FWIW, when I was an elementary school boy, two favorite winter diversions were:
- Distance spitting contests to see if it would freeze before it hit the ground. You could actually tell if it did by the shape of the indentation.
- Tunneling and trenching. My best friend lived on the opposite side of the block. If the snow was deep enough, you could tunnel right between our back doors. This was especially fun as we would take the snow in the house and dump it in the toilet or shower to melt-- much to the chagrin of our mothers. If it wasn't deep enough, you could still dig a trench deep enough to allow us boys to crawl or even walk between the two houses without exposing your head to the wind.