Holidays have always been a big deal in our house, but now that we have a 3-year-old who’s hitting her holiday-loving stride, it only feels fitting to kick things up a notch. This year for Halloween, we visited a pumpkin patch, where Beany picked out a teeny tiny pumpkin she named Spookley. After a decorative paint job (Beany couldn’t bear the thought of carving him), Spookley sat on our kitchen counter for a good week past Halloween, until his oblong sides began sinking in a little, and his orange façade wasn’t quite so vibrant. The time had come to send Spookley away. Not surprisingly, this didn’t sit well with Beany, who’d become pretty attached to her pumpkin friend. So Jared explained to her that it worked very much like Frosty the Snowman. Spookley would go back to the pumpkin patch, and we could find him again next Halloween, just like Frosty goes away every spring and comes back again when it snows. It was the perfect explanation, and not a single tear was shed for Spookley from that point on. All of the love Beany had for her pumpkin, though, had to go somewhere. And with winter and Christmas on their way, the obvious recipient was Frosty.
I can’t even count the number of times we’ve watched Frosty the Snowman since Spookley said his goodbyes last month. And every time we get even a flurry of snow, Beany’s poised at the window, wondering out loud how long it will be until we can go outside to build a snowman. She has a fuzzy snowman blanket that she carries around much of the day (but it’s her “Anna coat” or her “Elsa coat,” “not a blanket, Mommy”). Frosty and Santa have both had breakfast with us a few times this week already (and they’re both very hungry guys who ask for “toast and strawberries and milk and coffee and water,” FYI). Basically, it’s all Christmas all the time now.
I like to pick at least one wrapping idea every year that’s super kid friendly, and given the happenings in our household as of late, it seemed only fitting that Frosty make an appearance. It took some convincing to get Beany using her fingers instead of her usual paintbrush, but she had a lot of fun counting out the snowballs as she painted, “1, 2, 3!” The black felt hats were a big hit, too, because anyone who knows Frosty knows he needs that magic hat (even it was the kids who really brought him to life, of course). And they’re just so jolly looking, right? A happy-looking package makes a happy kid.
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What you need:
• Brown craft paper
• White craft paint
• Inky black pen
• Orange marker
• Black felt
• Glue
• Fun ribbon or twine
How you do it:
Roll out a big piece of the brown craft paper on a large flat surface. Using the white paint and the tip of your finger, paint three round “snowballs,” one on top of the other.
Once the snowballs are dry, use the black pen to add eyes, a smile, buttons and arms. Use the orange marker to add carrot noses.
Wrap your present with the Frosty paper. Now it’s time to add the hats! Cut out small top hats from the black felt, and glue them in place on the snowmen’s heads (I used hot glue so it would be faster, but plain old school glue should work, too). Add a fun piece of twine or ribbon, and you’re done!
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XO,
Katrina
Looking for more finger paint fun? Try this Christmas lights fingerprint wrapping paper or these holly jolly reindeer prints!
These are awesome! Such a cute idea.
Thanks! It was fun to make! 🙂