Looking for a low-mess Christmas craft that’s quick, easy, and cute? Look no further: This popsicle stick snowman ornament will be the perfect addition to your holiday home decor.
This easy popsicle-stick Christmas craft is perfect for little hands. After you’ve made it (which won’t take long since it’s a quick holiday craft), you and your family will have a beautiful tree ornament ready to spark some holiday magic.
I remember when my toddler jumped in to make ours a few years ago. He was so proud (and still is) every time we hang it on the tree. It’s also a great way to introduce children to simple arts and craft techniques. If you want to see more crafts, check out these ideas of crafts you can try on rainy days!
This DIY snowman craft for kids is my version of the “Today’s Creative Idea” snowman, which can be found here.
Let’s get to it!
Materials for Your Popsicle Stick Snowman Ornament
| Popsicle Sticks | 6 (1 for the hat, 5 for the snowman’s head). |
| Black and White Non-Toxic Craft Paint | White for the snowman’s head, black for the hat. |
| Adhesive Googly Eyes | Great for fine motility! And, let’s face it, hilarious! |
| Orange Construction Paper | For the snowman’s nose. |
| White Construction Paper | You’ll need a small scrap for covering the hanging string in the back. |
| Burlap Ribbon | For decorating the hat’s brim. You can also get creative and use washi tape! |
| Satin Ribbon | For the snowman’s scarf. |
| Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks | For the grown-ups! |
| Safety Toddler Scissors | You can use an adult-only pair of scissors for the more challenging parts, such as cutting the ribbons. |
| Twisted Rope of Yarn | For creating the loop to hang the popsicle stick snowman ornament. |
Step 1: Painting the Base of the Popsicle Stick Snowman Ornament
Align 5 Sticks on a Protected Surface
Align 5 popsicle sticks side by side on a protected surface. These will form the head of your popsicle stick ornament.
Pro Tip: Protect the surface you’ll be working on. You’re going to paint over these popsicles, so make sure to use a surface you don’t mind staining. A spare plastic plate, neatly layered newspapers, or a sheet of cardboard works perfectly.
Paint the Lower Third of Each Popsicle Stick
Paint the lower third of each popsicle stick white. This white section will make the snowman’s face. Using white, non-toxic craft paint, paint the lower third of each previously aligned popsicle stick.
Don’t worry if it’s not perfect; we’ll cover all imperfections in a later step.
Pro Tip: We used a brush to enhance my toddler’s fine motor skills. For faster results, you can dip the sticks into the white paint. Your toddler can also paint them with their hands!
Paint the Top Part of the Popsicle Sticks
The top of the popsicle sticks will be the hat of the popsicle stick snowman ornament. Paint the top of each stick black, maintaining approximately a 1:3 black-to-white proportion. The face needs to be considerably bigger than the hat.
Pro Tip: The unions of the two colors don’t need to be perfect, since we’ll use the sixth popsicle stick to cover them. As with the previous step, you can dip these in black paint. If you do decide to use a brush, however, keep in mind that you’ll only need to paint the front.
Paint The Remaining Popsicle
Paint the remaining popsicle completely black and let it dry.
Pro Tip: This black popsicle will be the brim of the hat. We painted it black, but you can experiment, for instance, use your toddler’s favorite color.
The resulting paintwork of all the popsicles should look something like this:
Step 2: Cutting the Carrot Nose of Your DIY Snowman Craft
Draw the Nose
Using a fine-tip pen, draw a small triangle on the orange construction paper. This will be your snowman’s nose. You don’t need to be precise. Imperfection is the key to a natural-looking nose, so it’s o.k. to skip the ruler!
Pro Tip: Get creative! You can try a short nose, a round one, or even a crooked nose! We drew a simple triangle because it suited our snowman. Use your imagination and have some fun with your toddler!
Now It’s Time to Cut The Nose!
Using a pair of scissors, carefully cut the nose. Don’t worry if it’s not exactly as you drew it; my cutting skills aren’t perfect, and we still got a fine-looking nose!
Pro Tip: If you don’t have a toddler-safe pair of scissors, make sure that a grown-up handles the cutting and keep your scissors out of your toddler’s reach. However, if you do have a pair of toddler scissors, you can let them cut the nose and practice their fine-motor skills!
Here’s what our nose looked like:
Step 3: Assembling the Structure & Hat Brim of Your Popsicle Stick Snowman Ornament
Glue the Brim of the Hat to the Head of the Snowman
Once the popsicle sticks are completely dry, it’s time to glue the brim with a hot glue gun. Use the black stick to cover the union between the black and white parts of the rest of the snowman.
