It seems that like trick or treat, snowmen were first invented in the United States. Engravings found from around 1790 up to the 1840s in America show snowmen made from found objects around the farm; baskets and buckets for hats and either canes, sticks or brooms stuck in their body were popular. The tradition for snowmen holding broomsticks seemingly started from there. The record for the world’s largest snowman was set in 2008 in Maine, USA. The snow-woman stood 122 feet 1 inch (37.21 m) in height, and was named in honour of Olympia Snowe, a U.S. Senator.
Here is a guide to how to build your own snowman:
How to build a snow man:
Dress: Make sure you have waterproof clothes, good, strong gore-tex gloves and a woolly hat. The ideal number to build a snow man is three people
Tools: Your hands are the best tools for this job but it is helpful to have some small spades or trowels for help with smoothing off rough edges.
1. Building the body
One person should make a snowball and then roll it in the snow so that it reaches the size of a large water melon. Put it to one side
The other two should use the same principle but keep rolling until the height of the ‘ball’ is up to the waist. This should then be turned on its end in the place where the snow man should stand. The exercise should be repeated and this second part of the ‘body’ lifted on top of the first. The water melon sized ball should now be placed on top as the head. This the moment where rough edges should be smoothed down and the body evened out.
2. Embellishments
You will need two branches, each one three feet long and two inches in width, a pipe, four lumps of coal, a carrot, two walnuts, a trilby, a scarf, a pair of old gloves, six three inch twigs and four pebbles
Arms – Insert the branches either side of the body up to a depth of one foot. It will improve your snowman if your branches have ‘delta ends’ to act as hands or to support the gloves.
Face – Place the pebbles in an upturned curve to make a mouth and insert the pipe. Place the trilby on the head and wrap the scarf round the neck area, leaving one side long. Place the walnuts as eyes and the lumps of coal down the front of the body as buttons. For a final touch use three twigs on either side of the head as ears.
Admire your handywork by having a mince pie and, if you’re old enough, a glass of sloe gin.
