Make it: A Snowman Kit

Last year we received a snowman kit from one of my dear friends as a Christmas gift.  A few days after the gift arrived, we had an epic storm and the kids spent hours playing in the snow and building their wonderful snowman.

It was such a fun idea, and I was sure I could make a handmade version for gifts this year.

A snowman is simple.  He needs a hat, eyes, nose, mouth, scarf and buttons down his shirt.  If you want an authentic snowman, you can even add a corncob pipe.

Yesterday I got to work and made my own snowman kit.

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I cut a 7 inch width of red polar fleece for a scarf.  Most polar fleece is 60 inches wide which makes a perfect length for a scarf.  Then fray the end by cutting a 3 inch strip every 1/2 inch.  Check it out with a little snowflake:

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I traced a snowflake cookie cutter on white craft felt with pencil and cut it out.  Then I stitched around using a machine blanket stitch.  This scarf is so cute, you could steal it from the snowman and wear for Christmas.

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Ben and I headed over to a stream by our house and gathered small semi round stones.  When we got home, Ben painted them with black acrylic paint to make the snowman’s mouth.

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Boys love rocks.  They love to collect rocks.  They love to paint rocks.  I love rocks because they are the perfect old fashioned look for a snowman… and they are free.

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I splurged on a fake carrot from a local craft store for $3.  My husband thinks I should cut the “hairy” things off it it… too gross.  I pulled out the foliage and hot glued a dowel into the hole in the end, to make it easier to stick it into the snowman.  You could also use a real carrot in the kit… which would obviously need to be replaced as needed.

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Next were inexpensive buttons for the eyes and down his tummy, big black buttons for the eyes, smaller green buttons for the tummy.   I put the rocks and buttons into this cute little box for the gift.

And last but not least, the hat.  I made it out of cheap black felt.  I sprayed the felt with a little heavy starch to make it less floppy, and it turned out darling.  I will be posting a tutorial on making the hat later today (I hope.)  I still have a few measurements to get right if someone besides me is tried make it…  I had to fudge a few times.  I thought that Geometry teacher was lying when he said I would use these skills someday.  Circumferences anyone?  You could also buy a hat from a thrift store, Halloween close-out, cheap Santa hat, there’s lots of inexpensive choices.

UPDATE:  Here are the directions for making a snowman hat:  Start with at least 3/4 yard of cheap black felt.

  1. Cut one circle 12″ inches wide for the brim of the hat.
  2. Cut a smaller circle 6 3/4″ in the center of the the brim.
  3. Cut one 8″ inch circle for the top of the hat.
  4. Cut one rectangle, 6″ x  24″ for the cylinder.
  5. Folding the rectangle in half, stitch the end using a 1/4″ seam, making the cylinder.
  6. Keeping the cylinder wrong side out, carefully pin the 8″ circle around the top of the hat.  Stitch together.
  7. Turn the cylinder right side out.  I used a chopstick to make the turn neat and tidy.
  8. Pin the brim of the hat carefully around the cylinder.  Stitch together.
  9. Embellish the hat if desired.  Use a piece of red felt or grosgrain ribbon around the hat.  Or throw on a flower or a sprig of holly.  Or just simply leave it a plain black hat… either way it’s going to be a darling snowman.

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Last it all goes into a gift box… add a cute little tag that reads, “Just Add Snow.”  And another check off my gift list!


64 Comments

  1. This is such a great idea! I am going to make this for our neighbors, what a great little gift that you can give without spending a lot of money! thanks!

  7. That is a classy snowman kit! I love it! The scarf is darling and I love how your son is helping to paint the rocks. Great!

    And, I think I want to m ake the cookies for Santa idea for some gifts this year. You always have great ideas! Thanks for sharing!

  9. Super idea, erm, except in places like where I live (the desert) where we rarely, if ever get snow. Maybe we could stick it into a cactus? :) Still, we could make these kits to send to family & friends that live where this is plenty of snow. Sweet, economic gift idea!

