The 10 Best Snow Toys For Kids

A family that sleds together gets three hard-plastic toboggans in this Flexible Flyer Winter Lightning pack, one each in orange, blue and green. Each sled carries one kid, or a parent with a small child on their lap, and the maker rates them for riders 4 and up. The slick bottom skims fresh snow instead of digging in, and a coat of wax makes it faster. There's no pull rope, so plan to tie your own through the molded holes.

Built for families tired of sleds that split halfway through the season, the GoSports Heavy Duty Snow Sled has a double-walled plastic shell with a layer of air inside. That air pocket stiffens the hull and keeps some cold off your seat, and a foam pad covers the middle. Two riders fit, each with handles, and a strap pulls it back uphill. It's bulky to carry and store, and it costs as much as a pricey winter coat.

Kids who would rather stand up and carve than sit down can try the SportsStuff Kids Snow Scooter, a molded deck with a tall handle to hold on to. Grooves on the underside help it track straight and turn on packed snow. When the day is done, the handle hinges flat so it slides into a closet or a car trunk. SportsStuff gives no minimum age, so start younger riders on a gentle, packed slope, wearing a helmet.

The Geospace Sledsterz gives grade-schoolers a taste of snowboarding on the neighborhood hill, and Geospace sizes it for ages 6 to 12. Its straps buckle over ordinary snow boots, adjust for boot size and flip around for either stance, so there's no special gear to buy. The shaped deck can turn and hop small bumps on packed snow. Falls are part of learning, so it needs a gentle slope and a helmet, and deep powder bogs it down.

For a preschooler's first hills, the Flexible Flyer Flying Carpet is a thin plastic mat that rolls up when you're done. Two cutout handles give small hands something to grip, the edges are rounded, and the maker rates it for kids 4 and up. When snow is thin, it slides on sand or grass too. It has no steering and almost no padding, so every bump comes through, and it does best on smooth, gentle slopes.

Siblings can race side by side on this set of three Slippery Racer Downhill Pro saucers. Each disc has molded handles, and the maker treats the plastic so it stays flexible in hard cold instead of turning brittle. Saucers are fast and spin as they go, which is half the fun. That spin is also the catch: there's no way to steer or slow down, so use them only on open hills with a flat run-out.

Snowball fights go faster with the Hey Play Snowball Maker clamps, a pair of plastic tongs that scoop up snow and press it into a round ball in seconds. The long handles keep mittens out of the snow, so hands stay drier and warmer than when packing by hand. They shape wet sand at the beach, too. They need wet, sticky snow, though, and dry powder crumbles apart no matter how hard you squeeze.

Young fort builders can stack real walls with the Fun Little Toys Snow Fort set: a big brick mold with a handle, two molds for towers and battlements, and a small spade. Pack the brick mold, flip it and tap it out, and a row of even blocks soon looks like a castle. The same kit builds sand castles in summer. It comes from a little-known brand, and the seller backs it for only 90 days.

The Colovis Snowman Decorating Kit turns three balls of snow into a dressed-up snowman, with a felt top hat, a long red scarf, stick arms, a pipe, a carrot nose, and coal-black eyes, mouth and buttons. Everything comes back off at the end of the day and packs into its box for next winter. The eyes, buttons and nose are choking-size pieces, so the box carries a 3-and-up age label, and small parts vanish in deep snow.

Kids who would rather make art than speed downhill can spray color across a fresh yard with the Chameleon Colors Snow Painting Kit. Five squeeze bottles come with colored powder, plus refill packets, for drawing paths, lines for snowball games or a face on the snowman. The maker says the powder is nontoxic and biodegradable and uses food and cosmetic dyes. It's pricey for art that disappears under the next snowfall, and the dye can mark light clothes.