Winter seems to be firmly settled in here, and by all accounts is likely to stay with us for quite a while longer. With that in mind, we’ve been seeking some balance between indoor and outdoor activities. After all, we can’t ski, sled, snowshoe, and skate all the time, right? Although my kids (and many of their friends) would beg to differ, there does come a time, usually after the sun sets, when we must head indoors. And the fun doesn’t have to stop there. So we came up with this crafty little skier. S/he can be created in about twenty minutes, and can even go back outside to play when the kids (or grown-ups!) feel the itch to get out again. Alternately, make several little skiers, sledders, or snowboarders to put a winter scene together indoors or out.

You’ll need:

-          2 popsicle sticks or craft sticks

-          glue, a craft knife, or kid’s scissors

-          a ping-pong or other small ball

-          permanent markers

-          felt

-          pinecones about 4 inches high

-          pipe cleaners

-          2 wooden skewers, twigs, or stiff pipe cleaners

To begin, with an adult’s help, make a pair of skis from popsicle or craft sticks by carving, or cutting with kid’s scissors, points at one end and making the other end straight across. Glue the sticks together in an “X.” Next, draw a face with markers on the ping-pong ball. Glue on a small triangular felt hat. Then glue the head to the flat bottom of the cone (note: if you wish to make this a hanging ornament, you can now wrap a pipe cleaner around the neck and form a loop at the back of the skier for hanging it up. Now wrap a rectangle of felt scarf around the neck and knot or glue in place. Wrap a pipe cleaner around the cone and make small loops at the ends for hands. Next glue ski poles made from the sharp ends of two skewers (or twigs or pipe cleaners) to the hand loops. Slide a dime-sized circle of felt onto the end of the poles. Finally, glue the narrow end of the cone to the sticks.

Voila! You now have a little pint-sized skier friend to add winter flair to an indoor scene or to outdoor playtime. This easy project is especially great when you don’t have a lot of time or materials, since it is easy to improvise with materials you may already have on hand. Older kids and adults can enjoy dressing up the cone-friend with cut materials, or making intricate detailed drawings on the face, skis, or cone.