With the holiday festivities behind us sometimes the month of January can be a little dreary. The colder temperatures make it a little more difficult to get out and adventure with young kiddos. This month we are trying to embrace it by getting cozy and reading snow themed books, sipping hot cocoa and making some snow inspired art.
Here is a simple snowman craft that my boys enjoyed doing. I think it would make a great little card to send off to brighten someone’s day, or make it on canvas for a sweet little keepsake.
Fingerprint Snowmen
Supplies:
- Construction paper
- White paint and brushes
- Markers
- Optional- Glitter
I started out by cutting the construction paper into fourths. If you wish to do a card fold the paper in half or fourths instead of cutting. We choose blue construction paper so that it would look like the sky, but any color will work. I added some fine white glitter to the white paint to give it that sparkly snow look. Paint your child’s four fingers and the top of their palm, then have them make a print at the bottom of the paper. Here is where you can get a little crazy if you're feeling brave…I let my boys splatter more white paint by holding the paintbrush with a little bit of paint and tapping it over the paper. It gives a cool snowing effect, but I warn you it can get messy quickly. After the paint dries add hats, faces, carrot noses, buttons, scarves…whatever you want your snowman and woman to have.
Snow Themed Books
Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner
The Biggest Snowman Ever by Steven Kroll
When Will it Snow by Kathryn White
One Winter’s Night by Claire Freedman
The Mitten by Jan Brett
The Story of Snow by Mark Cassino and Jon Nelson
Other Cozy Winter Activities (that don’t require snow)
- Make snow dough or white play dough using one of the many recipes online.
- Build a blanket fort and read books.
- Spread whipped cream in a 9×9 pan and freeze, then cut with cookie cutters to add to Hot Cocoa.
- Talk about how all snowflakes are completely unique and cut paper snowflakes out of paper or coffee filters.
- Have an indoor snowball fight using plush snowballs or mini marshmallows.
- Create snowflakes using pretzel sticks and mini marshmallows.
This is one part of a series of ideas for thrifty family fun on our Thrive & Dime blog.
About the writer: Formerly a school counselor, Megan now spends her days playing trucks, reading dinosaur books, dispensing snacks and adventuring with her three little men; ages 5, 2 and 6 months.
