Looking for a festive craft to brighten your home this holiday season? This sparkly snowman decoration is an easy and fun project loved by all ages! Whether you’re adding it to a Christmas wreath, decorating the fireplace, or displaying it as a standalone piece, this craft brings a touch of magic to your winter and Christmas decor.
Why You’ll Love This Sparkly Snowman Craft
- Perfect for kids and adults alike.
- A great multi-day project for those with shorter attention spans.
- Versatile: use it in wreaths, table centerpieces, or as handmade gifts.
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 love creating festive decorations, you might also enjoy our Pipe Cleaner Christmas Trees, DIY Frosted Jam Jar Lanterns or, Singing Angel.
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchase
Materials You’ll Need for Your Snowman
- Polystyrene spheres (US Amazon, UK Amazon) – choose different sizes for variety
- Small wooden sticks (US Amazon, UK Amazon) – matchsticks work perfectly
- PVA glue (US Amazon, UK Amazon)
- White glitter (US, UK)or white sand (US, UK)
- Paintbrushes (US Amazon, UK Amazon) – soft wide mop style brushes are best for painting on the glue
- Pipe cleaners (US Amazon, UK Amazon)
- Decoration accessories
- googly eyes,
- glitter glue,
- sequins,
- buttons,
- small pom poms,
- chenille ribbon
- tinsel wired ribbon.
Step-by-Step Guide to Making a Sparkly Snowman
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 polystyrene sphere, leaving enough of the stick proud to push into the head. I 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 to dry overnight
Day 2 – Glitter/Sand Your Snowman
Push a match stick in the base of the body to use as a handle and carefully paint PVA glue over the snowman, ensuring a good even cover. If the glue is too thick it will run and leave drip 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 use greaseproof paper to catch the glitter as I think it slides off 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 the snowman has been covered, carefully roll the snowman around on top of the glitter that has accumulated on the greaseproof paper. This will make sure the snowman is completely covered an help push the glitter into the glue.
Leave to dry overnight.
The photos 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
- Pipe cleaners are great as you can bend them into shape.
- Thin strips of felt also look good.
- You could even finger knit a scarf!
Make The Hat by curling a large pipe cleaner into a wheel and 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 piece of orange pipe cleaner make fantastic noses.
Make some arms. Cotton pipe cleaners are great for this. But you could also use real twigs
Use a plastic needle to make holes in the sides of the body first and glue arms in place.
Add your buttons
Pro Tip: Leave your snowman lying down with your newly glued decorations lying flat on top. And allow to dry. If you leave the snowman in an upright position the decorations will slide off!
Standing Your Snowman
Make a ring out of a white pipe cleaner to allow the snowman to stand up. Without it, they will fall over!
Alternatively, attach the snowman to a wreath or centerpiece for added stability.
Display and Enjoy
Your gorgeous sparkly snowman is ready to shine! Use it to add festive cheer to your holiday decorations or gift it to someone special. 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.
More Holiday Fun!
Looking for more Christmas or winter crafts? Try these:
OMG….those are sooo cute!!!! You have inspired to have a very crafty Christmas this year. New follower from MBC. Come for a visit when you get a chance.
These are great snowmen. Very crafty for a cold winter weekend with the kids. I’m a new follower from MBC.
Michelle
Soo cute!! My son and are want to make some! Thank you for the post.
Stopping by from MBC. I’m following you now. 🙂 These are sooo cute!! I can’t wait until my little one gets old enough to do cute crafts!
Those are fantastic! So clever! We will definitely have a go at those, thanks
Oh they are so cute! My husband has a thing for snowmen so might have to get him on the case to make these with the kiddies. thanks for linking to fun sparks!
I love these. Will make next Christmas. Also it’s really lovely to see your kids’ dear little fingers in the pictures.
I love these. Will make next Christmas. Also it’s really lovely to see your kids’ dear little fingers in the pictures.
Oh snap! Yours look so much cuter than ours, I love their little hats! We will defintely be having another go at these following your instructions – perfect! Thanks for linking to Festive Friday!
Oh snap! Yours look so much cuter than ours, I love their little hats! We will defintely be having another go at these following your instructions – perfect! Thanks for linking to Festive Friday!
I so love their hats and scarves.
I so love their hats and scarves.