Night Drive

No street lights and very few porch lights combined with an starless sky makes the night black, pitch black.
When the sun sets at 3:40 in the afternoon and you get out of school at 3:15, sledding during daylight hours becomes limited.  The result of limited sledding time is restless kids more than willing to turn on the wii or begging to watch a movie instead of playing outside in the dark.

This is easily remedied by the invention of the portable gas-powered generator and a set of halogen work lights.  Not quite the prestige of the commercial ski resorts, but it seems to produce just as much fun and happiness.