Snowman Party Games

Indoor games that each use a snowman, from building one to melting: press Pick 3 new games.

Snowman Party Games

  1. Three-Circle Snowman Target1. A floor target. Tape three circles on the floor as a snowman lying down: a big body, a middle and a small head. 2. From a line at its feet, each child slides three beanbag snowballs along the floor. 3. A beanbag that stops in the body scores one, in the middle two and in the head three. 4. Add up each turn out loud together. Ages 4 and up. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 8 min. Props: tape and three white beanbags.
  2. Three Sizes of Circle: Find Your Snowman1. A treasure hunt for snowman parts. Cut white paper circles in three sizes and hide them around the room, one of each size for every child. 2. Each child hunts for one big, one middle and one small circle, and leaves any extra for a friend. 3. They lay the three on the floor as a snowman, biggest at the bottom. 4. Hand out crayons to add a face while the last hunters finish. Ages 3 and up. Players: 2 to 16. Time: 10 min. Props: white paper circles in three sizes and crayons.
  3. Catch a Snowball in the Top Hat1. A catching game in pairs. One child holds a hat upside down in both hands, and the partner has five scrunched paper snowballs. 2. From two steps away, the thrower lobs each snowball underarm. 3. The catcher moves the hat to catch it. 4. Count the catches, swap jobs and try to beat the score as a pair. Ages 4 and up. Players: 2 to 16. Time: 6 min. Props: a hat and five paper snowballs for each pair.

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How it works

These snowman party games are familiar party games, ten of them classics by name, each with a snowman prop or rule added. All are played indoors, mostly with paper, socks and winter clothes, and each gives its youngest age.

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A party in four parts

1. Start with a race from Build-a-snowman races while everyone is fresh. 2. Set up two Snowball and target games as stations. 3. Slow down with Nose, hat and button games. 4. Finish with one of the Melting games: Puddles Do Not Giggle ends with everyone lying still.

What to gather beforehand

White paper, paper plates, rolled white socks, a few winter hats and scarves, card buttons as big as a jar lid, and one paper carrot for each child are what the list asks for most.

Tips
  • No snow is needed: every snowball here is paper, a sock or a beanbag.
  • More filters, the last entry of the All games menu, keeps the games for Age 3.

Questions and answers

What games can you play at a snowman party?

Games where the snowman does the work. Children dress a friend in Scarf, Hat and Three Buttons Relay, aim at a hat in Rings Onto the Top Hat, and lie still as melted snowmen in Puddles Do Not Giggle.

Which snowman games suit three year olds?

Those marked for age 3, such as Three Sizes of Circle: Find Your Snowman, The Snowball That Grows, Three Buttons of One Color Down the Front, The Sun Says and Puddles Do Not Giggle. Nobody is out in those five, and none needs reading.

How do you play pin the nose on the snowman?

Tape a big drawn snowman face to the wall. Each child takes a paper carrot with tape on the back, shuts their eyes, walks three steps and sticks it on. The nose nearest the middle wins. No blindfold and no pins.

Do any of the games need real snow?

No. The list is written for a room indoors, so a snowman birthday works in July as well as in January. Snowballs are scrunched paper, rolled socks or beanbags.

