Kids WiIll Love Making This Sparkly Snowman Decoration

This sparkly snowman decoration craft is so cute and loved by all ages! My girls make them to give to their teachers at the end of term. But we also use them in Christmas wreaths the Christmas foliage over the fireplace and as stand-alone decorations.

They take 3 days to complete, so although younger children will need lots of support, it can be ideal for those with a short attention span as they can easily stop and start. I tend to glue together the head a body in advance but you could also cover the snowman in glitter beforehand so that younger children only add the decoration.

If you like this craft then you may also be interested in my Bottle Top Snowflake, DIY Frosted Jam Jar, Singing Angel

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Materials To Make The Sparkly Snowman Decoration

• Polystyrene spheres, (US Amazon, UK Amazon)
• small wooden sticks, (US Amazon, UK Amazon)
• PVA glue, (US Amazon, UK Amazon)
• white glitter (US, UK)or white sand (US, UK)
• paintbrushes (soft wide mop sttyle brushes are best for painting on the glue (US Amazon, UK Amazon)
• pipe cleaners (US Amazon, UK Amazon)
• decoration accessories such as
  • googly eyes,
  • glitter glue,
  • sequins,
  • buttons,
  • small pom poms,
  • chenille ribbon
  • tinsel wired ribbon.

How To Make Your Sparkly Snowman Decoration

Day 1 – Make Your Bodies!

Choose the size of snowman you want to make and collect your polystyrene balls together. It’s worth doing this step the night before if doing it as a class project or with younger kids.

The photo below shows the sizes of polystyrene spheres I tend to put together.

Snap a small matchstick in half and glue both pieces side by side into the top of the largest poly sphere leaving enough of the stick proud to push into the head (use a plastic needle to make holes for the sticks). Make two matching holes in the head, cover the sticks with glue and push them into the head hole. Leave overnight to dry.

Day 2 – Glitter/Sand Your Snowman

Push a match stick in the base to use as a handle and paint PVA glue carefully over the snowman making sure that there is a good even cover. If you leave the glue too thick it will run and leave marks a bit like gloss paint. I tend to have a quick look at the snowman after my girls have painted the glue on and will thin it out if necessary.

Pouring the glue into a bowl and using a good quality wide soft paintbrush is the easiest way to paint the polystyrene and get a nice smooth finish.

Still holding the matchstick, sprinkle the snowman all over with glitter or white sand (25g of glitter or 50g of sand is plenty) I like to use a sheet of greaseproof paper to catch the glitter on as I think it slides of more easily when tipping it back into the glitter container. I also like to get the girls to use a spoon to pour the glitter with as it gives them a little more control.

When all the glitter has been poured out of the container roll the snowman around on top of the glitter that has accumulated on the paper below. This will make sure the snowman is completely covered.

Leave to dry overnight preferably. The photo’s below going from left to right use white coarse PVC glitter, clear fine Polyester glitter and white iridescent glitter. White sand gives a similar texture to the middle one but without the shine.

Day 3 – Decorate Your Snowman

Before you start to decorate your snowman carefully wiggle out the little wooden matchstick.

Start with the scarf as that doesn’t need gluing. Chenille Ribbon makes a fantastic floppy scarf and pipe cleaners are great as you can bend them into shape. Thin strips of felt also look good.

Make The Hat by curling a large pipe cleaner into a wheel and then pushing it up through the middle. Large 4 cm heads may need 2 pipe cleaners to make a big enough hat. Tie off the bottom of the hat, glue along the inside edge and stick on top of the head. Be generous with the glue.

Next glue googly eyes, a nose and mouth on. Small orange pom poms or a bit of orange pipe cleaner make fantastic noses.

Make some arms. Again cotton pipe cleaners are great for this. Use a plastic needle to make holes and glue arms in place.

Add your buttons

Leave your snowman lying down with your newly glued decorations lying flat on top to dry overnight.

Standing Up Your Snowman

Make a ring out of a white pipe cleaner to stand them up. Without it, they will fall over! Unless of course you’re adding it to a wreath or table centerpiece. 

And there you have it.

A gorgeous sparkly snowman to add to your decorations.