How to build a snow house. Outdoor games for adults and children

Many children consider winter the most magical time of the year, because it is the embodiment of a real New Year's fairy tale. To make this fairy tale even more real, you can build a snow fortress, the games in which will appeal not only to children, but also to adults.

Building a snow fort is a very exciting and creative activity in which you can make all your childhood dreams and ideas come true. How to build a snow fort and where to start?

Useful tips

To build a snow fortress, you can choose a large space in the yard, a nearby park or public garden. If you are the happy owner of a winter cottage, you can build a fortress on your site. How much joy children will have if they spend New Year's Eve in their own snow castle.

The height of the fortress depends on the age of your child. If the baby is only two or three years old, the snow fort should be low and simple, with small slides and low towers. For an older child, you can build a taller structure on several levels with towers, large slides and ice stairs.

Invest in quality waterproof gloves. You can buy them at a sporting goods store. Then your hands will always be warm. Or you can use several pairs of wool mittens. When the first pair gets wet, you need to put on the second one and dry the first one on the radiator. No one wants to get sick on New Year's holidays.

Building a snow house

In the winter season, especially before the New Year, more than ever you want to decorate your area with something unusual and even magical. Everything around was covered with snow, so crisp and fabulously shiny. What if you make a house out of snow? This idea can be brought to life by gathering your friends in nature or while walking with children and having a lot of fun. In order to build a snow house, you don’t need much:

• snow,
• shovels,
• flat ground,
• warm and waterproof clothing,
• and, of course, fantasy.

If nothing comes to mind or you don’t know where to start, then you can watch a video on the Internet and choose the idea that you like best. The house does not have to be made only of snow; you can also use other materials - branches and wooden blocks for the frame, polyethylene film, polystyrene foam, etc.

Snow house in the country

Before construction, you need to decide for what purpose the house is being built. If it will serve only to decorate the site, then more attention should be paid to the appearance of the structure. And if you decide to make it for children, then first of all you need to pay attention to internal comfort and decoration.

Types of snow houses

Houses made of snow can be anything: it can be a palace or a fairy-tale hut, a house, a hut or a fortress, or it can look like an igloo - the dwellings of the peoples of the north. It can be either free-standing or resting on the wall of the house. If the house rests on the wall of the house, then the space for creating a unique and original design becomes less than when the snow building is located in an open area. When a snow structure is located separately from other buildings, it can be decorated with an unusual porch, which will give the house a finished and holistic look.

Laying the walls of a snow house

1. Well, what's the matter? First of all, we decide on the shape and size of the future house.
2. Then we choose a place in your garden to build a house. It should be snowy and smooth. Then we clear and, if necessary, level the area on which your future masterpiece will be located.
3. The next step is to draw a projection of your future house in the snow and clear the area of ​​snow. For a more stable position of the house on a snowy base, you can place shields under it. This will ensure both the stability of the structure and additional comfort for the people in it.
4. Next, we proceed to the construction of the walls of the house, its frame. This can be done in several ways.
5. You can make walls from snowballs. We roll snow balls of different diameters and begin the construction of a snow structure. We start with lumps of larger caliber and gradually, as we lay out the walls, reduce their diameter.
6. Or you can make a house out of snow blocks. To do this, cut out even rectangles measuring approximately 50x50x10 centimeters and lay them in a checkerboard pattern. For greater decorativeness, we trim the unevenness with a hacksaw or straighten it with a shovel.

Construction of the roof of the house

It doesn’t matter which masonry method you choose, the construction principle will be the same everywhere. First, we lay out the first row around the perimeter, which will serve as the foundation. It must be smooth and durable. Then we build smooth walls to a height of about a meter. If the house is made of lumps, then we lay out the walls vertically, but if it is made of blocks, then we make a slight slope of the walls towards the center. Then we begin to move towards the middle, thereby forming the roof of the house.

1. After you have managed to make the walls, you need to seal the joints with snow.
2. Then we cut out an arched hole that will serve as the entrance to the snow house. You can also cut a window on the side or a ventilation hole on top.
3. You can melt the snow a little inside. Then the walls will turn out without joints.
4. Or you can do it differently and insulate the house. This procedure must be carried out if children will play in the snow structure or if you plan to spend some time there. To do this, the frame must be covered with plastic film. You can additionally put foam or burlap on top. The doorway and windows can be covered with thick fabric.

