holding space for snow days
in nyc they are few and far between — here's a guide to making them count
There’s a pocket of the year, usually nine weeks that span January to March, when the chances of a New York snow day skyrockets from zero to 50/50. Suddenly the gray of the city is broken up, lightened with white. It sits on our taxi cabs and trash bins and suddenly we’re watching our step and wrapping scarves around our heads (because it looks good, okay.) It’s the only time of the year when New York’s husky owners can feel okay about having a dog breed like that in a place like this, and there are statistically less tourists per square mile.
Snow days are like jeweled candies in a tin your grandma keeps in a cupboard above the refrigerator. You can’t get your fingers on them willy nilly. And for some reason grandma doesn’t take them down nearly often enough.
They’re our reminder that the earth is still alive after all, still breathing—in and out, turning ours to mist on the exhale.
get up early
I’m afraid there’s absolutely no way around it. If you’ve got a shot in hell at making the best of a snow day, early rising is essential. Between 7-8am is usually best, no one needs to cosplay Kris Jenner with some sick 4am wakeup routine. The only reason this is deeply suggested by yours truly is because the sad fact about snow days is this: snow melts. Peak snow (we’re talking fluffy, plumpy) is going to be the most vivacious in the earlier hours. There’s nothing better than freshly fallen snow and you better go out and look at it before it gets trampled.
make some breakfast
If you ask me there is nothing like pancakes on a snowy morning. Something about it makes me feel like Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service when she whines to her black cat Gigi about not being able to afford to eat anything else. In my sixth floor apartment, where my kitchen looks out at the alley between buildings, I feel almost like a witch in her attic, bakery job and all.
pancake options 4 the masses
good old fashioned pancakes (add blueberries, bananas or chocolate chips when the pancake is on the griddle if it pleases you)
crepes (filled with homemade strawberry compote and cream, or homemade applesauce)
cornmeal pancakes (topped with a cinnamon maple brown butter)
never underestimate the power of kodiak cakes if you simply don’t want to be bent over your kitchen counter for too long.
If pancakes aren’t your speed, or if you’re looking to make something a little less work intensive, I personally think there’s nothing like stovetop oatmeal on a cold day. Topped with fresh fruit or stewed apples, a bowl of porridge (as all good storybook characters would say) will give you the energy for a trudge through the frigid streets.
what to wear on a snow day
I have two rules for how I bundle on a snow day. The first most important rule is that you have to dress appropriately. We’re going outside, diva. Dress up. There’s nothing more important than a pair of fleece lined leggings or long johns to go underneath your jeans, a pair of gloves to warm your hands in case you want to throw a snowball and water resistant boots (I am a Blundstone loyalist.)
Next is vibe. Personally, I like to think of snow day as peak Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping weather. It’s a time for your big sweater (potentially a turtleneck), hand knit scarf and wooly trench. The best news about channeling your inner Lucy Eleanor Moderatz is that she is a famously frazzled character. She is not overly done up. So don’t stress too much about looking like you just left the salon. You’re trudging through the snow (a primal activity) and just like your forefathers you’ll be benefitting from flushed cheeks and a pink nose.
go to your nearest park
Owning my privilege is admitting I live three blocks from Central Park, (it’s added years to my life) and before I did I’m quite sure I was destined to leave New York at the age of twenty two. So its no surprise that any snow day demands that I pay my respect to her: The Park, where white flakes are more likely to stick due to the whole dirt and grass thing. But the joy of a perfect New York snow day is doing high value, low maintenance activities. So there is no need to trek to the Arthur Ross Pinetum if it’s too out of the way. What’s your nearest green space? Prospect? Washington Square? Inwood? McCarren? Or maybe it’s my all-time favorite, Fort Green. Wherever it is, it’s vital you make a pilgrimage there.
In a city famous for very little “yard culture”, the park is where everybody is quite literally forced to live life in public. I don’t believe there is anywhere else in America where the inner-life of strangers is on such wild display. It’s what makes New York so special. On any random day you might witness a kid learn to ride a bike or friends reunite after a long time apart. And when it snows, the Great Lawn comes alive with an army of Snowmen, forts built alongside walking trails and hillsides are left transformed into sled runs. I promise it’s worth leaving the safety of your home for.
