The first substantial snowfall of the year blanketed Dartmouth with about a half a foot of fresh powder on Friday morning, bringing with it all the makings of a snow day for the ages.

Children from miles around gathered eagerly at the town’s sledding hills with saucers, toboggans and innertubes carried clumsily in hand.

Elsewhere and all around town, snowballs were thrown, hot cocoas were enjoyed and everything — from the trees to the boats and buildings — was covered in a layer of pristine, white snow.

“Days like these make you remember why you love New England,” said Peter Walker who visited the sledding hill behind the middle school with his wife Samia and their daughters Nyla, 4, and Egypt, 1.

Egypt, he said, had never been sledding before.

“She’s loving it,” he said.

And so were dozens of others, young and old, who slid down the frozen hill over and over with looks of utter joy on their faces.

Bennett Crook, 8, built a ramp out of snow with his friend Braxton Ferreira, 8, and the two took turns jumping off it in a plastic sled.

Young Declan Crane delighted in sliding down on his favorite saucer and letting his dad Greg pull him back up with a tow-rope. But he had to contain his jealousy when — after a dozen or so runs up and down the hill — Greg left him at the top and went for a run of his own, grinning ear to ear.