  11. This is just what I was looking …yay! What a fantastic Christmas gift idea. I plan to include this in a winter fun kit …cocoa, a snack, and maybe put it all inside an inexpensive sled. Can’t wait for the hat tutorial! Thanks for posting it!

  14. What a lovely idea. Such a shame we rarely get snow here – otherwise that would be quite a few gifts crossed off my list!

  19. Oooh, I like this idea a LOT! I told my husband about it and was trying to figure out a way to save money on the carrot. He suggested an orange taper candle. Think that would work?

    Thanks for the great idea and tutorial!

    • Carrie, I do think a candle would work great. Just trim off the wick. The fake carrot cost around $3, but I bought it using a 40% coupon… so a candle would save money. Have fun with your snowman. All the best, Calli

  20. Thank-you for posting this wonderful craft. I made these last year for gifts. I used a tapered candle for the carrot nose. All I had to do was add a dowel and I did paint the carrot “rings” on it. Worked out great!

  22. I love this! I’ve seen the kits to buy before and never thought about making my own!
    I made a kit to give our niece for Christmas! I hope you don’t mind that I linked to you on my blog!

  23. I love this idea! I think I will do it for some friends… even though we live on a tropical island in southeast asia. Hahaha… Christmas at the beach with a “snow” man made out of sand. :D

  24. I have been looking for a fun and inexpensive project for the kids to make and sell at the local holiday bazzaar. This is perfect! Thanks.
    We received on for the holidays before that had a fleece stocking style hat(very simple to make) that matches the scarf.
    Lisa, I love the idea of a sand snowman. Alas, we are in N. Idaho, so we will have to stick with snow. Although it would be cute to give our snowman an island look with flowery scarf and hat, maybe even a blow-up palm tree. :)

  25. This is a great idea. Thanks, you just helped me solve my yearly dilemma of what to get for my little cousins. I have about a dozen of them between the ages of 2 to 14. It’s hard to find something that is appropriate for everyone in such a wide age range, but I hate getting them each somthing different. It’s hard to keep it “fair”, especially since some of them are rotten little brats that I don’t enjoy spending money on. ;) I am sure the bratty ones will think a box of painted rocks, scarf and plastic carrot is a lame gift, but the ones I like will think this is an awesome & fun gift (I know my own kids would!) ;) Win-win!

  27. I LOVE this idea! We are about to move to Florida so we won’t be needing a snowman kit but I have some nieces and nephews that I will be sending one to! Thanks for sharing!

  28. Love this!
    I’m always trying to use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. That’s the life I live. :*)

    I’m putting a link to this on my sidebar under Tutorials I want to Try.

    I’m going to link to your blog on my sidebar, too. I don’t want to miss anything!

    Now, I’m off to see more of your terrific blog.

  29. This is adorably perfect! Every year all of my aunts and their kids get together the day after Thanksgiving to make stuff and bake all day. Their kids (the grandkids) all come and play all day too. I’m the oldest Grandkid (by 13 years) and wanted a ‘project’ for the youngsters to do while all the aunts to something creative. They get to use this idea of yours and I’m very excited! I’ll try to get a picture of them all with them to you. Thanks again!

  33. I made a snowman kit for each of my grandkids. I was able to purchase the things I needed cheaper than making them. All at The Dollar Store (Dollar Tree) They have the scarves, the gloves and even sacks of coal this time of year (enough for eyes and mouth). I got a plastic popcorn bucket and a flat pizza pan. Hotglued the bowl upside down onto the pan. Bought a $3 can of shiny black spraypaint and was able to paint 8 “hats”. They are more durable and turned out great! Then all I had to get at the store were whole carrots and throw in, for the nose.

  34. What a cute idea! Im planning on using your inspired snowman kit idea as a gift for our 2nd grade class! FYI: Orientaltrading.com have plastic top hats at around $7 a dozen!!! Very useful if you need to make 24 kits as I do! For the carrots I thought about making it out of foil and covering with orange colored tape? DO you think it would work? I’ll give it a try! Loved the website!