Ensure the black stick covers all imperfections from the paint line; you can even tilt it slightly to add a fun perspective.
Pro Tip: If you’re impatient, as I am, you’ll be tempted to glue it before letting all the popsicles dry. I couldn’t wait, and soon regretted it when all my hands were painted black.
A Word of Caution: Be cautious when handling the hot glue gun around toddlers (and with your hands; I’ve burned my fingers a few times and, boy, does it hurt!).
Reinforce the Snowman for Tiny Hands!
Although the brim stick held the rest of the sticks together, I decided to add some extra reinforcement to make the craft sturdier.
Cut two rectangles of white construction paper and use the hot glue gun to glue them to the back of the snowman.
Pro Tip: Ensure the rectangles are large enough to cover all the gaps between the sticks. Not only will your craft be reinforced, but it will also last for years to come! We made this popsicle stick snowman ornament six years ago, and it still hangs on our Christmas tree every holiday!
A Word of Caution: Again, be cautious when using the hot glue gun. Please keep it away from your toddler, and don’t use your hands to press the paper against the sticks.
(Note that my hands have some black, red, and white paint smears… I told you we were too impatient to wait for the paint to dry 😂… a mistake you won’t make!)
Step 4: Decorating the Hat With Burlap Ribbon
Add a Small Decoration Above the Brim of the Hat
Using the hot glue gun, glue a small piece of the burlap ribbon just above the brim of your snowman’s hat. The piece of burlap ribbon should be about as long as a popsicle stick.
Pro Tip: We used brown and white burlap string, but feel free to use any decoration you prefer. Get creative! Try decorating the hat with small bells, flowers, or even different colored ribbons!
A Word of Caution: Keep the hot glue gun out of your toddler’s reach. Be extra careful when gluing the burlap ribbon, as the gaps in the ribbon can allow the hot glue to leak through and cause burns in your hands!
Fold the Burlap Ribbon Over Itself
If the decoration is too tall, like ours was, you can use that to your advantage to give the hat some lovely volume. Add a few drops of hot glue with the hot glue gun, and then fold the ribbon over itself.
Pro Tip: If your ribbon isn’t as tall as the one we used, but you still want to give your popsicle snowman craft some volume, you can glue a second ribbon on top of the first one!
A Word of Caution: As always, handle the glue gun with extreme care. Keep it out of your toddler’s reach, and please, do not, under any circumstances, press the burlap with your bare fingers; the glue will leak and you might get burned (trust me, it’s not a pleasant feeling). You can use the tip of your scissors to press the ribbon down safely.
Fold and Glue the Excess Ribbon
Turn the snowman ornament around. Add a dot of hot glue to the back of the craft using the hot glue gun. Then, fold the excess ribbon on both sides, and press them together in the middle to glue them.
Pro Tip: The ribbon should feel tight once you fold it, but not too tight. Leaving a slightly loose curve around the edges will make your snowman look more natural. The extra volume will bring it to life!
A Word of Caution: You may need an extra pair of grown-up hands to press the ribbon down safely. As with the previous steps, keep the hot glue gun out of your children’s reach, and avoid pressing the burlap ribbon with your bare hands!
Once the glue cools down, you should have a hat looking something like this (only a million times better!):
Step 5: Gluing the Googly Eyes and Painting the Smile
Place Two Googly Eyes Below the Hat
Place two googly eyes below the hat of your snowman craft, but don’t glue them just yet! They will serve as a guide to paint the snowman’s smile.
Paint the Smile of the Popsicle Snowman
Using the back of the paintbrush, carefully paint black dots to form a curved smile.
Pro Tip: The dots will take some time to dry, so be patient and ensure they are completely dry before proceeding! The paint is easy to smear. Also, avoid adding other details to the smile with the back of the paintbrush—I’ll show you why later.
Glue the Googly Eyes
It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for! Add two small dots of hot glue with the hot glue gun and press the googly eyes firmly down until the glue is cool.
Pro Tip: Leave some space for the nose that you cut in step 2. You can place it on the snowman before gluing the eyes to make sure the space is sufficient. If your googly eyes are adhesive, peel the paper layer before gluing them (don’t trust their adhesive; it’s not strong enough to keep them in place).
(See what I meant with the extra details to the smile? It would have looked better with just the dots!)
Glue the Nose
Using your handy hot glue gun, place the nose between the eyes and the smile of the snowman.
Pro Tip: The triangle nose gives your snowman craft a nice perspective! If you only glue the base of the triangle to the popsicle snowman, the nose will pop out and bring a slight touch of realism to your ornament. You can also align the angle of the nose with the hat for a better perspective.
