Now that winter is finally here, temperatures are going down, often below freezing point in many parts of the world. The best part of cold weather is of course having some healthy amount of snow. But let’s face it. Fresh snow sometimes can get boring with its whiteness and pureness and softness… well, I am kidding of course, but there is nothing wrong with adding a little color to the white and grey shades of winter, is there? Here is a great, fun activity to do exactly that and it is just ideal for involving children. Outdoor Winter Decor: How to make Giant Ice Balls.

Outdoor Winter Decor: How to Make Giant Ice Balls

Fun outdoor winter decor: Giant colored ice balls

Image via: Trendhunter

Watch a video on how to make these cool Outdoor Winter Decor

Click here to watch about Outdoor Winter Decor: How to make Giant Ice Balls

Supplies you’ll need

• Balloons (choose heavy duty ones if possible) of various sizes
• Food coloring or/and colorful powdered drink mix
• Water
• Glitter (optional)
• Below freezing point outside temperatures or empty space in your freezer

Depending on what you will use to color the water, you’ll get differenet looking giant ice balls

Image via: Postris

Directions

It’s a really straight forward project to make. Here are the simple steps:

1. To avoid creating a mess, you can use some newspapers to catch drippings.
2. Pour a few drops of food coloring or an amount of the powdered drink mix (one sachet should do the job, depending on the size of your balloon) into the empty balloon.
3. Add some glitter if you want a more sparkling effect.
4. Now just fill it with water, but don’t overfill it, since it might burst when you let it freeze.
5. Once filled, make a tight knot so nothing can get out of the balloon.
6. The next step is to freeze it. If using a freezer, just put it in there for a few hours, until its frozen solid. To be sure you won’t get a mess in your freezer, place the balloons inside a bowl or other container so to be sure all is fine in case it bursts. If you can freeze them outside, just place the balloon on the ground in a shadowy place and cover it with snow, if there is any, and let it freeze for a few hours. The freezing time depends on how big the balloons you use are and the temperature, so it might take up to 24 hours to freeze completely.
7. When the balloons are frozen and you want to move them, put them in a bucket for easier transportation and go outside. You might want to use some old mittens (they can get colored!), since they are really cold! With a scissor, cut the top of the balloon and peel it of the ice marble. And you’re done!

Make your winter days awesome!

Image via: Woods and Water

Keep in mind that depending on what you’ll use to color the water will affect the final outcome. Powdered drink mix tends to result in more solid, vivid colors, while food coloring will give you a look that resembles marbles more.

You can play all kinds of games with these fun marbles, like bowling, or use them to line your pathway up to your door. It’s also a fun science experiment for kids when freezing the ice balls and letting them melt away and color the underlying snow. It’s sure to be a blast for everyone when making them and playing. And they will be a unique eye-catching Outdoor Winter Décor this Christmas, guaranteed. After all, they kind of look like giant cool Christmas ornaments, don’t they?