The entire construction process is shown in the video below.

Secrets of building a snow house

At least two people must participate in the construction process of a snow house. It is almost impossible to do all the necessary work alone. When constructing this work, there must be at least one person inside and outside. The person inside plays a big role in shaping the roof and also cuts the door for access to the outside.

Another option for a finished house

When forming blocks or balls, the snow must be carefully compacted. If the house consists of blocks, then to form a roof they must be made of a trapezoidal shape, and if from snowballs, then with a smaller diameter than for the walls.

After installation, it is better not to move the snow blocks. This will affect the quality of the constructed structure. All blocks must have three anchor points. If you follow this rule, the snow house will be durable and safe.

If your house has a round base and you need to form a dome, then you need to use a peg with a rope. Then it will turn out smooth and durable.

The last block must be laid and trimmed by a person inside the snow house.

And most importantly, never leave children unattended in it, even if you have no doubt about its reliability and safety.

Finishing the finished house

Well, all the main work has been completed. It's time to think about design. You can attach additional ones made from snow, use available materials (fir branches, cones, etc.), paint the house in your favorite color, etc. For interior decoration, you can make snow furniture, hang curtains on the windows, paint the walls... In general, who has enough imagination for what? And the video you shoot will be a pleasant memory of a fun and fruitful time spent.

Decorating the house

Yes, the work ahead will not be easy. But in return you will receive unforgettable emotions, hear children’s laughter and see admiration in the eyes of others - this will remain your most vivid memory of winter.

By the way, the video can also be posted on the Internet to share the experience with others and allow them to enjoy the beauty of your work. Whether to do this or not is still up to you. Good luck and enjoy your work!

Author: S. Rozanova

Warnings

1. To prevent the top of the fort from sagging, do not build it too heavy.
2. While you are building a castle, always leave a guard next to them, do not stand on it, do not go inside if there is no one nearby. There is a risk that the snow town will collapse and you will need help.
3. For the safety of your children, the castle should be built as far as possible from the road and parking lot.
4. In order for the snow fortress to stand longer and not settle, it is better to choose a place for construction in the shade so that the castle does not receive direct sunlight.

How ice castles were created

Ice castles Once upon a time in America there lived an entrepreneur whose name was Brent Christensen, who had his own business repairing lawn mowers. He often got bored during the winter because there is not much snow in Southern California even in winter. Having moved to Utah (an American state with cold winters), he was sitting by the window one day and became interested in what was happening in the neighboring area.

And Brent's neighbor built an ice column, which he then began to water with a hose and see what came out. Naturally, Christensen also decided to conduct an experiment - he began to pour water on everything that came to hand. He watered the bike, the toolbox, and various things. The experiments continued the following winter. This time, a slide disappeared under a layer of ice, smoothly turning into a skating rink. In the spring, of course, everything melted and only garbage remained.

Starting an Ice Castle Business

How the business started Brent decided to create ice figures without using any available tools. For example, he created icicles by melting ice. Thus, it was possible to make a variety of shapes.

The businessman went even further in his experiments: as soon as he realized that creatures made of ice could easily withstand human weight, bridges and tunnels began to be built. All this was connected to each other, which later became a large fortress.

Brent Christensen's skill was constantly improving, and now his neighbors began to take an interest and admire his work - he realized that this was a great business (2008).

Where can ice castles be sold?

Results of the implementation of this business idea To begin with, the businessman decided to offer his services in creating castles to nearby hotels, he said that this would attract many tourists. Only one small resort accepted his offer. The project completely paid for itself, and brought such fame that the very next year Brent was offered to build an ice palace on the town square of the small town of Midway. It must be said that this first official attraction was visited by more than twenty thousand people during the winter period (the population of the town is four thousand people).

The businessman was so tired of working alone that he decided to invite a partner into his business. After some time, such a person was found. Now the co-owner was involved in all organizational issues (coordination with city authorities, placement of objects), and Christensen himself sculpted his masterpieces.

The sculptor tries to give his creations a resemblance to natural objects. Inside the creatures there are caves and waterfalls with arches - all of this is also illuminated with LEDs. People who enter ice castles are immersed in a real fairy-tale atmosphere. The ice structures are open both during the day and in the evenings (that’s when you can admire the colored lighting).