warm up somewhere
After a long walk in the park, you’re gonna want to get out of the cold. In New York City, you always have several options at your fingertips. Here are my favorite choices. Once again, the name of the game is low risk, high reward. We’re not doing anything overly complicated. The beauty of a snow day is that it forces a lot of people to slow down and keeps the crowds at bay in their hotel rooms or apartments. But you still have to do your best to avoid anywhere you think is gonna draw people like moth to a flame (museums are risky business) which is why this part of the day is best usually attempted before noon.
ideas 4 you
your local bookstore — my new york favorites are: Book Culture, The Strand, Community Bookstore, Cafe con Libros, Westsider Books, Mcnally Jackson (all of them but especially their Seaport location), The Corner Bookstore, Books are Magic, Greenlight, Three Lives and Company, Rizzoli, Book Club Bar and The Ripped Bodice
your local watering hole (coffee) — my new york favorites are: Birch Coffee, Lazy Suzy, LaCabra, Loveless Coffee, Devocion, Solid State, Principles, Partners, Double Dutch Espresso, Chalait
the library — support the NYPL now and forever <3
spot of lunch — my new york favorites are: Daily Provisions, Court Street Grocers, Joe’s Rice Roll, Carmentas or Simply Any Bagel or Pizza Place Near You
board game cafe — if you’re looking for the perfect snow day activity to do with a few friends, I highly recommend running (not walking) to a board game cafe. Every day a new one seems to open up in the city bringing with it wholesome fun, an excuse to disconnect and a chance to play subjective Guess Who?
“Does this person look like they might’ve been somewhere they shouldn’t be on January 6th?”
my new york favorites: The Uncommons, Chaotic Good and Sip and Play
back at home, cozy mid-day activities
When your outing has come to its natural end and you’ve eventually made your way home, leaving your snow soaked boots at the door— it’s time to settle in for the night. But before the day is truly over and gone, cozy and tactile hobbies are a must. So forget Roku City and pop on on a log fire on your television or go with my favorite snowy ambiance to keep you company. It is not possible to do all of these in one day, but if you’re wracking your head about how to feel romanticize the afternoon, here’s a cheeky list.
cozy pastimes
make a crusty loaf of bread
play a game of scrabble (can be done alone or with a partner in crime)
bake cookies (the chocolate chip cookie recipe I developed myself is in my September edition of Horse’s Mouth)
curl up with a good book or audiobook
do a puzzle — my favorite nyc puzzles atm
make a hot chocolate
coloring in a coloring book like a true sophisticated adult — a crowd pleaser
junk journal or scrapbook
write down your favorite recipes on physical recipe cards
if you’re a fiber artiste: knit a scarf, crotchet coasters or a pot holder!
dinner and a movie
Everybody better be shifting into soup mode because it’s dinner time. And yes, I think something soothing like soup would be appropriate. Something that would pair well with that fresh bread you just made perhaps? Recently I’ve been making this white bean chili. But if you’re not up for it and would rather order in, that’s not a problem. But just remember to leave a handsome tip for your driver who at this point would be risking their life to bring you your chicken pad thai.
Once you have your chosen meal in your hands, it is time to cuddle down and “watch something quietly”— this is how my mom would refer to us children watching a movie with dinner and man if it wasn’t strong branding for an evening in. I am chronically on theme so I always try to opt for something that feels in line with the days events. Ice Princess is a pick that never misses and shockingly holds up well even in 2025. Joan Cusack and Kim Catrall (okay casting) deliver performances way too good for a Disney Channel Original Movie and Hayden Panettiere and Michelle Trachtenberg have electric (um dare I say sapphic?) chemistry. Also the set dressing in the movie is so eclectic and grounded— I want an AD guided tour of the Carlyle home stat.
If you don’t want to watch Ice Princess there’s always The Chronicles of Narnia, Game of Thrones, When Harry Met Sally, all the snowy episodes of Gilmore Girls or anything Hayao Miyazaki ever had his hands on.
To me snowfall will always be something to celebrate, a reminder the earth is still alive and can deliver frosted city streets even after the way we’ve treated Her. It doesn’t matter that I’m no longer a middle schooler being told class was cancelled—a rush I can only assume is on par with several illicit substances. It’s an excuse to make ordinary days less bleak (I mean have you read the news lately?) and doing your very best to appreciate everything you’ve got— down to your mittens. So my advice is this: clink mugs together, split a car to Brooklyn, make a cup of soup, make six liters of soup, stay inside, go outside, whatever. Joy is a radical act, so go play in it.
absolutely smashing suggestions and delivery holy hell i need this day assigned to me like homework!!!
Brilliant! I’m feeling alllll the coziness of a snow day through your descriptions and suggestions.