Do You Want to Build a Snowman – Family House Winters

by Linda Goldfarb, Chair of the Family Services Committee

Published on January 13, 2021

Did you know that Family House San Francisco has a Family Services Committee? Well, if you didn’t, now you do! Those of us on the Committee are always thinking of ways to make life at Family House for our families and their children as enjoyable as possible while their child undergoes treatment.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Family House can’t have the 4,000+ annual volunteers coming in to the House as they have in the past, so we are now thinking “outside the box” and coming up with ideas that can be done in the bedrooms at Family House or even at the hospital.

picture of several bags of snowman activity for kids at family house san francisco

Our Committee thought that a fun way to engage our families would be to create activities for each month of the year.

make a snowman activity with all the materials needed for kids staying at family house san francisco

Since January is typically a bit cold and rainy (and even snowy depending on where you live), we thought a snowman project would be a fun way to start off the year. Each family, during the month of January, will be given an activity bag full of ideas to make snowmen. These snowmen can then be taped to the outside of their door at Family House or just as decoration in their rooms.

Each activity bag includes construction paper, glue sticks, stickers, marking pens, kid-friendly scissors, pom poms, various decorations, and some sweet treats. We have many people on our Committee so the contents of each bag may be a little bit different! We’ve attached the template for the snowman so you can make one yourself at home if you’d like, too!

(Share and tag @familyhousesf on your favorite social networks so we can see your creativity!)


Here’s how you do it!

  • example of snowman activityFirst, download the pdf of the snowman template. You can download the template and a list of instructions ­here.
  • Once you’ve printed out the template, cut out the three circles to make the snowman. Using the three circles you just cut out, trace each circle onto a piece of construction paper, anycolor you like, you can even use three different colors of construction paper. Now that you’ve traced the three circles onto your construction paper, cut out those circles. Now you have two choices: (1) Using tape or a glue stick, tape or glue the three body parts onto another piece of paper. Or (2) tape the three circles to each other without putting them on a piece of paper and make the snowman free-standing without attaching to another piece of paper. It’s your snowman, so have fun with it!
  • Now your creativity will kick into gear! Decorate your snowman any way you like! You can decorate it with stickers, magic markers, colored pencils, crayons, felt pens! Just use your imagination. Give it eyes, a nose, a mouth, a belly button, anything else you like. Maybe even hair! Or lipstick or a mustache! Or a beard—imagine a snowman with a beard!
  • Now, step back, look at what you’ve created, and pat yourself on the back. You made a great, imaginative snowman of your very own!

Next month will be a Valentine’s card project—Stay tuned!