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All 28 games

Build-a-snowman races 7

  • Roundest Paper Snowball Roll-Off 1. A rolling contest. Every child scrunches one sheet of white paper into the roundest ball they can make. 2. Prop a tray or a board on a cushion as a ramp. 3. Children let their snowballs go from the top, one at a time, without a push. 4. Mark where each one stops. The ball that rolls farthest in a straight line is the roundest. Ages 3 and up. Players: 2 to 16. Time: 8 min. Props: white paper, a board or tray and a cushion.
  • Scarf, Hat and Three Buttons Relay 1. A dress-up relay, with a snowman as the costume. One child in each team stands still as the snowman. 2. Teammates take turns walking up with one thing: a scarf, a hat, then three paper buttons with tape on the back. 3. Each runner puts their one thing on the snowman and walks back. 4. The first team with a fully dressed snowman calls "brr." The snowman chooses who is dressed next. Ages 4 and up. Players: 4 to 16. Time: 8 min. Props: a scarf, a hat and three paper buttons with tape for each team.
  • Six-Piece Snowman Puzzle, Team Against Team 1. A jigsaw race. Draw the same snowman on a sheet of card for each team and cut each one into six pieces. 2. Shuffle the pieces and lay them face down. 3. On go, teams turn the pieces over and fit their snowman together. 4. The first whole snowman wins. For the next round, mix two teams' pieces into one pile. Ages 4 and up. Players: 2 to 16. Time: 6 min. Props: a drawn snowman cut into six pieces for each team.
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Build-a-snowman races, continued

  • The Snowball That Grows 1. Pass the parcel backward. Start with a small ball of white paper and a pile of loose sheets in the middle of the circle. 2. Pass the ball around while the music plays. 3. When the music stops, the child holding it wraps one more sheet around the ball and says one thing a snowman needs. 4. Play until the ball is too big for one hand, then roll it across the circle to finish. Ages 3 and up. Players: 4 to 16. Time: 8 min. Props: white paper and music.
  • Snowman Up the Wall, Plate by Plate 1. A tallest-tower contest that lies flat against a wall. Give each team a stack of paper plates and loops of painter's tape. 2. Teams stick plates to the wall one above the other, starting at the floor. 3. After three minutes, count how many plates tall each snowman stands. 4. An adult adds the last plates that are out of reach. Then every child draws a face on the top plate of their own team. Ages 4 and up. Players: 4 to 16. Time: 8 min. Props: paper plates and painter's tape.
  • Stuff the Snowman's Belly 1. A filling race. Give each team a white pillowcase and a stack of newspaper. 2. On go, children scrunch sheets of newspaper into balls and stuff them into the pillowcase. 3. After two minutes an adult ties each one shut with a scarf. 4. Stand the bellies side by side. The roundest one gets a paper-plate head, and so do all the others. Ages 3 and up. Players: 4 to 16. Time: 8 min. Props: a white pillowcase, a scarf and newspaper for each team.
  • Three Sizes of Circle: Find Your Snowman 1. A treasure hunt for snowman parts. Cut white paper circles in three sizes and hide them around the room, one of each size for every child. 2. Each child hunts for one big, one middle and one small circle, and leaves any extra for a friend. 3. They lay the three on the floor as a snowman, biggest at the bottom. 4. Hand out crayons to add a face while the last hunters finish. Ages 3 and up. Players: 2 to 16. Time: 10 min. Props: white paper circles in three sizes and crayons.

