally get to do," Heisz said. "This will break up that homebound time and get kids off their iPads and video games that they spend their time doing." Make a snow day a family bonding time.

Use Snow Days To Remember Past Experiences"What we really like to do is remember family vacations and experiences," Heisz said. "We take a lot of digital pictures and store them. We plug the iPad into the TV and look at old family photos and videos." Younger kids might not remember older vacations, and those that they do remember, they love to re-experience those moments from fun family times. "Snow days in Texas really are an opportunity to slow down because we can't go anywhere," Heisz said. "It's an opportunity to do things you don't normally have time to do. That makes it a special time for them."

Related: Freezing Rain vs. Sleet vs. Snow