You know you haven't really got much snow...
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I post a photo or two and just a few words.
...when you leave a path of clear grass behind you as you make a snowman.
Oh well. It's early in December, so there's still plenty of time for a better snowstorm to come our way.
And if nothing else does happen this winter snow-wise, then I'm all the happier that I dug snow clothes and boots out for this.
I must say, I'm so happy to have a good supply of hand-me-down and Goodwill-purchased snow gear, especially because we never know from year to year if we'll have much snow or not. Buying all new gear for my four kiddos every year could be very expensive and on a no-snow year, it could end up being a complete waste of money.
We get snow every year here in the PA mountains so we definitely need warm stuff. Last year I got snow suits (and hats and gloves and a few coats) at Walmart that were severely discounted in the months after winter. I stock up and donate the vast majority of what I buy.
In the land of "we always get snow" there are yearly cold weather clothing and gear consignment sales. These were musts for us, even though we only had two children. We could buy everything"”parkas, boots, winter sports equipment"”for much less than buying brand new. We could also put things in the sale and earn a commission, a win-win!
I solved the snow problem about 3 years ago after our last big snow. I finally broke down and went out and got a snow blower. We have not had a big enough snowfall since to get it out! So it worked!! I figure that when it does finally snow enough, the new snow blower will either be rusted up, or not start, or I will have forgotten to put oil in it, or not have any gas!
Enjoy the snow! 🙂
We are blessed to receive hand-me-downs which include snow suits. Here in Michigan we do need snow suits so I'm glad for that expense we don't have because of the blessing of friends passing on their clothes to us. We almost didn't get this year's snow suit because the bottom was frayed. But we assured our friends we were not picky and it didn't matter! 🙂
Oh yeah...it's only going to get frayed once your kids use it anyway, so to me, it's no big deal if a snowsuit is a little bit frayed to begin with. It's not like we wear our snow clothes anywhere fancy!
We have lots of snow here in Northern Alberta. Today's temperature is -26C (with the wind chill it feels like -31C). Warm winter clothing is in the budget every year so I found it interesting to read that sometimes you may not get snow after having geared everyone up in snowpants, boots, tuques, etc. Have a great Thursday Kristen and FG readers!
Oh my soul, girl!!! I would pretty much want to die at those temps (and Mr. FG, who loathes the cold with every inch of his being, probably would expire on the spot.)
I live in upstate NY, and believe it or not, we do have an occasional winter with very little snow. The last few years, it seems like Manhattan and Washington DC get more snow than we do! So I definitely don't like to spend a lot on snowpants and boots. I still find it really comical that the first year I did a calendar with my son, I made up a rhyme for the months of the year to help him learn about them, and I had to change January's rhyme from "in January it's time for snow" to "in January it SOMETIMES snows". Who would have thought that snow in January in upstate NY would not be a sure thing?!
I live where snow is a maybe one or two day per year event. Some years no snow at all. Other years just a few hours to a day of snow. Buying snow clothes would be a luxury for us, so we also have depended heavily on hand-me-down snow pants and boots. In a pinch, my kids wore their sneakers outside in the snow, with several layers of socks on their feet, then plastic bags over the socks, then the sneakers. Kept their feet dry for an hour of play.
We do really need warm clothes, though, so long underwear, fleece shirts and parkas are a must here.
A couple of years ago, we did have a big snow, so we finally bought a snow shovel. We've had no measurable snow since. That shovel seems to mysteriously hold the snow off.
I feel that way about my snow tires (I live in Vancouver, BC).
I'm not sure where you are geographically, but I'm in NC (and from SC) and snow happens MAYBE once each year. It's crazy, because everything will delay or just shut down here even with just a tiny bit of snow.
You just experianced what we know as normal here in the Seattle area.
I've never made a snowman that didn't have twigs, grass dirt etc. imbedded in it.
Every snowman around here has a path of clear grass leading up to it.
I'm another one of your Michigan readers--I live in the snow belt (near Lake Michigan) and snow gear is an absolute must. Last year we hardly got any snow at all till February and I think we had 96 inches that month. I have found that in January/February the stores start marking down winter items (since of course it is time for them to put swimsuits out on the clothing racks!) and that's a great time to buy. For some reason it is harder to find snowpants on sale so when I find a good price on them, I buy the next 2 sizes up and store them away for later. It's also hard to get a good deal on kid's mittens/gloves. Usually I try to get the best deal possible in January and the kids get a hat and mittens for Christmas the following year. Boots are trickier, though--I buy them in October of the year they will be wearing them and rely heavily on coupons. These are expenses I'm happy to pay--I want my kids to be outside as much as possible and I'm willing to put the money into making that happen.
We get a lot of snow here (Nebraska) and our girls love to play outside and it's hard for them to keep their gloves on,they just don't like it
Here in New Hampshire we usually get lots of snow. My kids play outside a lot and they ski so good clothing is a must. This year I purchased long underwear for them which has come in handy already. I buy ones made with Merino wool for extra warmth without being too heavy.
Because we live on a farm, we need two of everything: boots, jackets, snowpants, gloves. Who wants to sit beside the kid with smelly manure on his boots at school? No thanks! We spend more on the outdoor gear for everyday use and check the second hand stores and local on-line sharing sites to grab the gear that we use for the barn. Duct tape is a regular on snow pants around here to make it through the season.
Stay warm!