You might think that wintertime is the time to put away the trampoline.
But wintertime is just when the fun is about to begin.
Your winter fun time on the trampoline can include making snow angels, making a snow pile on the trampoline and then your kids jumping on it, or having a snowball fight while bouncing on the trampoline, and then following up the trampoline fun time with a cup of hot chocolate.
Read on to find out how to prepare your trampoline for the winter fun time.
Why some people won’t jump during the winter
A trampoline is really meant to be a year-long investment.
This means that people aren’t just using it during warm weather times.
But it should also be used during the winter for the maximum time used.
It is mostly used during warm weather for multiple reasons.
The first of these is because cold weather doesn’t sound very conducive to wearing warm clothing.
You’ll want to make sure to bundle up your kids before you send them to do things outside.
But if they are jumping on a trampoline, they are going to sweat and they won’t feel comfortable wearing heavy clothes.
They could take the heavy clothing off once they have been jumping on the trampoline for a few minutes.
By that time, their bodies should be nice and warm and they should be able to last in the cold weather as long as they are moving around.
Second, people are afraid of using wet trampolines or ones that are covered with snow.
True, wet trampolines can lead to injuries.
When a trampoline mat gets wet, it becomes more slippery.
And this means that you are more likely to slip and fall on the trampoline when it is wet.
So the best you can do with a wet trampoline is to dry it off.
Make sure it has stopped raining, first, and then pull out a towel or two.
Use the towel to dry off the top and bottom of the trampoline mat.
If that doesn’t work, then you can try pulling out a fan or leaf blower and use that to help dry it off more.
After that, it should be safe to use.
Next, the snow might be a little concerning on the trampoline.
Just like the rain, the snow might make the trampoline a little bit slippery.
So it should be cleared off before anyone takes a chance to jump on it.
Be careful clearing off the snow from the trampoline.
You won’t want to use a shovel to remove the snow from the trampoline.
A shovel is going to have sharp edges to it and these sharp edges will dig into the trampoline mat and cause large tears in it.
So it should be avoided at all costs.
A broom, on the other hand, is going to be the perfect option for clearing the snow off of the trampoline mat.
The broom won’t have sharp edges, with bristles instead of metal.
So get onto the trampoline, start on one side, and sweep going across the trampoline until you get all the way to the other side.
Once you have the snow cleared, you are probably fine to get back into jumping.
But make sure to check for wetness.
If you find the trampoline is wet after clearing the snow, then follow the drying options are given above.
When you get past the trampoline mat being wet, then people can go back to having fun on the trampoline.
Winter time fun
Dress your kids appropriately
To have a fun time in the winter with your trampoline, the first thing you need to do is make sure your kids have dressed appropriately.
First is the footwear.
Your kids will need to wear something thick on their feet for shoes.
Winter boots would be great if you have them, but that is not 100% necessary.
But something that is somewhat waterproof would be a start.
Second, they need to have some thick and warm socks on their feet.
It is important that they are able to go from the house to the trampoline keeping their feet warm, but also dry.
Once they get to the trampoline, they will need to take their shoes/boots off before they get on the trampoline.
Keep in mind that wearing shoes and boots on the trampoline could lead to holes in the trampoline.
This is because shoes and boots are infamous for getting rocks stuck in the soles.
And if your child gets on the trampoline with rocks in the soles, those rocks could end up causing rips and tears in the trampoline.
So make sure they take their shoes off and make sure they have warm socks when they get on.
Typically you would take your socks off as well since they could end up slipping, but in the case of the winter, you should want your child to stay warm instead of if they are going to slip or not.
For what your kids wear on top, the first consideration should be a long sleeve, wool shirt.
The wool is going to be nice and warm for the children, but not enough that they are going to start sweating a whole bunch from jumping.
If you send them out with a jacket on, make sure they have something a little bit lighter underneath.
That way, if they start to feel too hot, then they can take off the jacket and be perfectly fine (and still warm).
Some gloves would be nice as well unless your children plan on going for any flips.
It is winter, probably not a great idea for flips.
Let the games begin
Once you have your all dressed appropriately for the winter season, then they can start playing the games on the trampoline.
- Snow angels
Before your clear the snow off of the trampoline, let your kids spend a little bit of time on the trampoline making snow angels.
If you aren’t familiar with how snow angels work, have the kids lay down on the trampoline on their backs.
Once they are on their backs, then have them put their arms and legs out.
Then have them wave their arms and legs up and down. This makes the shape of the angel in the snow.
If they’ve done this once and they want to do it again, have them use their gloves or a good snow shovel to throw more snow back.
At that point, they can start all over again.
- Bouncing snowball fight
This is the same as a regular snowball fight, except you are bouncing on the trampoline as you are throwing.
First, form all the snowballs that you can hold in your arms from the ground.
After the snow angels, you might not have enough snow on the trampoline left to make snowballs.
So make the snowballs before you get onto the trampoline.
Then, once you are on the trampoline, hold all the snowballs in one arm.
Have everyone stand on their own ends of the trampoline.
And then at the count of 3 let everyone start jumping and throwing their snowballs.
Everyone has to be bouncing on the trampoline or else they have to sit down and wait until the round is over.
- Snow pile jumping
You know during the fall, kids like to make great piles of leaves and then jump on them?
It is so much fun and gets your kids to spend some time outside.
Jumping onto a fluffy pile of snow does the same thing for your children.
So first get them to put a ton of snow on top of the trampoline, hopefully all into one pile.
Then as the kids get onto the trampoline, have them jump right into the pile of snow.
And they can continue doing this as long as there is snow on the ground.
Just have the kids keep piling it on.
Finish the fun with a tasty treat
Your kids just spent a bunch of time playing on the trampoline, either throwing snowballs at each other or just into the snow like it was a leaf pile.
And now they’ve decided to come inside because they are either tired or cold.
You can really spend only so much time outside before you need to come back inside and get warm.
If possible, make sure to have a fire going in the fireplace so they can immediately be warm as they step inside and start taking their winter clothing off.
And after they sit down by the fire, hand them a nice hot cup of hot chocolate.
The hot chocolate will warm up their insides and will also give them something to put into their hands to keep their hands warm as well.
And then let them relax by the fire until they are all warmed up and ready to move around.
Summary
Winter is a great time to have your kids play on the trampoline.
It may take some time for your kids to figure out how much fun it can be (and how they want to have the fun).
But give them an opportunity to go outside and play on the trampoline.
Then reward them with some hot chocolate.