Tag Archives: justice for snow

Justice For Snow! An Open Letter to The National Toy Hall of Fame

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Dear luminaries and other influential people who adjudicate the National Toy Hall of Fame:

In November of last year, I wrote about the most recent class of toys and games accepted into the Hall of Fame. I enjoy seeing which puzzles and games are nominated, and occasionally accepted, as representative of iconic parts of our collective childhood and the spirit of play in general.

Battleship, slime, and Trivial Pursuit were the newest inductees into the Hall of Fame, and good for them, they’re all worthy nominees.

But I was appalled, APPALLED I TELL YOU, that snow was snubbed for acceptance into the National Toy Hall of Fame.

I mean, snow should have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer day one.

It’s a fundamental item of play for many children. Throwing snowballs. Building snowmen and other snowfolk. Catching snowflakes on your tongue. Sledding.

And people of any age can enjoy.

Plus it’s free. It falls from the sky and anyone in the proper climate can play with it. There’s no cost to play, no entry fee to enjoy.

Look a snowdecahedron! You can’t make dice out of slime. THEY WOULDN’T ROLL. THEY WOULDN’T ROLL, YOU FOOL!

Not only that, but snow literally creates opportunities to play with it. Ever heard of snow days? You betcha. Snow falls from the sky and creates days free of school and other responsibilities so children can go play.

Trivial Pursuit can’t do that! Trivial Pursuit falls from the sky, you just have a lot to clean up. No free day for Trivial Pursuit-ing.

So, I beseech you, trustees of the National Toy Hall of Fame, as well as your associated pals at the Strong Museum of Play…

Do the right thing. Let’s get snow back on the ballot and into the HoF where it belongs.

Fellow reader, will you join me on this worthwhile endeavor?

It’s the perfect time to vote for snow, because it’s summer in America right now and you’re liable to be more nostalgic for it.

You can click here to nominate a toy for this year’s class.

(You don’t have to nominate snow. There might be a toy you think is more deserving, and that’s totally fair. It doesn’t have to be snow. It’s not like I’ll know you clicked the button and wrote something else in. I won’t. But I will somehow sense it and be a little disappointed, I’m not gonna lie.)

#JusticeForSnow

(Please note that this is not the same as #JustIceForSnow. That’s bad. Don’t put ice in your snowballs. You’ll hurt somebody like that. Not cool, man. Not cool. There’s a reason I’m not advocating for ice in the HoF.)

Justice For Snow! (The 2025 Toy Hall of Fame Inductees Revealed)

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Back in September, I wrote about the 12 nominees for this year’s class of The National Toy Hall of Fame: Furby, spirograph, Star Wars lightsaber, Tickle Me Elmo, scooter, cornhole, Battleship, Catan, Connect Four, Trivial Pursuit, slime, and snow.

I predicted that Catan, Connect Four, and Tickle Me Elmo would win. And I was wrong, as none of those three were selected to join the Toy Hall of Fame.

But I was hoping that the lightsaber, snow, and Trivial Pursuit would make the cut, as they were my personal nominees for this year’s class.

And I did get one of them right!

Battleship, slime, and Trivial Pursuit were the 2025 class for the National Toy Hall of Fame, where they will join all the other inductees on display at The Strong National Museum of Play.

That being said, please allow me to get up on my soapbox for a moment.

How is snow not already in the National Toy Hall of Fame?

It’s not like natural items haven’t made the cut in the past. The stick is already in. And you’re telling me that snow — a free toy that falls from the sky AND CREATES ENTIRE DAYS FREE OF SCHOOL IN WHICH TO PLAY — is not a Hall of Famer?

Blasphemy. Battleship can’t create days off.

And so, fellow puzzlers and players and appreciators of all things play, I ask you on this day to join me in my new movement.

#JusticeForSnow

Oh yes, I’ve already started the hashtag in my reply to the announcement of this year’s inductees. And it’s just the beginning. I intend to correct this injustice with all of the influence I can bring to bear. (Please note, that amount of influence is minuscule, as The Strong National Museum of Play has refused to return my calls on several occasions.)

But I shall not be deterred!

Will you join me on this glorious endeavor? Or has the whimsy and wonder of playing with snow been whittled away by years of shoveling driveways clear or stepping in slushy puddles on the way to work?

I tell you, friends, my whimsy has not abated in the slightest. I can remember staring out the window with my dad, watching wet snow cling to the trees, as if they were painted just so, picture perfect for Christmas card art, right in front of us. And despite the fact that we knew it would royally suck to shovel that snow later, we still smiled as we watched it accumulate.

So, National Toy Hall of Fame, better make some room on next year’s ballot. It’s gonna be snow’s time to shine.