Nose, hat and button games 7

  • Button, Button, Who Has the Button? 1. The old circle game, played with one of the snowman's buttons. Children sit in a circle with hands held out, palms together. 2. One child holds a big button between flat palms and slides their hands through each pair of hands in turn, dropping the button into one pair in secret. 3. Everyone keeps their hands closed. 4. A guesser in the middle has three guesses at who holds it. The child who had the button passes it next. Ages 4 and up. Players: 5 to 14. Time: 8 min. Props: one big button.
  • Hunt the Carrot Nose: Colder Means Closer 1. A version of hunt the thimble, with a twist of our own. One child waits outside while the others hide a paper carrot somewhere in plain sight. 2. The hunter comes in and walks around the room. 3. The others help by calling the temperature, but backward: "colder" as the hunter gets closer, because a snowman's nose likes the cold, and "warmer" as they move away. 4. The finder chooses the next hunter. Ages 5 and up. Players: 3 to 14. Time: 8 min. Props: a paper carrot.
  • Nose-High Coal Drop Into a Winter Hat 1. A drop-and-aim game. Stand a winter hat upside down on the floor. 2. Each child stands over it and drops five scrunched black paper balls from the height of their own nose. 3. Count the pieces of coal that land in the hat. 4. For older children, drop from a chair seat while kneeling on it, with an adult holding the chair. Ages 3 and up. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 6 min. Props: a winter hat and five black paper balls.
  • Rings Onto the Top Hat 1. Ring toss, with a hat for the peg. Stand a tall paper hat on the floor, made from a rolled sheet of black card on a paper plate brim. 2. Cut the middles out of paper plates to make rings. 3. From two steps back, each child tosses three rings. 4. A ring that lands around the hat scores a point. Move the line back a step for older children. Ages 4 and up. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 8 min. Props: a paper top hat and three paper plate rings.
  • Stick the Nose on the Snowman, Eyes Shut 1. Pin the tail on the donkey, with a carrot nose and no pins. Draw a big snowman face on paper and tape it to the wall at the children's height. 2. Each child gets a paper carrot with a loop of tape on the back and their name on the front. 3. One at a time, they shut their eyes, take three steps to the wall and stick the nose on. 4. The nose closest to the middle of the face wins. Nobody is blindfolded or spun. Ages 3 and up. Players: 2 to 16. Time: 10 min. Props: a drawn snowman face, paper carrots and tape.
  • Three Buttons of One Color Down the Front 1. A sorting race. Cut big buttons from colored card, each wider than a jar lid, and mix them in a basket. 2. Give each pair of children a tray with a snowman drawn on it. 3. On go, each pair finds three buttons of one color and lays them down the snowman's front. 4. Call a new color for the next round, or ask for small, middle and big. Ages 3 and up. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 6 min. Props: big card buttons in several colors, a basket and drawn snowmen.
  • Who Swapped Hats? 1. A what-changed game. Five children stand in a row, each wearing a different winter hat. 2. The guesser looks for ten seconds, then turns away. 3. Two of the five swap hats. 4. The guesser turns back and names the two. Swap scarves too for children over six. Ages 4 and up. Players: 6 to 14. Time: 8 min. Props: five different winter hats.

Snowball and target games 7

  • Catch a Snowball in the Top Hat 1. A catching game in pairs. One child holds a hat upside down in both hands, and the partner has five scrunched paper snowballs. 2. From two steps away, the thrower lobs each snowball underarm. 3. The catcher moves the hat to catch it. 4. Count the catches, swap jobs and try to beat the score as a pair. Ages 4 and up. Players: 2 to 16. Time: 6 min. Props: a hat and five paper snowballs for each pair.
  • Knock Off the Hat, Leave the Snowman 1. A knock-down game with a careful aim. Stack three cardboard boxes as a snowman and set a paper hat on top. 2. From three steps back, each child throws three rolled white socks underarm. 3. Knocking off the hat alone scores three points. Knocking the whole snowman down scores one. 4. Rebuild together between turns. Nobody stands behind the snowman during a throw. Ages 4 and up. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 8 min. Props: three boxes, a paper hat and three rolled white socks.
  • Snowman Hopscotch With a Beanbag Snowball 1. Hopscotch, on a court drawn as a snowman. Tape three numbered circles in a line with a square hat as number four. 2. A child tosses a beanbag snowball into circle one, hops over that circle, and hops up to the hat and back. 3. On the way back, they pick up the beanbag while standing on one foot. 4. Next turn, they toss to circle two. A miss passes the turn on. Ages 5 and up. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 10 min. Props: tape and a white beanbag.
  • Sweep the Snowball Home 1. A broom relay. Mark a start line, and draw a snowman on a sheet of paper taped flat on the floor at the far end. 2. Each child sweeps a scrunched paper snowball along the floor with a small broom until it rests on the snowman. 3. They carry the snowball and the broom back to the next child. 4. The first team home wins. Sweeping only, no kicking. Ages 4 and up. Players: 4 to 16. Time: 8 min. Props: a small broom and a paper snowball for each team.
  • Three-Circle Snowman Target 1. A floor target. Tape three circles on the floor as a snowman lying down: a big body, a middle and a small head. 2. From a line at its feet, each child slides three beanbag snowballs along the floor. 3. A beanbag that stops in the body scores one, in the middle two and in the head three. 4. Add up each turn out loud together. Ages 4 and up. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 8 min. Props: tape and three white beanbags.
  • Through the Snowman's Stick Arms 1. A hoop target. Two adults each hold a pool noodle out to the side as the snowman's arms, with a hoop of string hung between them. 2. From three steps back, children throw rolled white socks underarm through the hoop. 3. After every child has had three throws, the arms lift a little higher. 4. Count the snowballs that went through as one team score. Ages 4 and up. Players: 3 to 16. Time: 8 min. Props: two pool noodles, a loop of string and rolled white socks.
  • Tiddlywink Buttons Onto the Snowman 1. Tiddlywinks, with buttons. Draw a snowman as big as a dinner plate on felt or a folded towel. 2. Each child presses the edge of a flat button with a bigger one, so that the button jumps. 3. A button that lands on the snowman's tummy stays there as one of his buttons. 4. Five flicks each. Count the buttons on the snowman at the end. Ages 5 and up. Buttons are small: keep them away from children under three. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 8 min. Props: flat buttons in two sizes and a felt snowman.

