My boys love the snow and are always begging us to take them anywhere that it snows! I love to visit the snow for a few days and play in it and then go home to our topical weather. I wanted to plan a snowy trip that we could all enjoy and I originally had my heart set on Canada but that was out since we all needed to renew our passports (opps but I did get those renewed for our next trip) and I came across flights to Philly for under $500 for the 4 of us so the Poconos looked like the perfect spot!
I actually grew up in western Pennsylvania but had never been to the Poconos before so I really didn’t know what to expect. I remember when I was a kid seeing commercials for it with these weird heart shaped hot tubs but it seems to have changed a lot since those days and is a lot more family friendly. They even have a Great Wolf Lodge and a Kalahari Resort that both have indoor water parks. We weren’t going for the water parks though since we can do that here in Florida. We have been on a lot of winter trips to see snow and ski but I really wanted the boys to get the experience of what it’s like to wake up and be able to run out and play in the snow like I did when I was a kid which I knew we wouldn’t be able to do at a hotel so I searched for about a week until I found the perfect Airbnb. I know a lot of you were asking me about it when I posted it in my stories on Instagram (I have it all saved to my Poconos highlight tab with a little tour if you missed it) so I’m finally linking it for you. We were saving a lot on airfare by flying into Philly rather than Newark (Newark is about an hour closer to the Poconos…. 1 hour and 15 minutes form Newark and about 2 hours and 15 minutes from Philadelphia) so I splurged a little on this Airbnb but it was still really reasonable considering the size and location (and I just saw it’s only $149 a night right now which is WAY less than what we paid in mid January). It was right on a lake which I’m sure is just as beautiful in the summer and we were only about 15 minutes from skiing and snow tubing and there was a Walmart and a few grocery stores about a 5 minute drive away.
The view from our Airbnb.
Building our igloo 
Snowman Kit // Igloo Snow Brick Maker // AirBNB we stayed at linked Here
My outfits: Beanie (sold out in pink but available in other colors here and here on sale // Black Puffer sold out similar here and here on sale // Colorful Scarf sold out but similar here and here // Tan Faux Fur Puffer Jacket sold out similar here and here // Ski Pants comes in other colors too and some are only $23.99 // Boots $43.99 comes in other colors and styles too // Jeans // Pink Sweater // Gray Mittens sold out but linked similar that comes in tons of colors // Pink ski gloves
The Boys’ Outfits: Jackets // Hats are old from GAP but linking similar here // Boots similar here // Gloves // Snow Pants
Jonathan’s Gloves (He said they were really warm and were really good for the price)
Would you even believe me if I told you we didn’t eat out one single time we were there? Really…not once! So I’m sorry but I can’t recommend any restaurants from this trip (get the creme cake assortment from Walmart…soooo good). We really just enjoyed waking up and making some really awesome breakfast sandwiches and playing in the snow all day. Our Airbnb had a beautiful view of the snow covered lake so I really just enjoyed sipping my coffee and looking at the view before we got all bundled up to go out and play in the snow. Jonathan and the boys went skiing one days at Camelback Mountain for half a day but we got a huge snow storm the day after so we just had a blast playing in all the snow for the rest of the trip. We also loved that the Airbnb had a hot tub because it was COLD and that really helped warm us up after a day out in the snow. We lucked out and there was a pretty big snow storm the day after we got there but the first day the snow wasn’t great for building snowmen but by the second day it was perfect.
Our Buffalo Plaid PJS are from Old Navy and sold out but linking similar here and here // the boys PJs / long johns (these were way better quality than I expected for the price but I would size up one size. I felt like they shrunk a little in the wash. We used them as a base layer too.) // Beanies // Liam’s red sweater (boots and snow pants linked above)
I usually don’t talk much about airports but I was honestly so impressed with the Philadelphia airport that I feel like it’s worth a mention. We flew in and went straight to the baggage claim which probably only took us about 5 minutes and somehow our luggage was already out and we were able to grab it and go! I don’t know what kind of magic they used but this was definitely a first for us getting our luggage within 5 minutes of getting off of our flight. It was also a very clean airport and the staff was all very friendly too.
The boys sweaters // black beanie // My Levi’s
We got our rental car from Avis and it was the best rental car experience we have ever had. We signed up for the Avis Preferred and everything was ready for us when we got there. No lines, no arguing about what type of car we were getting (we booked a Jeep Wrangler and we got a Jeep Wrangler) and the car was waiting for us in a parking spot keys and all so we could just get in and go! We have waited HOURS for car rentals before so I was really blown away by their service. Drop off was just as easy. We just parked it and took the shuttle over to get our flight home. I highly recommend signing up for Avis Preferred (and this is not sponsored). And Philly airport killed it once again with our departing flight and check-in only took about 10 minutes from the kiosk all the way through security.
This was a very different trip from most of our trips because we are usually on the go constantly trying to see it all and we really just stayed at our super cozy Airbnb most of the trip and played in the snow. It was nice to not really have any plans and just be able to do whatever we felt like doing at the moment. We really loved the record player at the Airbnb too! If you want to go out and do more there are tons of places to ski and go snow tubing, indoor water parks, and a lot of hiking trails that would be great in the spring, fall, or summer. There is definitely no shortage of things to do. Thanks for reading! Hawaii, Miami, and DC posts coming soon!
