Make a Fire In the Snow

Wintertime is generally associated with snow, building snowmen, snowball fights, sledding, and playing in other ways in the snow. At the end of these fun activities, coming inside and enjoying a hot drink while getting out of wet clothes is a favorite for everyone involved - kids and parents alike are usually completely wiped out after a long day in the snow.

Yet another way to have a lot of fun in the winter is to build a fire. Too often, we spend time building fires in the heat of the summer. While it’s always fun to have marshmallows and s'mores during that time, the heat of a fire is generally more uncomfortable than enjoyable at that time of year - it’s already plenty warm outside that a fire isn’t needed.

Building a fire in the winter, specifically when there’s snow on the ground, is a great way to bring a little bit of heat while outside. Rather than running from the fire, you’ll be trying to get closer to it in order to warm up. You’ll obviously need to not get too close to the fire as is always the case with a fire - be safe and keep yourself and your kids a safe distance away.

There’s really no major difference between building a fire in the winter vs building it in the summer - at the end of the day you’re just burning wood. The biggest challenge you’ll find during winter is that you want to keep your wood dry before you get it into the fire pit (you’ll want to keep it dry in the fire pit also). Other than that, it’s really just about keeping your fire going as long as you’d like.

One of the benefits to a fire in the winter is that things are far less likely to get out of control. That doesn’t mean you can just go wild and not watch your fire, but the risk of things getting out of control is far lower than in the summer heat when things are extremely dry. Putting your fire out in the winter can be done by putting snow on top of it rather than having to haul water to where your fire is at.

Winter s'mores taste even better than in the summer. It’s something about that sweet warmness with chocolate while in the freezing cold that really hits home. Beyond s’mores, you can make any of the same foods you normally make on the fire during the winter as well - it’s still a fire after all.

Kids will love being able to run around and play in the snow while having a warm fire close by. Working on a big snow house or having a huge snowball fight followed by sitting close to the fire is a lot of fun.

Don’t be afraid to build a fire outside in the snow. Kids will almost certainly love it, and it’s a great family activity.