DIY Easy Snow Paint for Kids! (1 Ingredient!)

This February has been the absolute snowiest one in history, and I really wanted to think of something fun to do with all of it (besides sledding, of course) – so snow paint was born!

It’s not an entirely new concept, but it is a cheap way to save money if you want to give the kid something to do by them selves.

I wrote another article on fun snow toys here, and one of the things listed was a snow paint set – and it was actually quite pricey!

It was one of the few things my preschooler son could do by himself, and let’s be honest, this mama is half alive sometimes so I don’t always have all the energy to pull him around on the sled!

All this takes is some food dye, water, and a bottle of some kind!

DIY snow paint for kids outside during winter

Ingredients needed for DIY Snow Paint

  • Food Dye – I used a gel kind, but I’m sure your typical dropper one would work to. It happened to be on sale so I got it!
  • A squirter bottle – I’m not really sure of the right term for this one, but see pictures below! I picked mine up for 99 cents each at walmart
  • Water – Because the dye by itself will go pretty darn quick!

How to make snow paint

Time needed: 5 minutes

This is quick and easy and should keep the kids entertained for a bit!

  1. Fill bottles with cool water

    Hot water will ust melt the snow and sink to the bottom, instead of decorating the top layer of snow

  2. Shake it up!

    Easy enough!

  3. Squeeze it out!

    This is super easy – be sure to warn the kids to not use too much at once.. I think my guy used up all three of his bottle in like 10 minutes!

Fun games to play with snow paint

Here are a couple of fun games to play with the snow paint should your kiddo tire of just spraying it everywhere.

fun snow day idea, use snow paint you make at home
It’s likely your kid will be pretty happy just squirting the paint everywhere, but if they get bored, there are some fun games to play!

Paint Snowballs

Have your kiddo make snowballs and try to color each one. Try mixing colors to see what happens!

Paint “safe spots” for a “ground is lava” kind of game!

For the more active type, paint colored circles on the ground and challenge your child to jump safely from spot to spot. You may have to “renew” the spot with more snow paint, but kids will love the challenge and creativity of thinking the snow is lava!

Color sort with ball pit balls

Repurpose those ball pit balls for winter! Use the snow paint to make an area for however many colors you want, then bring a bag of balls out and ask them to organize the colors! It might be helpful to put an indentaiton in the ground, or perhaps create a mini snow statue and paint it with the color as a “marker” for the area each ball should go!

Use snow paint with a spray bottle to paint big things like snowmen!

While the bottle is fun to use, you might get more out of it by using a spray bottle! We have a snowman in our yard right now that I KNOW my guy would love to turn green!!

Create colored ornaments with a bunt pan!

Put some snow into a bunt pan and douse it with the snow paint. Let it freeze, then use warm water on the outside of the pan to pop the ornament out. Use a string to hang it!

Pin this for your next snowy day! What are your favorite things to do in the snow?

Surprisingly, my kid really loves to shovel – I’m going to embrace it until he gets older and realizes it’s actually a chore for most people!

Snow can be hard to enjoy sometimes with toddlers, but I hope this simple idea can make it a little easier!

Snow paint for kid with food dye

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