1. Dress the Snowman's Head
David Beaulieu
The biggest part of dressing a snowman occurs in the head and neck areas, usually, and consists of a:
Although some people use other types of hats, I like to dress a snowman in the traditional top hat. Of course, few of us have a top hat just lying around (and even if we did, we probably wouldn't want to subject it to the elements). So what's the answer? Improvise. Learn how to make a hat for a snowman.
Likewise, unless you have a pipe (for bubble-blowing, e.g.) hanging around, you'll have to learn how to make a pipe for a snowman. It's easy!
2. Dress the Snowman's Neck
As a creature of the winter, the traditional snowman must be dressed with a scarf. If you don't want to dress your snowman with a scarf of your own (for fear that it will be damaged or stolen), you can make a snowman scarf, by tying colorful rags together.
3. Dress the Snowman's Torso
To dress a snowman traditionally, run a string of "buttons" vertically down his torso (the middle of the 3 balls that comprise a snowman). They don't have to be real buttons: just use small dark objects that represent buttons. In fact, pieces of charcoal or black stones will probably show up better than real buttons, because it's hard to find buttons big enough to be noticed from a distance.
Push the the charcoal or stones into the snowman's torso to stabilize them, otherwise they'll fall out too quickly. "Pre-drill" with a sharp object (e.g., a stick) to make a pilot hole, so that it will be easier to push the "buttons" in.
Some like to dress up a snowman's torso with clothing. A vest (left open) works well for a traditional look.
4. Dress the Snowman's Limbs
Traditionally, one doesn't dress a snowman below the waste (although I have heard of people positioning a pair of boots at the base of a snowman so as to suggest footwear).
Snowman arms usually consist of branches, which are allowed to show (no sense in covering up such a charming feature). Dress a snowman's hands with a pair of old gloves. So that the gloves don't flop around or blow off, it helps, when choosing branches for arms, to select branches that have some "fingers" at the end (i.e., smaller branches). Trim these fingers to accommodate a glove (they just need to fit, roughly, into the glove).
5. More Tips on Dressing a Snowman
Can't find any stones for the buttons? Raid your water garden for some river rock. I find that stones make better buttons than charcoal, because the latter stains your snow black.
Whether charcoal or stones, buttons will pop out on warm days. Alternatively, use big metal washers. Secure them with bolts, pushed into the snowman at a downward angle (spray both black).
If you decide to dress a snowman in a vest, apply the vest before you insert his stick arms. Once the arms are on, you can fasten the vest to the arms so that it won't blow away. If the vest is old (and you don't care if it becomes damaged), make holes in the sleeve openings, insert copper wiring through those holes, and wrap the wiring around the snowman's branch arms.
