Help prepping for 1st MN winter (Minneapolis: sales, neighborhood, buying)

[Poddy]

Hello. So my family and I have been in Minneapolis for a month now and totally love it!! Thanks for all the moving tips btw -- very helpful. Anyway we are living in the Marcy Holmes neighborhood and walking everywhere. We just wanted to get some ideas of essentials (clothing-wise and other) that we'll need for our first MN winter. This will be for 2 adults and a 6 mo old. We are very active (hardly drive) -- love walking and hope to take up cross country skiing eventually. We came from Melbourne, Australia (and FL) so ice and snow will be a treat, and we really want to embrace the cold. :-) Hope this isn't too silly a question....

[west336]

For the 6-month old, definitely consider getting a jacket or snowsuit that has gloves ATTACHED to the outfit, because the little one will enjoy taking them off and watching you put them back on.....over and over and over and over again! For you two, you may want "long john's" or something similar if you aren't used to the cold, but me personally, I usually just put jeans or workout pants on and maybe LIGHT snowpants if I'm going to be out in the cold playing around (skating, skiing, sledding, whatever). I also just wear a winter jacket over my normal workout clothes, and if it's not brutally cold then I just wear warm workout clothes with gloves and a hat, and maybe an extra layer. But I sweat really easily and I hate being too hot, but as long as you're moving around even the most minimal amount of layering should do just fine. Just don't expose anything other than your face if it's colder than 20. Your fingers really can't possibly get frost bitten unless it's colder than like 20 or 25 degrees, it's more of a matter of comfort for most.

Good luck! Have fun!!

[yoyoma02]

I don’t have any kiddos, so I’m not sure what to advise for the 6 month old. For you, be prepared to wear hats, gloves, scarf’s, heavy winter coats, and long underwear from December – March. Not only that, but be prepared to scrape the ice off your car windshield October – April.

I’m moving to California next week and I can’t wait to get out of this Minnesota cold. Winters are brutal here!

[uptown_urbanist]

Layers are good. If you're out walking you can get hot even in the winter; you'll want a coat, certainly, but you probably don't want to rush out and buy the warmest things you can buy. I second the suggestion to buy the baby a jacket or snowsuit with attached mittens. I wouldn't buy the baby gear very far ahead since sizes can change so rapidly, but if you see something cheap at a garage sale you might as well buy it now. They also sell zip-up stroller blankets that go around the baby while in the stroller; we moved back to MN after my son was past the stage where he was willing to put up with that, but we'll be buying one for any future babies. Also, not all strollers are created equal when it comes to snow and ice. We bought ours for a different climate, and will also be buying new if another baby comes along; we found that ice always got caught in the wheels. My guess is that one of those strollers with big tires would work better. I wouldn't invest heavily in a winter stroller, though, as they'll get a lot of wear and tear what with the ice, salt, etc. I broke a wheel back in March, and I think that's not uncommon.

We had a hand-me-down sweater suit that looked like a snowsuit but was knit like a sweater, complete with an attached hood. I don't know if they sell anything like that anywhere (or you could make one if you're a knitter; mine was homemade by someone's grandmother), but it was perfect for our toddler. Sometimes the snowsuit is too bulky, but the coat not quite enough.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

A pair of choppers.

[Radical_Car]

Just relax and have jackets and such

[Minnesota Spring]

Originally Posted by Poddy

Hello. So my family and I have been in Minneapolis for a month now and totally love it!! Thanks for all the moving tips btw -- very helpful. Anyway we are living in the Marcy Holmes neighborhood and walking everywhere. We just wanted to get some ideas of essentials (clothing-wise and other) that we'll need for our first MN winter. This will be for 2 adults and a 6 mo old. We are very active (hardly drive) -- love walking and hope to take up cross country skiing eventually. We came from Melbourne, Australia (and FL) so ice and snow will be a treat, and we really want to embrace the cold. :-) Hope this isn't too silly a question....

I usually just wear a winter coat a hat and gloves when I go out for walks in the winter. The only time I wish I had long johns is when its real windy and cold out, but Minneapolis does not get as much wind as SW Minnesota, so you should be fine. "so ice and snow will be a treat, and we really want to embrace the cold. :-)"
If you can still say this with a straight face come early March, I would be really suprised

[Kid Cann]

Technology these days is incredible, check out Columbia, North Face and Carhart for super-cold stoppage.

[Radical_Car]

Originally Posted by Kid Cann

Technology these days is incredible, check out Columbia, North Face and Carhart for super-cold stoppage.

Sweet

[uptown_urbanist]

There was some other thread on a similar topic maybe six months ago or so; someone had recommended Carhart overalls for winter. I would wait until closer to the winter to buy stuff, because if you pay too much attention to some of this you risk going way overboard. In other words, don't go out and buy a wardrobe of long underwear, unless you have a lot of storage space and disposable income. Some of what you need is going to depend on your work and personal tastes, too; you might find you end up almost only wearing a more formal wool coat (short or long), or you could find you end up only wearing a more casual but warm parka. If you live here long enough you'll probably gradually accumulate a wardrobe of different styles and weights of coats and jackets. If you're trying to save money you can find good options second-hand, or else buy after the winter sales start (although if you're starting from scratch you'll obviously need to buy something before things go on sale, although usually the department stores do start clearing out their winter sections long before winter is actually over.)