Wooly’s Blog

Everyone is familiar with the traditional-style snowman. They typically have a carrot nose, coal eyes and mouth, and perhaps a scarf and top hat. I refer to this snowman model as “The Frosty,” and it is on display throughout the houses and offices around the nation during the winter months.

Personally, I enjoy seeing people add their own personal touch to create a unique snowman. Many people in my neighborhood will dress their real snowman up in a costume or use unusual household items to fashion its features. My favorite snowman from last year was outfitted with a NFL jersey and a football helmet.

Whether you call them knickknacks, cha-chas or simply collectibles, you are sure to be familiar with miniature figurines. Everyone knows someone who loves to collect various miniatures, and for me that person is my grandma. She has an extensive collection, mainly featuring selections that she has gathered close to her home in southern California.

Last Christmas I decided to help expand her stockpile, and I wanted to give her an item that was unique to her collection. Since most of her figures had a California theme, I opted for a couple of snowmen figurines. She loved the thoughtful gift and now displays them next to her dancing suns and Disney figures.

November and December are without a doubt the most stressful months around my family’s house. I live in a convenient centralized location compared to the rest of the extended family, so my house becomes the place where everyone converges for Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities. There’s so much to do from a cooking and decorating standpoint that I have no choice but to do my holiday shopping well ahead of time.

This year I’ve decided to get a unique Christmas gift for each of my nieces and nephews. Usually it’s agreed that we don’t get each other presents because it would prove too expensive, but I’m making a special exception after stumbling across some adorable snowman collectibles online. I’ll be getting a different Wooly for each little boy and girl, and then they can trade as they see fit.

Well, our Christmas in July party went off without a hitch a few months back, and it’s hard to believe the chilly autumn weather is already here. It’s not all bad, though, as the onset of fall means we’re that much closer to our annual Halloween soiree. I know what you must be thinking: Gosh, you and your husband are some real party animals. Actually we just like to mark major holidays with a celebration of friends and family.

This Halloween we’ll be holding a costume party complete with guest judges and prizes donated from local retail stores. With the stakes this high, I have to set a high benchmark for costume creativity. Even if I’m exempt from winning my own contest, it’s still fun to dress up for a night. After much deliberation, I’ve decided to go as a holiday snowman. In fact, I might combine my two favorite holidays – Christmas and Halloween – by dressing as a trick-or-treating snowman.

With Christmas season right around the corner you should be looking for your Christmas decorations to put all over your house. Some people can be traditional and use the decorations they have used for years or you can spruce up your holiday season with some new decorations for your home. One popular item are the Snowmen decorations that you are starting to see more often then not.

Display your snowmen in a fireplace mantel scene in the winter and holiday season.   Add extra lighting for emphasis and you will have a stunning display to adore and for your friends to admire.  It is sure to add cheer to the long winter season.

That’s right, in fact they even have huge celebrations for them in Japan.  The Sapporo Snow Festival, (Sapporo Yuki Matsuri), is the largest one held there.  And most children who live where it snows enjoy building snowmen and giving  snowman figurines as gifts. In Sapporo, snowmen come in all shapes and sizes, and it’s the parents and grandparents who help with the building too. Some of these creations weigh over a thousand tons, and are breathtaking in their artistic and creative detail. More recently, in 2004, there were statues of Hideki Matsui, the famous baseball player who plays for the New York Yankees.  Besides snowmen, there also are snow creatures, snow gods, snow houses, pagodas and castles — a virtual world all made of snow!

This festival dates from about 1950. To brighten the drudgery of the north’s long winter, the children were organized to build snow models, for fun and exercise. As the festival grew larger, the city fathers saw big possibilities in using it to popularize Sapporo. The festival is now huge. Annually the show attracts around 2 million visitors.

My fondest memory of winters during my childhood takes place on my 7th birthday. It was November in North Carolina and we were experiencing exceptionally cold weather. To my delight, and that of every other elementary school student, school was cancelled when a cloud of snow covered our entire town, rendering us completely immobile. That day also happened to be my birthday. What could be better than having school cancelled on your birthday so you can stay home and play in the snow with your friends?

Dressed in layers upon layers of sweaters topped off with a heavy down coat, mittens, a scarf and hat, we all piled out into the front yard. I was the first one to dive head first into a pile of the winter white that had come to visit. I rolled around outside for what seemed like hours making snow angels and snowmen with my neighbors. At the end of the day we set back to look at our masterful creations and smiled, it was nothing more than snowman art.

The winter holiday season is a time of year that everybody enjoys. With a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, carolers echoing in the distance and the smell of Christmas trees for miles, how can you not be seduced by the spirit? Not only do you get to enjoy the whimsical ways of all your neighbors and friends, but you get to enjoy adding that festive memorabilia to your very own home. This way you’ll be able to savor the holiday spirit everywhere you go, even when lounging at home in your bathrobe. 

Add some extra special holiday flare to your house this year with Woolys – a prime example of snowman home décor. Frosty the Snowman wasn’t just a fictional character in my mind. I see him in each and every snowman, actual or pretend, I see during the holidays. You’ll be sure to have your very own winter white wonderland when you decorate your home with snowmen and other winter themed accessories.

In our fast-paced digital world, the conventions of communication etiquette have begun to transform. Email is a particularly casual format, and it’s possible to write and send tons of messages with little thought or care. Sometimes, however, it’s nice to take a step back and write a friend or loved one a genuine, heartfelt letter. Many people have already begun to resume letter writing because the messages can be opened, savored and kept for years to come.

In some cases it’s nice to include a small gift along with a letter. For example, the West Coast just experienced a record heat wave. A friend in the Midwest could send a West Coast buddy a gag gift – maybe a couple of snowmen gifts – that would remind them of the relatively cool summer that most of America is enjoying. These tangible letters and gifts are especially appreciated. They mean so much more than a dashed-off email could ever hope to achieve.

Each year, my husband and I throw a Christmas in July party. Some would call it a rather transparent attempt to justify an all-night soiree, and I guess that’s not far from the truth. In any case, we were initially inspired by a series of local television ads that trumpeted big sales during a Christmas in July event. We had found a good reason to channel that holiday cheer in the middle of a muggy summer. 

The party requires a significant amount of preparation. Gingerbread cookies must be baked and stockings hung across the hearth. In some cases it takes weeks to track down the strands of stray Christmas lights. We print the invitations on red and green paper. And the décor is just as important. For this year’s bash, I found the perfect snowman figurine to be used as a centerpiece on our dinner table.