This snowman painted rocks craft is a perfect winter activity

When I was a kid, I loved going outside to play in the freshly fallen snow. One of the first things my friends and I would do is get together and make a snowman. We’d spend hours packing the snow until we could roll it into the three pieces needed to create our own version of Frosty.

After a long day of playing, I always wished I could find a way to bring our new friend upstairs to my third-floor apartment without him melting into a puddle.

These days, I relive my childhood dreams of having my own snowman by finding fun crafts where my roly-poly friend can stay safe, even when it’s warm inside.  There are so many cute ideas out there, like tea light snowman ornaments to hang on the tree and family footprint snowmen you can make with dough.

Here’s another: These adorable rock snowmen from Frugal Fun 4 Boys and Girls are the perfect addition to your holiday crafting plans.

One of the best parts of these rock snowmen is how even little kids can truly be hands-on with this activity. Rock painting is perfect for all ages, really.

All you need to  build these snowmen is rocks of various sizes, acrylic paint and a set of paintbrushes.

If you don’t have round rocks you can pull from your landscaping, website creator and craft designer Sarah Dees suggested heading to Home Depot to pick up a bag. She used Caribbean Sand Pebbles. They are relatively uniform in size and have a smooth surface that makes them ideal for painting.

Once the kids paint the rocks white, how the snowmen turn out is entirely up to them. They can use paint or even permanent markers to decorate their faces and bodies.

For young kids, the most fun comes when the decorating is done. Because each part of the snowman is made individually, the kids can mix and match each part to make a unique friend each time.

I also like how you can build a whole family of snowpeople and not have to worry about your hands getting cold and wet. You’ll still probably want to have a warm mug of hot chocolate when you’re done, though.