Indoor snowball fighting is a wonderful alternative to playing outside in the cold chilly weather. And since you can’t use actual snow for indoor fighting games, it’s important to understand how to make fake snowballs.
To make fake snowballs for indoor snowball fights, the first (and best) method is sewing thick white yarn into a golf practice ball or ping pong ball. You can use as many balls as preferred, provided you have enough yarn. You can also roll up white socks or use crumpled up paper.
Interested in learning different ways to make fake snowballs and have a blast fighting (safely) at home? Read on for an in-depth guide on DIY snowball making and the dos and don’ts of indoor snowball fighting.
Using Yarn and Balls to Make Snowballs
To make snowballs using this technique, you’ll need:
- Two to three skeins of white, fluffy yarn (link to Amazon)
- Several golf practice balls (link to Amazon)
- A crochet hook (link to Amazon)
- And a pair of scissors.
The whiter and fluffier the yarn, the more your fake balls will resemble actual snowballs.
Use a Plastic Needle to Thread Yarn Through the Ball
Using a plastic needle will make your work easier as you thread the ball. For easy wounding, it is advisable to knot the yard on one hole such that it holds the yarn in place. Ensure that you wound the yarn carefully around the ball, spacing the wounds as evenly as possible.
In case you don’t have access to a golf practice ball, you can use a ping pong ball as an alternative.
Ball Is Wound Until Completely Covered
While some might prefer to wound until the ball resembles a soccer ball, it’s best to keep the balls small enough for indoor play. Therefore, wound the yarn until the ball is tennis-ball-sized or slightly larger.
The idea is to keep the ball small enough to fit comfortably into hands and light enough to reduce injury chances.
Cut and Tuck the Yarn
Once you’ve fully wounded the ball, proceed to cut the yarn such that the tail is exposed. Ensure that you leave a long enough tail (that can be tucked) when cutting the yarn.
A long yarn tail is preferred as it allows you to tuck it several times under some tightly wound strands. Continue to tuck the yarn tail until it’s entirely hidden to prevent the yarn from unraveling during play.
Repeat the above processes on all the balls until you have enough snowballs to fight with family and friends. The trick is to use fluffy yarn to mimic the appearance of snowballs.
Here’s a quick video showing an interesting alternative way of making snowballs with yarn:
Using Crumpled Up Sheets of Paper (White)
This is arguably the easiest way to make indoor snowballs. However, this technique is best suited for young children who are likely to sustain injury when snowball fighting indoors.
To construct paper snowballs, take 20-30 sheets of A4 paper and crumple each one until they all resemble snowballs. Again, this method might not work for older children or adults since the balls aren’t heavy enough to make the desired impact, let alone to hit targets.
In case you want to create large enough snowballs, you can use glue to stick the papers in place. Crumple several sheets, twisting them repeatedly until they form circular balls. Use glue to stick two to three rolled-up papers such that they form a huge snowball.
This method isn’t recommended for adults or teenagers but can come in handy when setting up an indoor snowball fight for young children and toddlers.
Using White Socks to Make Snowballs
White socks are great alternatives to sheets of paper when making indoor snowballs. You can opt to place several socks inside a larger one, or even insert cotton wool to make the sock ball fluffy.
Either way, it is advisable to use thick, well-padded socks as they make large snowballs that are easy and fun to throw around.
We like to use our huge fluffy wool socks for quick impromptu indoor snowball fights.
Choose the Base Sock
Although not all socks must be snow-white when using this method, choosing a white, fluffy outer sock will ensure the snowball resembles actual snow. Therefore, if your plan is to make twenty snowballs, you’ll need to have a similar amount of white, fluffy socks.
This ensures that all the sock balls resemble actual snowballs, allowing for a fun session of indoor snowball fighting.
Turn the Base Sock Inside Out and Fill It
Turn the outer sock inside out and stuff it with other socks, cotton wool, or polyester fiberfill. There is no limit on the number of socks or cotton wool required.
This means you can fill the main sock with as many soft filler materials as possible, provided you check on the size.
Seal the Sock
Once you’re done stuffing the main sock, it’s time to seal it. There are two ways to seal it; you can either seal it with a needle and thread or use a rubber band to tie the end off. The end should be well-sealed to keep the contents in place.
Here’s another video showing a few more ways to make indoor snowballs in case you don’t like the ways we listed here so far:
How to Prepare for an Indoor Snow Fight
Set the Rules
It’s always good to have a set of rules in place to guide the participants and ensure the competition remains fun and injury-free.
Snowball fighting rules mostly depend on the participants. When dealing with children, it’s vital to clearly state the do’s and don’ts to reduce the risk of injury or property damage.
You can also set rules preventing the players from fighting in high-risk areas such as next to windows, especially if fairly hard materials were used in making the fake snowballs.
Move Fragile Items
While indoor snowballs are mostly made from soft materials, the risk of ruining fragile items is still high due to movement and impact. Due to this, it is advisable to move highly fragile items such as TVs, picture frames, and mirrors to ‘safe areas’ since doing so reduces the risk of damaging property.
To be on the safe side, make a list of high-risk items and tick them out once they’re removed. Creating a checklist ensures that no easily-damaged item is left in the ‘fighting ring.’
Create Enough Space
Snowball fighting is a physical game that requires teammates and opponents to have enough space to move around, attack, and defend. Although the game can still work in small spaces, it won’t be much fun if the opponents can’t move around freely.
Therefore, choose a well-spaced room for your indoor fighting games. Remove the easily-moveable furniture to create space, and also to reduce the risk of fall-related injuries.
Have a Reward
Snowball fighting is an excellent way for family and friends to socialize during winter, especially when the weather outside is extreme.
The best way to make indoor snowball fights competitive and fun is by setting player-relevant rewards. Although setting a reward isn’t compulsory, it increases competition levels, making the players more aggressive and committed to the game.
Final Takeaway
Making snowballs for indoor fights mostly depends on who is going to play. For young children, anything that resembles snow, including crumpled up, white sheets of paper, can work.
However, when dealing with more mature players, it’s crucial to make more realistic snowballs, and that means using yarn and golf training balls or ping pong balls.
When making the snowballs, remember to check on size to ensure that they aren’t too bulky or small. Aim to make balls that fit the hands perfectly, which means you’ll need to make slightly smaller balls if you’re making snowballs for children.
Once you’re done with making the balls, proceed to make the room more fight-friendly by creating enough space and removing high-risk valuables.