The results of the implementation of this business idea

Five years have passed since the start of the ice business, and Christensen was given a unique gift - the cartoon “Frozen” was filmed in his castle. The plot was taken from a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. This was in 2013. More and more people became interested in Ice Castles, and three more branches were opened. One of them is located in Canada, two in the USA. The towns are mostly small (except Edmonton, which has a population of eight hundred thousand).

Now let's do some simple calculations.

Structures with frames

Creating a frame in snow figures from wooden sticks or plywood helps to capture them in different poses and make them more alive and interesting, which helps the child feel like he is in a real fairy tale.

Such work will begin with the creation of the main frame. The frame in this case will serve as a skeleton, that is, the main support for the snow mass. Therefore, all the main parts must be installed on the support; for example, the long neck of a swan will not withstand the imposed load and can quickly break without a special frame. To do this, you need to combine all the wooden sticks and individual pieces of plywood in clusters or with wire. It is very important to give the frame stability and strength.

You can also create a frame so that children can use it as a structure for climbing and riding. In this case, it is important so that the child does not fall during the game and get injured.

After installing the frame, you need to fill it inside with snow, and also sculpt the base of the figure on the outside. To add strength to the frame of the figure, it should be lubricated on top with a special “snow dough”; for this, the snow is half diluted with water. All parts of the figure are coated with this mixture; after hardening, the structure becomes especially durable and strong. You also need to remember the importance of rubber gloves for this type of work. After all parts of the frame are camouflaged under the snow, and the blanks reach their size, you need to start adding various details to the structure.

At this stage, the work will be more like creating a frameless figure. The only difference will be the higher complexity of creating additional parts.

Winter fun: preparatory stage

To build the walls of the fortress, you will need molds to produce snow bricks. This can be a box without a bottom and without a lid - four planks or plywood nailed to each other in the shape of a rectangle. Every builder should have such a mold. We also need water sprinklers, preferably one and a half liters in volume. Plastic bottles with special nozzles for spraying plants are suitable. It is better to pour warm water into bottles: it does not start to freeze so quickly. Work comfortably at temperatures from 0 °C to minus 10 °C (no wind).

Decoration of received structures

A simple sculpted figure is quite uninteresting, especially for a small child. The whole class will be happy to design the resulting piece. They will be able to make the overall picture of the figure brighter and more attractive. With a brush you can paint small details: mouth, nose and eyes. To paint the structure, you should use only child-safe paints, for example, watercolors. Gouache can also work, but after the snow figurine melts, it will begin to become heavily colored and may stain children.

You can also use colored figurines to decorate buildings, which need to be prepared in advance by freezing tinted water in special molds. Children will be able to do this work independently.

You can also decorate a snow structure well with fabric. To do this, you can use colored canvas or small scraps. In order for the fabric to be able to fix well on the figure, you need to use it wet, then, even if it freezes outside, it will continue to retain its shape. Small patches can be attached to the structure using snow dough . You can also ask the children to bring such fabric from home. It is good to use individual threads left over after knitting; they will help attach unusual extensions to the sculpture.

Natural materials can also be used to decorate the figures: hawthorn or rowan berries, as well as simple cones. Such decorations can also be prepared in advance.

Calculating the cost of an ice castle

Calculations

Calculations As a rule, businessmen begin building ice sculptures at the very end of autumn. The team finishes construction by the beginning of the Christmas holidays. Consequently, the castles work from Christmas until the end of spring - this is natural, because then the buildings simply melt away.

One visit will cost between 10-15 $ (657 rubles – 986 rubles). Over the weekend, Mr. Christensen collects about twelve thousand dollars. Traffic is approximately a thousand people per weekend. And this price, by the way, is very reasonable for Russia.

Will this work in Russia

Will this work in Russia? The Kungur Ice Cave is located in the Perm region. Tickets for visiting and services provided are similar to American ones. And this cave is located more than one and a half thousand from Moscow. If in Perm people can make money from ice shows, then why can’t they start a business in the wide open spaces of Russia? Ice and snow are everywhere!

Motivation

Motivation Of course, objections may be heard that the cave was created by nature, that the beauty lies precisely in this, but who is stopping you from building an equally interesting object “from scratch”? The main thing is that there is a desire. By the way, it is much more convenient and faster to build with ice blocks than with clay bricks. Well, an LED show with some special features is up to you! Here you are your own boss!