A Word of Caution: Keep the hot glue gun out of the reach of your children and handle with care. Don’t fall into a false sense of security! The construction paper will heat quickly, so avoid pressing it down with your fingers; instead, use the tip of your scissors.
Step 6: Creating the Hanger Loop of Your Popsicle Stick Snowman Ornament
Create the Loop of the Hanging String
Using the hot glue gun, glue an “O” shaped loop of twisted rope or yarn to a small white rectangle of construction paper. This construction paper will serve as an anchor for the loop, and we’ll glue it to the back of the ornament.
Pro Tip: The bigger the loop, the easier it will be for your toddler to hang the ornament on the tree by themselves! Use a large piece of rope for this purpose.
A Word of Caution: Just in case you missed the other safety warnings, remember to keep the hot glue gun out of your child’s reach and handle it with care.
Glue the String to the Popsicle Stick Snowman Ornament
This is pretty straightforward: using your hot glue gun, glue the hanging string you just made to the back of your popsicle stick snowman ornament.
Pro Tip: Glue the anchor piece to the top of the hat, above the decoration, so that the ornament doesn’t cover the rope. Be careful, the heat from the new hot glue can melt the glue holding the strings to the construction paper, causing them to shift slightly.
A Word of Caution: I know you know this already (😉), but stay safe around the hot glue gun, especially around children.
Here’s a picture of me just about to glue it! (Yup, that’s hot glue there!)
Step 7: Adding the Scarf and Final Touches
We added a scarf by using a yellow ribbon and the hot glue gun. We created a small knot to make it look extra cute and more realistic!
Pro Tip: Adding a decoration at the base of your craft will visually balance your popsicle stick snowman ornament, since the bottom of the craft can feel “empty” compared to the top. You can add whatever you choose: a snowflake, a different ribbon, tiny gem stickers, painted buttons! Let your imagination fly!
Step 8: Hang Your Popsicle Stick Snowman Ornament!
You’re almost there! No Christmas DIY ornament is ready until you can proudly showcase it on your Christmas tree!
Once your popsicle stick snowman ornament is completely dry, let your toddler hang it on their favorite branch and snap a picture of your finished ornament!
Need a Quick Recap?
Say no more! Here’s a handy reference card!
Christmas Popsicle Stick Snowman Ornament
This tutorial shows how to make a quick and easy, low-mess, budget-friendly Christmas craft tutorial for a Popsicle Stick Snowman Ornament to hang on your Christmas tree. Perfect for toddlers and small children.
Materials
- 6 Popsicle Sticks (1 for the hat, 5 for the snowman's head).
- Black and White Non-Toxic Craft Paint (White for the snowman's head, black for the hat).
- Adhesive Googly Eyes.
- Orange Construction Paper (for the snowman's nose).
- Burlap Ribbon (for decorating the hat).
- Satin Ribbon (for the snowman's scarf).
- Twisted Rope of Yarn (for the hanger).
Tools
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Scissors and toddler-safety scissors
Instructions
- Paint the Sticks: Align 5 sticks. Paint the lower 2/3rd of each stick white (the snowman's face) and the upper 1/3rd black (the snowman's hat). Paint the 6th stick completely black (for the brim) of the hat. Let them dry.
- Cut the Snowman's Nose: Draw and cut a small orange triangle for the carrot nose.
- Glue the Brim: Hot glue the black brim stick across the 5 sticks. Make sure it covers the union between black and white.
- Reinforce the Back: Cut and hot glue two small white construction paper rectangles to the back of the ornament to cover the gaps.
- Decorate the Hat: Hot glue the burlap ribbon above the brim. Fold the ribbon vertically onto itself if it's too tall. Fold and secure the excess ribbon on the sides to the back for volume.
- Paint Smile: Place the eyes for guidance (don't glue them yet). Paint a dotted smile using black paint and the back of the paintbrush. Let the dots dry.
- Glue the Snowman's Face: Hot glue the googly eyes and the triangle nose into place.
- Make Your Ornament's Hanger: Hot glue an "O" shaped loop of rope onto a small construction paper rectangle.
- Attach Hanger: Hot glue the rectangle piece to the top back of the snowman.
- Add Scarf: Tie and hot glue the yellow ribbon around the neck area for the scarf, and add any other final decorative touches.
What Will You Create?
Have you tried making this popsicle stick snowman ornament? I can’t wait to see how you personalized it! Tell me all about it in the comments below.
If you loved this project, please pin it to your Christmas board or share it on your go-to social media to spread the magic of holiday crafting!
