lakehead,
I don't know the measurement of snow, but it has covered my inground pool cover. You can't see it at all, and the poor dog came running across the yard, stepped on the cover and was high-stepping all the way across it! We just moved to Pittsburgh 4 weeks ago, so I'm really not diggin' the snow. I lived in Rochester NY for 3 years and got my fill of snow then.
Let's see, My tip would have to be... um, gosh this is a hard one.
Oh yeah, this is what my kids love. Each morning, they wake to find Tinkerbelle gifts at the foot of their beds. Usually, it is some sort of candy and maybe a notebook or stickers, an outfit with their favorite character on it, and a stuffed character.
This takes extra planning and an extra suitcase to carry it in, but it cuts down on the whining of "buy me something", as well as all the time it takes for my three kids to shop! As I buy things at home, I put them into ziploc bags (love them) with each child's name on it. Then a week before we go, I pull it all out and set it up on my floor, according to days/kid. That way, I can see what each one is getting when and it helps me to make sure no one is getting more than the other.
Our children usually recieve $25-$75 each in Disney Dollars (as tinkerbelle gifts) that they can spend on whatever Tinkerbelle didn't give them, but the stipulation is they must wait until the last day to use it.
They really like knowing that they are in charge of getting what they want, but can't wait to see what's waiting for them each morning.
Jodi