Our 2 Feed the Snowman activities are quick and easy ways to keep little ones hands and minds busy indoors this winter.
It’s been over a week since we did our cotton ball snowman craft, and with no sign of snow outside, we’re having snowman withdrawals here!
I quickly put together this Feed the Snowman activity with TWO different ways to feed TWO different snowmen!
(Does that mean there are really four different ways to feed the snowman? Hmm…)
I did the crafting part of this activity on my own, but if you’re needing to extend the activity and squeeze every little drop of engaged playtime out of it, by all means, make the snowmen with your toddler!
Looking for an organized guide of fun, easy activities to do with your toddler that also encourages their growth and development?
I’ve created a 3-month activity planner just for busy parents like you! The plan includes 65 detailed, simple, and stress-free activities including: arts and crafts, sensory play, motor skills, and STEM–all using easy-to-find supplies.
Let me help make planning activities for your toddler easy, so you can skip the stress and get straight to the fun!
2 Ways to Make a Snowman
Jump to RecipeFor the first snowman, I used a clean styrofoam cup, googly eyes, an orange triangle for a carrot nose, and a black paper hat, and black paper dots for the smile.
Tip: Use a hole punch to cut out all those little black dots.
I took out the bottom of the styrofoam cup, and then glued the hat, eyes, nose, and smile onto the snowman.
I wanted to add chenille stick arms, but my toddler told me it looked funny, and I agreed 🙂
The second snowman was a little more elaborate. I used the same materials as with the first snowman, but I swapped the styrofoam cup for a recycled, clean and clear plastic bottle.
I tied a red ribbon around the middle of the bottle for the snowman’s scarf and glued three black dots down the center for his buttons.
I used regular old school glue, not hot glue, so your child can help make the snowmen, if you’d like.
2 Ways to Feed the Snowman
Feeding Snowman #1
First, I explained to my two-year-old, Ella, that snowmen like to eat snowballs.
I showed her the first snowman (let’s call him Bill) and told her that he was very hungry.
She was eager to feed Bill cotton ball snowballs using the little tongs I laid out for her on a nice tray.
Using tongs helps children strengthen their hand muscles so they can become more adept at fine motor work.
It’s also fun to use new tools!
When Bill the snowman was full, we took him out and left the cotton ball snowballs on the tray.
I asked Ella to count the cotton balls and place them back in the big bowl.
Bill ate 12 snowballs! (Possibly more, one or two handfuls of the cotton balls contained more than one cotton ball.)
Feeding Snowman #2
Before we could feed Joey (snowman #2), we had to make some snowballs for him.
I had some leftover tissue paper from one of our many Black Friday purchases, so I put Ella to work ripping the tissue paper and crumpling them into little snowballs.
She really liked ripping the paper! But I ended crumpling most of the ripped shreds into snowballs.
When we had a good number of snowballs made, it was time to feed Joey!
The snowballs we had made were not enough to feed Joey! Oh no!
Ella said, “He’s very angry (hungry). We gotta make more snowballs.”
Making tissue paper snowballs is a great fine motor activity, and kids just love ripping paper.
You could totally do this when Christmas is over and the kids are looking for something to do. Reuse that leftover wrapping paper!
Meanwhile, 10 minutes later…
We made lots more tissue paper snowballs and finally filled Joey the snowman up!
Yes, Joey was a VERY hungry snowman.
Your Turn: Make and Feed a Hungry Snowman
I’ve shown you two ways to make a hungry snowman and two ways to make snowballs to feed him.
These are interchangeable, as you can stuff cotton balls into the plastic bottle (though you’ll have to poke them in with a finger rather than dropping them in with tongs) or you can drop tissue paper balls inside the styrofoam cup.
Styrofoam Cup Snowman
Supplies
- 1 styrofoam cup
- 2 googly eyes
- 1 orange paper triangle
- black paper dots
- black paper hat
- glue sticks
- 10 to 15 cotton balls
- small tongs
Instructions
- Cut out a small hat from the black construction paper. Use a hole punch to make several small dots from black construction paper.
- Cut out a skinny triangle from orange construction paper to use as the snowman’s nose.
- Rip out the bottom of the styrofoam cup (I used a large 10 oz cup) and place it upside down. Glue the hat, googly eyes, nose, and smile onto the cup to form a snowman’s face.
- Set out the snowman, cotton balls, and tongs. Your child can use the tongs to pick up cotton balls and drop them inside the opening at the top of the snowman’s head to feed the snowman.
- Extend the activity by counting the number of cotton balls that the snowman “ate.”
Plastic Bottle Snowman with Scarf
Supplies
- 1 clear plastic water bottle
- 2 googly eyes
- 1 black paper hat
- 1 orange triangle
- several black paper dots
- red ribbon
- glue sticks
- white tissue paper
Instructions
- Cut out a hat out of black construction paper. Use a hole punch to punch out several small dots out of black construction paper.
- Cut out a skinny orange triangle for the snowman’s carrot nose.
- Glue the hat, googly eyes, orange triangle nose, and black paper dots onto the plastic water bottle to make the snowman’s face. Glue three black paper dots along the center of the water bottle below the snowman’s face to form his buttons.
- Tie a short length of red ribbon around the snowman’s neck for a scarf.
- Have your child rip small pieces of tissue paper and crumple it up to form little balls. Use those balls to feed the water bottle snowman.
Which snowman is your favorite? Leave a comment below!
For more snowman crafts, try making a cotton ball snowman with your toddler or use this butter slime recipe to build your own snowman!
Looking for an organized guide of fun, easy activities to do with your toddler that also encourages their growth and development?
I’ve created a 3-month activity planner just for busy parents like you! The plan includes 65 detailed, simple, and stress-free activities including: arts and crafts, sensory play, motor skills, and STEM–all using easy-to-find supplies.
Let me help make planning activities for your toddler easy, so you can skip the stress and get straight to the fun!
