This snowman paper plate craft is a fun and simple Winter craft for kids, that makes use of recycled bottle tops. What a great way to use up these materials for a cute Christmas craft rather than throwing them in the bin.
All you need for this paper plate craft are simple materials that you may already have in your playroom or craft cupboard.
Kids can let their creativity go wild and decorate the snowman and wintery scene however they prefer, using different colours and details. Kids of all ages will love this creative winter project!
Craft Supplies You’ll Need for This Fun Winter Craft
Get all your materials gathered together, and you’re ready to start this fun activity with the kids. This is a great way to keep the little ones busy indoors on a cold winter day, and to let them express some creativity.
Simple crafts like this are an easy way to work on fine motor skills, developing strength in little fingers as they pick up the small items and stick everything down. It’s also a good way to develop concentration in small children, and everyone will have so much fun as you spend time together creating and crafting during the holiday season.
We used:
- Plain white paper plate. We would recommend the unwaxed type for most paper plate crafts as these are easiest to work with, with no glossy surface just basic matte paper texture. You can use any size, either a small paper plate or a large paper plate will work fine for this fun winter themed craft.
- 3 bottle tops
- Blue tissue paper
- Mod Podge (you can use a paint brush to spread)
- Glitter glue
- White glue / tacky glue / Double sided tape
- Cotton wool or cotton balls
- Black marker / Sharpie pen
- Orange marker for the carrot nose
Another fun way to make a snowman using left over bottle tops is this homemade milk cap snowman ornaments activity.
How to make your bottle top snowman scene
Creating the snowman
First we stuck down our snowman, using three clean bottle tops that we had been saving for crafts to create a simple snowman shape. The top bottle cap will be the snowman’s head, then one for his middle section and one for his lower section. To stick our snowman, we used a line of double sided tape. These stick down firmly and securely with the double sided tape, but you could also try a hot glue gun.
Once the snowman is secured onto the paper plate, use your sharpies to add features to the snowman face and decorate the snowman body. Regular felt tip pens won’t show up so well, so if you do have sharpies then they are definitely the pens for the job. We added a little orange carrot for the snowman’s nose, dots for the mouth and the snowman’s eyes and buttons on the snowman’s body. Use fabric or felt scraps to glue on a black hat or fun patterned scarf around the snowman’s neck if you would like. If you want to add stick arms, draw these directly onto the background as if they’re coming out from the side of the snowman.
Creating the snowy background scene
After creating the snowman shape, we pasted all of the tissue behind him to create a background. Next time, we might add the background first so you might prefer to do it that way to avoid the white space around the snowman. Either way works.
Once the snowman was finished, we stuck blue tissue all over the paper plate from the top of the plate to the middle of the paper plate and all the way around, to create a cold and snowy feel, and used glitter mod podge to seal. We added blue starry glitter glue for extra sparkle, this is a less messy way to add glitter and sparkle than using loose glitter as you have no excess glitter spreading around the craft area.
Next, just glue on cotton wool along the bottom of the plate for some snow, and to give the picture extra texture. Use plenty to make sure you have enough snow, and you’re done. It looks so pretty and sparkly! A perfect craft for winter weather.
I hope you enjoyed this easy and fun craft! It’s a great way to spend family time on a snow day. I’ m sure we will make more of these bottle top snowmen throughout the winter season!
The best thing about this project is that kids will have a lot of room for their creativity. There are no limits to what they can create – older kids especially can play around with all kinds of backgrounds and different looks for your snowmen and create a whole display of paper plate snowmen
Smaller kids can keep it simple with a basic snowman and it will still look just as cute!
These can be used as a cute decoration during the Christmas holiday season. Have your kids write their names and the year on the back of the paper plate, for memories when you look back in years to come.
More Winter Crafts for Kids
You might also like these simple crafts and fun ideas
Tape Snowflakes : Exploring Symmetry in Reflections
Science for Kids: How to Make Artificial Snow
Handprint Reindeer Craft for Kids
Snowmen Books to enjoy with the Kids
After making this fun craft together, share a snowman story time. Here are a few of our favorite books for young kids all about snowmen. You may be able to find these in your local library, alternatively click the book covers below to buy these snowman books on Amazon (affiliate links)
The Snowman: Inspired by the original story by Raymond Briggs
Squirrel’s Snowman: A new Tales from Acorn Wood story
Follow our Winter board on Pinterest for even more.
And don’t forget to pin this idea for later!
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
Very creative! Great!
Delighted to feature this on #CreateMakeShare – Such a fun idea for Winter.
This snowman craft is not only easy to make but also budget-friendly, perfect for last-minute crafting. The step-by-step instructions are clear, and the materials are readily available. It’s a great way to personalize the snowmen and create a wintery scene. Thanks for sharing this adorable idea!
Great winter craft! Love the use of recycled bottle tops and simple materials to create cute paper plate snowmen. It’s a fun way to engage kids, promote fine motor skills, and spark their creativity. Thanks for sharing this eco-friendly activity!