December in the Southern Hemisphere is hot as Hades, so the chance of us having a white Christmas is zero to nothing. Unless it hails of course ;-) Even our Winter’s are mild. On the rare occasion when icy flakes fall from the sky, it’s a huge thing. Shops close and everyone jumps in their cars and rushes off to play in the snow and freeze their tootsies off. It’s chaos. And while we’ll probably never have a white Christmas, that doesn’t mean we can’t do snowy things like build an African snowman.
Isn’t he just the cutest thing ever? Even without his hat.
He’s quick and easy to make, and perfect for our climate. Plus he’s a great conversation starter when we have a braai ;-) All righty, before I show how we put our Africa snowman together, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. And don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll never miss a post!
What You Need
To make Olaf’s African cousin we used the following:
- Three different sized faux topiary balls (small, medium and large)
- Two extra large wiggly eyes
- Small branches
- Top hat
You’ll also need some kind of base to mount your snowman on. I used a broken lamp, which I’m assuming not everyone has lying around. As an alternative you can insert a metal rod or thread bar into a scrap piece of wood.
Making An African Snowman
This is one of those “blink and you’ll miss it” tutorials. Slide the large topiary ball onto the broken lamp/thread bar.
Add the second biggest ball on top. Grab two twigs and insert them on either side to make some arms.
Glue those extra large wiggly eyes onto the smallest faux ball.
Slide the small topiary on.
Squish on a twiggy nose.
And finally make him a top hat using an empty tin can and some craft foam.
If you prefer you could also buy one of those little hats from the toy store or add a wig.
Once you’re done give Olaf’s cousin a big fat kiss, before moving your African snowman to his new home next to the pool ;-)
Hi, I'm Olaf's cousin and I like warm hugs too.
I don’t think our little guy is going to melt anytime soon ;-) What do you think?
If you like the idea of making an African snowman, don’t forget to pin it for later.
I hope you enjoyed a little sneak peak into how we spend Christmas in South Africa and I’d love to hear how you celebrate in your part of the world. If you’d like to make one and don’t want to go to all that trouble of finding the materials to make your own African snowman, I’ve got you covered ;-) Disclosure: If you click on the links below, we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us come up with more crafty things to share with you ;-)
So here’s wishing everyone a beautiful, safe and loving festive season. Thank you for popping in for a visit.
Last update on 2026-04-15 / Source Amazon Affiliates
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