Si al gener o al desembre hi ha neu, la meva filla vol tocar el gel amb guants.

Si means if and introduces a condition.

In this sentence, Si al gener o al desembre hi ha neu... sets up the situation, and the rest of the sentence tells you what happens in that case.

Also, after si, Catalan normally uses the indicative, not the subjunctive, for real or possible conditions like this one:

• Si hi ha neu... = If there is snow...

Al is the contraction of a + el.

So:

• al gener = in January
• al desembre = in December

Catalan often uses the article with months in expressions of time. English just says in January, but Catalan commonly says al gener.

The al is repeated before both months because each month belongs to its own time expression:

• al gener o al desembre

Hi ha means there is or there are.

Examples:

• Hi ha neu = There is snow
• Hi ha dos llibres = There are two books

The hi is a fixed part of this existential expression. A learner often wants to treat ha alone as there is, but in Catalan the normal expression is hi ha.

So you should learn hi ha as one unit.

After hi ha, Catalan often uses a noun without a definite article when introducing something that exists or is present.

So:

• hi ha neu = there is snow

This is similar to English, where you also usually say there is snow, not there is the snow, unless you mean some specific snow already identified.

If you were talking about specific snow, you might use la neu, but not in this basic existential structure.

In Catalan, possessives are very often used together with the definite article:

• la meva filla = my daughter
• el meu germà = my brother
• les nostres amigues = our friends

This is one of the big differences from English. English usually says just my daughter, but Catalan normally says the my daughter structurally, even though it translates simply as my daughter.

Vol is the 3rd person singular of voler = to want.

In Catalan, after voler, you usually put the infinitive directly:

• vol tocar = wants to touch
• vol menjar = wants to eat
• vol dormir = wants to sleep

English uses to before the infinitive, but Catalan does not need an extra word here.

Here gel means ice, and el gel is the natural form in this sentence.

Catalan often uses the definite article where English may or may not use one. In context, el gel refers to the ice present in that situation, so the ice is a natural translation.

Also, gel is a masculine noun:

• el gel

In this sentence, gel means ice.

That matters because English learners sometimes confuse:

• gel = ice
• fred = cold

So:

• tocar el gel = to touch the ice
• tenir fred = to be cold

Amb guants means with gloves or wearing gloves in a general sense.

When Catalan is not referring to a specific pair already identified, it often leaves out the article:

• amb guants = with gloves / wearing gloves

If you said amb els guants, that would sound more like with the gloves, meaning specific gloves known from context.

So in this sentence, amb guants is the most natural choice.

With the present tense, it can sound like a general or repeated situation:

• Si ... hi ha neu, la meva filla vol tocar el gel... = Whenever/if there is snow, my daughter wants to touch the ice...

So it can describe a typical reaction or a general truth about your daughter.

If you wanted to make the future idea more explicit, Catalan could use future forms in other contexts, but the present is very common for general conditions.

The comma separates the initial conditional clause from the main clause:

• Si al gener o al desembre hi ha neu,
  la meva filla vol tocar el gel amb guants.

This is very natural and standard when a conditional clause comes first. It helps the reader see where the condition ends and the main statement begins.

Yes. Catalan is somewhat flexible.

For example, you could also say:

• La meva filla vol tocar el gel amb guants si al gener o al desembre hi ha neu.

That still makes sense, but the original version is very natural because it presents the condition first and then the result.

So the original order is a good, clear default:

1. condition
2. main clause