snow question

[SilverKJ]

so here's the situation..
i am living in boston right now, and i want to set up
a winter christmas scene for a friend (yea, a female friend)
before winter actually hits.

thus... i need snow. being a poor college kid, i can't really
afford to rent a snow making machine...and it wouldn't be as
meaningful.

my two options:

1. build my own snow machine. does any1 know anything about
how to go about doing so? costs? time?

2. get snow from somewehere colder. driving up north and putting
snow in ice chest.

Option 2 sounds more realistic, but my questions are ->
wouldn't snow melt even in the ice chest? how can i preserve it
and bring it down back to boston?

any suggestions, guys?

thx >.<

[MusashiM]

if you have a truck, you should be able to load up the back with snow... if the snow is concentrated enough (i.e. packed in the bed of the truck), it will last for maybe a couple of days. Beware though... once you spread it out... it will melt quickly if the weather is warm...

[coleslaw]

Hundreds of pounds of instant mashed potato flakes!

If you can ensure that the temperature outside will be below freezing, you could use an air compressor and a water hose attached to a nozzle. The pressure of the compressed air forces the water into small droplets and shoots out of the nozzle. Of course, the nozzle needs to be aimed upward to allow for adequate time for the droplets to freeze before reaching the ground. Of course, this would be a very simple snow gun (which I cannot even guarantee to work), so you might have to persue other options.

[Tuvi]

buy bags of cotton for the floor (not the cotton balls, but cotton strips or something) and then get some kind of snow looking white stuff. i dunno, go to an arts and crafts store.

[BrewMaster]

buy a bunch of bags of ice and a snow-cone making machine. you know, one of those ice shavers. if you get workin' quickly enough you could make a bunch of snow for cheap. you might be able to borrow and ice shaver from a friend or something.

[oblongmelon]

brrrrrrrrrr

[Markel]

The first flakes of the season fell around here yesterday. That's a bit early.

[Kim]

If ya really want to impress her, forget the snow and take her someplace warm!

[SilverKJ]

haha.... so my friend had told me that she wanted christmas earlier cuz its usually so late in the year.... so someplace warm is outta the question... good idea otherwise tho..

in researching the snow machine idea...it seems that to make snow (and not slushy mush) the temp has to less than ~30F ? so that kinda sux..... but if that wasnt the case, i prolly would try to use the instant potato powder....

hmm.... for shaved ice...its been pointed out to me that shaved ice is still ice..... ie. its not very snow-like...

i think prolly the best idea is Musashi's.. to get a pickup truck and pack a boatload of snow in...

[Jeffbx]

Originally posted by SilverKJ

i think prolly the best idea is Musashi's.. to get a pickup truck and pack a boatload of snow in...

Hmmm... rent a pickup, drive for hours, shovel snow into truck, drive hours back, unload snow, try to make it look natural, hopefully she shows up before it melts....

Someone's got it baaaaad for this woman! Good luck my friend! ;)