Remember our Outdoor Tea Room play area? Well, all the equipment we had for that was still out in our backyard stored snuggly in its waterproof box, along with our old tea trolley! (A bonkers accessory for the garden I know, but boy has it provided hours of fun.) This alongside the blanket of freshly fallen snow was just play heaven for my little girl!
She started by clearing the tea trolley of snow & assembling her kitchen utensils.
Soon containers were filled with handfuls of snow...
& icicles added for flavor!
With each drink came a complimentary icicle (or 2)! These were used as straws, spoons, & cookies!
Icicles from nearby windowsills were fun to explore & experiment with, especially with a rolling pin!
Ice-cream was kept cool (!) in the fridge below the counter, & more snow ice-cream was eagerly collected from nearby!
She spent ages concocting & creating with the snow & ice, stirring, scooping, patting, compacting, & molding.
The mini jelly molds (picked up in a £1 store) were great to use in the snow, & soon became cakes & pies!
Using a fork in the snow was another exciting discovery, & she soon realised she could break up the compacted snow as well as create patterns with it.
This winter play area was great fun to explore & discover. Each concoction that had been created stayed as it was until (Minnie played with it or) the temperature rose, & this of course gave us another opportunity to explore what happens to water, snow & ice at different temperatures.
This wintery play set up was simple to put together & cost us nothing. The equipment was transferred back into the box when Minnie had finished playing with it, with some of the breakable items taken inside to prevent cracking in the freezing weather. Obviously, you don't have to have a tea trolley for this setup, an old table or upturned plastic box would work just as well, & any kitchen equipment can be washed thoroughly after play.
Where could you create a snow kitchen in your backyard? What would you add to yours?