I came across Let It Snow Desktop while browsing the Mac App Store last week, and it immediately caught my attention. Sometimes you need apps that just make your workspace more enjoyable, and this one delivers exactly what its name promises: gentle snowfall drifting across your desktop.
The app runs quietly from your menu bar and adds animated snow that falls behind your windows, so it never interferes with your actual work. I’ve been using it on my Mac Mini M4 with dual displays, and the snow animation renders smoothly across both screens without any performance hiccups. According to the developer, it uses around 30 MB of memory with near-zero CPU load, which matches what I’ve observed in Activity Monitor.
What I appreciate most is the customization. You can adjust the amount of snowfall, the size of the flakes, and how quickly they fall. The settings are straightforward, accessed directly from the menu bar icon. If you want a light dusting, you can dial it back. If you want a proper winter storm, you can crank it up. The snow stays behind your windows in desktop-only mode, which means you get the visual effect without any distraction while working.
The developer, Vladyslav Ilyenko, recently pushed version 1.2.1, which includes performance improvements that reduced memory usage from over 300 MB down to about 30 MB. That’s a significant optimization, and it shows active development. The app also handles monitor connections and disconnections correctly, so if you’re using a laptop with external displays, it adapts without issues.
Let It Snow Desktop is completely free on the Mac App Store, requires macOS 13.0 or later, and weighs in at just 1.8 MB. The developer doesn’t collect any user data, which is refreshing. It supports multiple languages including English, Ukrainian, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
This app is perfect for anyone who wants to add a seasonal touch to their workspace. It’s one of those small utilities that doesn’t solve a critical problem but makes your Mac experience a bit more pleasant. If you’re the type who decorates your physical workspace, this is the digital equivalent. The performance is solid, the customization options are practical, and it’s free. I’ll probably keep it installed through winter and disable it when spring arrives.
