Day 11 of the 12 Days of Christmas

I love snowmen! Any size, any shape.....any snowman. Today's snowman is made from an old sweater and some stuffing.

You will need:

The sleeve of a white or off-white sweater

A large needle

Heavy button and carpet thread

Five or six black buttons

Scrap of fleece or Christmas flannel

Stuffing

A small piece of orange felt or a small plastic carrot

Cut the sleeve off the sweater at about 18" and turn it inside out. Thread the needle with a length of thread and sew a running stitch around the cut edge of the sweater sleeve. When you get back to the place you started, pull the stitches up tight and wrap the thread around the stitching about 3 or 4 times and tie a tight knot. Turn the sleeve right side out and the gathered place is now the snowman's bottom.

Stuff the sleeve, not too loose and not too tight. (If you put a rock or some rice in the bottom before you stuff the sleeve, the snowman will sit better.) Run another row of running stitches about 4" down from the end of the sleeve. Again, pull the stitches tight, wrap and tie. Now cut a length of thread and wrap it around the snowman to form the head. Don't wrap it too tight, or your snowman's head will be wobbly. Wrap 3 or 4 times, tie a knot and trim the ends short.

Fold down the end of the sleeve to form a hat and make few stitches if needed to keep it in place. Glue buttons for his eyes and for the buttons down the front. Roll a little triangle of orange felt into a cone and glue it on for the nose, or use a little plastic carrot. (I find them at Easter and put them away until I need them.) I didn't have felt or a carrot so I used a button, just like in the song.

Now finish him with a scarf cut from the fabric scrap. Fringe the ends for a cute look. You can also make a yarn pom-pom for his hat. You can also quickly crochet a little scarf in no time at all. Just chain until you have the length you want and single crochet about 4 rows, then add fringe. Or you can finger-crochet one, like the one in the photo. I used a fat, loopy yarn and did the finger-crochet loose and then put a little fringe on the ends. I made it long enough to wrap around his neck three times, to give it some volume. If you like, you can add twig arms, but they tend to get broken easily, so plan to replace them a few times.

Now he's ready to display. Put him on some pulled out stuffing, which looks more like real snow than batting. Add a few Styrofoam balls for snowballs, some sparkly snowflakes, or maybe a little sign that says "All my friends are flakes."

These are so fast and easy to make that you can make a dozen! Give them away or keep them all for yourself. Make them in all different sizes and shades of white and off-white. They'll make a perfect centerpiece to a holiday table or a cute snow village underneath the tree.

Christmas is a time for loving and giving and sharing with others. Two of my grandkids told me a few days ago that they don't believe in Santa anymore. I told them when they stop believing, they get underwear. Then I proceeded to tell them that Santa may not one real person, but he is the embodiment of the spirit of Christmas. He represents the good things we all want for ourselves and those we love. If we keep that spirit in our hearts, we will always believe in Santa. Someone once said that if you don't have Christmas in your heart, you certainly won't find it under the tree.

May you all have Santa in your hearts, at the same time remembering the reason for the season....the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior. 'Night, Gramma G.