by Heather Little

Created on: December 27, 2010

As a kid, one of the easiest things to make is a snowman decoration - the shapes and color schemes are easy to understand, and snowmen can be made out of just about anything! Keep a few materials on hand so your child can have some snowman fun on their  next Snow Day (without tracking mud and slush into the house!).

COTTONBALL SNOWMAN

What you will need:

cotton balls
1 piece of light blue construction paper
glue
felt scraps (black, orange, red)
buttons
marker (black)

Instructions:

Draw a snowman shape on the construction paper, and use the glue to fill up the space with cotton balls. Then use the felt scraps and buttons to make a hat, scarf, arms, face, etc.

SNOWMAN ORNAMENT

What you will need:

2 cups flour
2 cups salt
2 cups warm water
snowman cookie cutter
black paint
orange paint
white paint
glitter
hot glue gun
fabric or felt scraps (optional)
buttons (optional)

Instructions:

To make the dough, combine the flour, salt, and water and mix until smooth. Roll out onto a flat floured surface. Cut out as many snowman shapes as you want. If you intend to hang them, poke a hole near the top.Transfer to a cookie sheet and bake a 350 for one hour. Let cool.

Paint one side of the snowman white, and sprinkle with glitter before the paint dries.

Let the paint dry enough that the other colors won't run in. You can paint eyes and a mouth with the black paint, and a nose with the orange paint. Use hot glue to attach buttons down the body, and/or tie a scrap of fabric or felt around the neck as a scarf. You can get really crafty making clothes for your snowman, but this is usually too difficult for little kids. 

STYROFOAM SNOWMAN

What you will need:

3 Styrofoam balls (small, medium, large)
1 small Styrofoam block or square
toothpicks
pipe cleaners
markers
felt
pompoms
hot glue gun

Instructions:

Stack the Styrofoam balls from large to small using the toothpicks to attach them. Attach the bottom of the snowman to the small block/square which will act as a "base" so your snowman won't fall over. Use the pipe cleaners for arms. Make eyes, a mouth, carrot nose, pipe, scarf, mittens - have fun with it!

MARSHMALLOW SNOWMAN

What you will need:

3 marshmallows
toothpicks
chocolate chips
pretzel sticks
frosting
1 fruit roll-up

Instructions:

Use the toothpicks to stack the marshmallows on top of each other. You can buy marshmallows in small, medium, and large - but this can get expensive if you're only making one marshmallow. It's only worth it if you plan on making a lot of snowmen.

Use the frosting as glue. Attach the chocolate chips as eyes, a mouth, and buttons down the front. Use the pretzel sticks as arms. Wrap a strip of fruit roll-up around the neck as a scarf. The best part about this craft is that the clean-up is easy - and delicious!

SNOWMAN SOUP

What you will need:

1 package of hot cocoa mix
2 Hershey's kisses
3 marshmallows
1 candy cane

Put the cocoa mix in a bowl and make according to the directions on the packet. Then add the marshmallows and kisses, and use the candy cane to stir. Mmmmmmmm!

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