The RIGHT kind of snowmen

I like hot air balloon images but have no desire to go up in one.
I like watermelon prints but am not particularly fond of watermelon itself.
I think snowmen and snowflakes are cute, but would prefer NOT to have the real stuff falling near me.

Welcome to my world of contradictions.

I belong to a small internet group of long time friends. Each year we draw names for a Christmas swap. The tree snowmen are what I made for my swap partner. She has two granddaughters and I thought this could be a snowwoman and her grandchildren.

The pattern is called SnoBuddy Family, available for purchase through Knitting at Knoon or as a kit at Mary Maxim's but it is currently on back order there.

The pattern gives directions for three sizes plus two additional hats for men and boys (see below). I added the pink trim and made the little one a pink scarf so that this family would be color coordinated. I left off the noses because I wasn't happy with how they looked. They seemed more like beaks than carrot noses.

Directions called for dried beans in the bottoms of the snow buddies to help them stand up. I wanted these to be easily washable so I made one without beans for myself. She is ok, but tends to list a bit. I think she drinks spiked eggnog, but I haven't caught her in the act yet. Anyway, what to do to weigh these bottoms down? I would have volunteered a butt fat transplant but I really like my swap partner and didn't want to gross her out. I used drapery weights instead.

The cute box and tin are from Joann's. The tin was filled with assorted Hershey Kisses before being packed into the box with the snow buddies. I'm happy to say that this gift was well received.

Last year I got a red shower curtain with white dots as a Christmas gift. I love it in my white bathroom. I had just added these 7 mirrors to that room. White plastic rings were attached to the hangers on the back of the mirrors with blue ribbon to match last winter's shower curtain.

When I put the red curtain up, I switched the ribbon color to red and added a small ribbon tie to the ring to bring in a little more color to that wall without getting out paint and causing hubby to get nervous.

While at Joann's for the snowman box and tin, I bought red grosgrain ribbon with white dots in two widths. Using double-sided removable tape, I made the mirrors look a bit like hanging ornaments.

I like the extra color in there so the ribbons might stay in place past Christmas. If not in this manner, perhaps in some other configuration. I've had to re-adhere one ribbon once within the first 24 hours, but they've now been in place over a week. The shower doesn't get used in this bathroom though, so I can't say that humidity wouldn't affect the scrapbooking (double sided) tape under other conditions.

We did have some snow fall here in SE Michigan last night, but fortunately the pavement is still warm enough that it melted on contact. If this could be the case all winter long, I wouldn't mind snow. Unfortunately though, the temps are dropping throughout the week and I will be forced to admit Michigan is not in a tropical climate, put on another sweater, and watch the weather to time my errands for when I am least likely to need boots or a spell to cast on other drivers to keep them away from me on slippery pavement.