  36. Now that is one of the cutest things I have seen! I definitely want to make this! I am running out of time this year to get everything I want to make done!
    Thank you for sharing!

  37. We rarely get enough snow for a snowman but it does bring back memories of my childhood when we had tons of snow! This is the cutest thing ever! Wish I had some friends with little ones who live in snowy areas so I could make one for them! – Karen

  38. Are you sure it is a 20″ in diameter circle? Cause it seems to me that the brim would be huge. I’m in the process of making them now and just want to confirm before I cut. Thanks. Cailin

  39. I just finished making one of these hats. It was way easier than I thought. But I think the 20″ diameter circle is too large. It looked more like a sombrero than a top hat. It didn’t look like the pictures in your tutorial–the brim was wider than the height of the hat, but in the pictures, the brim is about half as wide. I trimmed about 3 1/2″ off the brim and that seems to look much better.

    Thanks for sharing! I can’t wait to give these to my nieces and my son!

  40. I know what I will be working on this year for family Christmas gifts. I have a Snowman Building Kit in a bag that someone gave me years ago. The pieces are all wooden. Cute, too but hard to find. But I LOVE THIS LOVE THIS LOVE THIS. And since I make it myself, it adds a little heart to it. :o)

  41. I’ve been making snowman kits for years, living in the upper midwest, we have A LOT of snow! One suggestion is in the fall, collect acorns & other nuts (bake slightly to rid them of bugs) and then use the acorns/nuts for the mouth & buttons. This way, if your snowman has any “visitors” he’s able to offer a treat! Also, once the snow melts away you don’t have to pick rocks out of the lawn!

  42. This is adorable and I plan to make a couple as Christmas gifts for the younger grandkids. They will love them. Thanks so much for the instructions.
    Linda

  43. I am confused and ready to make these. The measurements are 20″ wide, 6 3/4″ wide and 8″ wide? In other words the diameter? Not the circumfrence, right?

  46. I just made 6 of these :) Thanks so much for the tutorial!But I have one question; does anyone know how I would go about attaching the ribbon around the hat? Thanks so much!!

    • Hi Linda, I just made the hat and stitched the ribbon on after I had completed the hat. Place it very close to the brim seam and it looks great. Now just to find an inexpensive fake carrot!

  47. I just want to compliment you on the excellent insructions. I just finished the hat and it went together perfectly—I used a vinyl coated fabric remnant from my stash and I was a little worried since there was no stretch with it. But it went together very nicely. I stitched my ribbon trim on after I had complete the hat, just placing it very close to the brim seam. Thanks for a great gift idea—I’m putting it together with the “Frosty the Snowman” read-along book for my granddaughter.

  52. My niece received something similar last year as a gift… But instead of a hat..which is still perfect for say a snowman….lshe had a crown….for a snowgirl….they always have crowns at dollar tree……

  53. So cute! I pinned it to remember to make some kits for cute little kid gifts at Christmas time. :) Thanks for the idea!

  54. For the nose you could take a real carrot and dip it in parowax. We used to do this to gingerbread cookies to preserve them as tree ornaments for years!

  57. […] Dit is misschien een beetje overbodige luxe, want wie heeft er nou geen oude sjaal, een muts, een paar knopen en een winterpeen liggen? Maar toch, toen ik dit kant-en-klare sneeuwmanpakket op internet tegenkwam, was ik meteen verkocht. Helaas is deze Snowman in a Box niet meer verkrijgbaar in Nederlandse webshops, maar hier een mooie handleiding voor een zelfgemaakte variant (Engels). […]

  58. Made for my grown son, who lives in snow country. I know he will have a great time using this and taking photos to post on Facebook. I worked for a Halloween store last year and scored a black top hat that they were going to throw away. Knew I would need it someday ;-). Thanks for the great idea!

  59. Thank you so much for sharing this, it is adorable. I made one for my 2 year old neighbor as a Christmas gift and mailed two additional ones today to friends.

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