The Olympic Snow Games

Remember my version of Reindeer Games from Christmas Eve two years ago? It was such a hit, that this year with family in town, I created a similar activity centered around SNOW, mainly because I could only dream of a White Christmas in Texas this year....

Suitable for for the holidays, winter break, or the next time your family is "snowed in", this lil' family event will have you all laughing, cheering, and having "snow" much fun together!


Here's what you'll need for your Olympic SNOW Games:

1 - the Game Board. You'll invite the competitors to view the Game Board for each game's title as you read the game description and/or rules for each corresponding game. (I noticed that the younger kids in our group kept looking at it and getting excited about the next game. Some of the titles are deceiving and I was cracking up as they guessed what they thought the game would be about and they were waaay off! haha.) 

2 - The Olympic Snow Rings, made out of paper plates from Dollar Tree and centers cut out. Note: you will have to tape the slits you made from cutting and intertwine each ring the proper way in order for them to hang correctly. It's trickier than you'd think. Either that or I'm just a little slow. :)

3 - The Olympic Snow Torch - made from a long paper umbrella (or anything else long and cylindrical like this!). I just wrapped white wrapping tissue around it and then wrapped again with a sheer, glittery wide ribbon. When you get to the top (fire part), wrap the base of the tissue in with the rest and then leave enough of top to give you a torch.

4 - White Medals, grab yourself a few packs of White KitKats, white ribbon and a hot glue gun. (obviously, a low-temp glue gun is best because you will be gluing the ribbon directly onto the back of KitKat. I didn't have any problems with the chocolate melting...if it did, it was the tiniest bit. No big deal.

5 - The Official SNOW GAMES Instruction Packet, it's a PDF download I've created just for you! It includes rules and instructions for the games, supplies list for each game, and pretty much just organizes it all for you in one easy-to-read packet.

Okay, it's game time. Here's how it works.

Opening Ceremonies

On a computer, phone, or tablet, have the Olympic theme song playing from this youtube video. I started at the beginning and stopped it at 1:06. When the music starts, have your chosen carrier-of-the-torch make an entrance into the living room (or wherever your group is sitting) and hold the torch high! Then, about 10-20 seconds into the song, have your Master of Ceremony announce something like this:

"Welcome to The 2014 Olympic Snow Games: Celebrating the _____________(family name)'s Quest for the White Medal! (Show the White Medal) Required of each competitor is outstanding sportsmanship, a team spirit, and most importantly, a great sense of humor (because the gamemakers tend to be a little corny!) We wish for all to have "snow" much fun! Let the Games Begin!!"

Games

v  Snow Blowers 
It may be cold outside, but there's plenty of hot air in this game! Each competitor will blow up their white balloons and use the air from it to blow snow from the table down to their bucket. Whoever has the most snow in their bucket wins the round.  The winners of each round play a final round to determine White Medal winner.

v  Blind Snowman 
A blizzard of snow has blown in and covered everything in a blinding blanket of white! But, the games must go on and a snowman must be built! In this individual sport, each competitor will draw a snowman...with eyes closed!  No peeking!
(Instructions & rules included the Game Instructions PDF download below. You'll need these instructions for the game to work!)

psssttt, there's a free printable for this game!
Download links at bottom of post.

v  Snowball Fight
In this favorite Snow Games team sport, the two 

top-ranked teams in the world meet for this snowball showdown. Who will be victorious? Who will get socked? (Play like dodge ball.)

 v  Snowbowls
A well-loved individual sport, Snowbowls has each competitor picking up 

as many mini snowballs as they can with chopsticks and drop them into a bowl, while a timer runs for one minute. The winners of the initial rounds will play a final round and the winner takes the WHITE! (4 at a time, or as many chopsticks as you have. Not all at the same time, because you want some to watch and some to play. Winner of each round plays a final round and the winner gets the White!)

v  Eat Snow
Only the fiercest of competitors are invited to face off in this event, but winning comes with sweet rewards! Each competitor starts with a snowball (white chocolate oreo) on their face and follows these rules: (Instructions & rules included the Game Instructions PDF download below.)(Variation of this game: If you can't find white chocolate oreos, just name the game "Dirty Snow" or "Eat Dirty Snow" and use regular oreos.)

   v  the Silly Snow Song 

As the Olympic Snow Games of ________(year) come to a close, all competitors come together to sing the beloved theme song of the games. (I used the lyrics of "Let it Snow!"  (Instructions for this madgab are included the Game Instructions PDF download below.)

Closing Ceremony:
Make sure you take a group photo with everyone and their White Medals......

 and then move onto some yummy snacks and treats!

Because it was right after Christmas, we still had sooo many goodies leftover, so I didn't go all out for this part of the activity. However, the sky's the limit here. Here are some ideas for ya:

*Pepperidge Farm Snowball Cookies (citrus)
*White Powdered Donuts

*Vanilla Snow Cotton Candy (holiday section, Walmart 2014)

*SnoCaps nonpareils candies
*Betty Crocker Snowball Cookies (mix)
*Hostess SNOBALLS
*Cadbury Snow Bites

*Chex Mix Muddy Buddies or Homemade Puppy Chow (call them Snow Chow)
*Little Debbie White Fancy Cakes
*White Cheddar Snowballs
*White Cheddar Popcorn
*White Fudge Flipz (white chocolate pretzels)
*Reese's White or KitKat White
*White candies & taffies (look at your local party store)
*Lindor White Chocolate truffles
*White Jordan Almonds
...seriously, this list could go on forever. White ANYTHING :)

And of course there are oodles of ideas for homemade treats that take a bit more effort, but might just earn YOU the White Medal in your family's eyes... try this collection of 25 "snow" themed treats from Something Swanky.

And, as promised, the download links are below. Please, please, please..if you use these ideas with your family, I would so completely enjoy seeing your pictures if you wish to blog about it and comment or email me the link!

Full Instruction Packet
Blind Snowman Drawing Sheets
Game Board Text Strips: (includes PDF images so you can print out the text and cut & glue to scrapbook paper to make the board like mine)
Board Title, 2 options*
Game Titles 1*
Game Titles 2*

*okay, I don't know what happened but some of the text and/or swirls on the game board strips are not showing fully after I converted to PDF... it's a minor detail, but fill it in by hand and no one will even know!  :)
.............................................................

Oh, and just in case you were going to try some games of your own, here are some other fun ideas that I decided not to incorporate this time around (mainly because I didn't want the whole activity to be too long).

Just a bunch of Snow-flakes - cut paper snowflakes. have everyone vote for best one. any ties have to create another and then revote.  

Build a Snowman - Pair people off into groups of two. This will be a race to make one person in each group a toilet-paper wrapped snowman. You can just give them the supplies they need, or create some sort of riddle or hunt for each item: the scarf, pipe, carrot nose, hat, and buttons. 

SnowBunny - I thought this could work just like Chubby Bunny, where it's a contest to see who can stuff the most "snow" (aka jumbo marshmallows) into their bunny cheeks and still say SnowBunny audibly.

Other possible game title ideas: Snow Blizzard; Up to Snow Good; Ready, Set, Snow!; Snow Flurries; Don't Be Snow-flaky!;