Infant snow suits – the must-have garment for non-skiing tots
For small children, infant snow suits are a must-have piece of clothing to take with you on your family ski holidays. Once our children were old enough to walk, they were old enough to play in the snow.
That meant they were spending a lot of time enjoying themselves making snowmen and digging or rolling in the snow. Or even sitting up to waist-level in fresh, powdery snow as you can see in the picture to the right.
Without question, one-piece infant snow suits are the best outdoor clothes for playing in the snow. They keep the snow out, are warm and practical.
If I buy one, how much wear will my child have from it?
That’s the beauty of infant snow suits. They’re not just for the mountains - unless you live somewhere where it’s hot all year round. When it snows at home, your child will have a fit-for-purpose garment for sledging and snowman making. It doesn’t even have to be snowing. They’ve been perfect for keep our children toasty warm on crisp, frosty winter days here in the UK when they were small - especially when they were sitting in their buggy / pushchair.
What special features do infant snow suits have?
First and foremost they must be made from a waterproof fabric with warm insulation and a lining. For children who are going to be spending their time playing in the snow, check that the knee and seat areas are especially waterproof, perhaps reinforced with a double layer of outer fabric.
The main areas to watch that the snow is kept out are at the wrists, ankles and neck.
Legs
Check that the trouser leg bottoms are wide enough to fit comfortably over the top of your child’s snow or ski boots. It’s no fun in the snow if junior’s suit rides up and off his snow boots. In a few minutes he’ll have wet socks, cold legs round the top of his boots where the snow has got in, and more than likely will have snow right down inside his boots.
To prevent this happening make sure that the trouser bottoms are elasticated and large enough to overlap the boot down to the ankle, and that there’s plenty of length in the legs. Here's a picture of our eldest when she was about 20 months old to see how the elasticated legs hold the suit firmly over her boots.
Alternatively, infant snow suits with integral gaiters – just the same as you’d find on regular ski suits – are a great way of keeping the snow out of the top of junior’s boots.
Arms
The overlap between you child’s mittens and the arms of his suit is the most likely place where snow will ‘find it’s way in’. If you can find one that has special fixings to attach mittens securely, then that would at least stop them coming off completely.
Do you remember having your gloves on elastic inside a winter coat when you were young? Well, think of this is just a sophisticated way of doing the same thing. But if your child’s suit doesn’t have these fixings, you can easily make them yourself using elastic and poppers. If you’ve no poppers, simply revert to your childhood memory of threading gloves up the sleeves on elastic.
Neck
Infant snow suits with integral hoods are definitely very useful for pre-schoolers. Do check that it will fit over a separate hat. We’ve taken ski vacations in December and January when temperatures are colder than later in the season. Not only will a hood pulled up over a hat keeps your child’s head warm. It will also protect the back of his neck from getting cold – or from snow falling down his neck when he’s playing.
Are infant snow suits expensive?
Average prices in the UK range between £30 and £40. Now, being the budget-conscious and creative types, we decided to make our own because we couldn’t find what we wanted for the price we were prepared to pay. At around £10 they cost far less than ones on sale from specialist winter sports clothing shops and had all the features we wanted plus plenty of room for growth.
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