By Matty Dimarco
As the calendar turns to December, it marks one of the colder months of the year for New Jersey. While no one likes the cold weather, it does create the possibility of one thing everyone enjoys: snow! Everyone loves a snow day, a break from the drudgery of school. But now, as high schoolers, no one knows what to do with those days. When we were all younger, we could sit in the snow for hours, and have a great time. But at our ages, snow can be… kinda boring. Sure, the first moments when you’re outside are magical, but you can’t sit around for hours making snow angels like we once did, due to the short attention spans we all have by virtue of being teenagers. Here are some ways you can make the most of your snow days, as, for some of you, these may be your last ever as students.
Note: Activities are graded on a one to ten scale, from “you’ll fall asleep doing this” to “this will be the most fun you’ve ever had”.
- Snow forts:
This is a fun, engaging activity that’ll keep you occupied for hours! All you and some friends need to do is find—or make—a giant pile of snow, and the rest is up to your imagination. There’s nothing better than, once you finish, playing cards and sipping hot cocoa in the fort, with the satisfaction of knowing that you built this yourselves. This is a lot of work, though, so you have to be up for the challenge if you want to have fun.
Fun Rating: 8/10
- Snowball fights:
A classic game! I know every single one of you has participated in at least one of these over the years. For me, especially, this evokes fond memories of having fun with friends during simpler times. Ideally, this is performed in a larger space, where you have enough room to make snowballs without being pelted repeatedly. This can also be combined with snow forts, as you could build a fort, then use that as a base of sorts during the fight. Unfortunately, this is not ideal with mittens on, as the lack of defined finger slots makes it hard to craft functioning balls. Also, this is somewhat hit-or-miss; either it’s fun or it isn’t. This largely depends on the people participating. Still, this definitely can be enjoyable!
Fun rating: 5/10
- Snow football:
This is my personal favorite thing to do in the snow. The cushion of the snow, and the padding from the extra layers is perfect for some good ol’ fashioned football. The snow makes it hard to sprint, which is all the more fun, as it levels the playing field for participants. Mittens make passing challenging, leading to more handoffs. The game will be a low-scoring affair, but that arguably makes it more engaging and fun. Six on six are perfect numbers for this, but really any numbers are fine (even 1v1 is pretty fun!). I highly recommend this!
Fun rating: 9.5/10
- Sledding:
Another classic here! There are many exceptional hills in Chatham, such as the one in front of Lafayette, on the Fairmount golf course, the power lines right near Shunpike, and several other places. With so many options, it’s hard to go wrong. There’s nothing better than whizzing down a steep hill, holding on to your sled for dear life, as you know it’ll hurt if you fall off. However, sledding is repetitive, and can get old fast. If you do go, I’d recommend going for no more than 30 minutes because, believe me, any more than that will get boring.
Fun rating: 5.5/10
Hopefully, you try out some of these activities, because they can make snow days a blast for you and friends. I implore you, don’t waste these precious days, because they are limited.