Melting games 7

  • Feel What the Snowman Left Behind 1. A feely-bag game. Put a carrot, a mitten, a twig, a scarf and a big button in a pillowcase. 2. Each child reaches in without looking and holds one thing. 3. They say what it is, then pull it out to check. 4. Put it back for the next child. Older children can name all five with one reach each. Ages 3 and up. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 6 min. Props: a pillowcase, a carrot, a mitten, a twig, a scarf and a big button.
  • Find the Shade Before the Sun Counts Ten 1. A run-to-safety game. Lay bath towels around the room as patches of shade, enough for every child to stand on one with a friend. 2. The snowmen walk around while an adult, the sun, hums. 3. When the humming stops, the sun counts to ten and every snowman finds a patch of shade. 4. Take one towel away each round. The children squeeze closer, and nobody is out. Ages 3 and up. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: bath towels.
  • Five Pictures of a Melting Snowman 1. A put-it-in-order race. Draw five cards for each team: a whole snowman, a slumping one, a short one, a lump with a hat on it, and a puddle. 2. Shuffle each set. 3. Teams lay their five cards in order from frozen to melted. 4. Then turn them around and tell the story backward, from puddle to snowman. Ages 4 and up. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 6 min. Props: five drawn cards for each team.
  • The Puddle Remembers 1. A memory tray game. Lay a blue cloth on the floor as a puddle and set out what a melted snowman leaves behind: a hat, a scarf, a carrot, two twigs, three buttons and a pair of mittens. 2. Children study the puddle for half a minute, then close their eyes. 3. Take one thing away. 4. Eyes open: the first child to name what is missing takes the next thing away. Ages 4 and up. Players: 2 to 14. Time: 8 min. Props: a blue cloth, a hat, a scarf, a carrot, twigs, big buttons and mittens.
  • Puddles Do Not Giggle 1. Sleeping lions, with melted snowmen for the lions. Every child but one lies flat and still on the floor as a puddle. 2. The child who is the sun walks among them and tries to make a puddle move or giggle. No touching. 3. A puddle that moves gets up and joins the sun. 4. The last still puddle is the next sun. Ages 3 and up. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
  • The Sun Says 1. Simon Says, with the sun giving the orders. An adult is the sun, and the children are snowmen. 2. When an order starts with "The sun says," the snowmen do it: melt one arm, melt to your knees, melt to a puddle. 3. When the order is given without those words, they stay as they are. 4. A snowman who slips freezes tall again and plays on. Nobody is out. Ages 3 and up. Players: 3 to 20. Time: 6 min. Props: none.
  • What Melted Here? 1. A drawing and guessing game. Each child secretly picks something that melts: a snowman, an ice cream, a candle or an ice cube. 2. They draw only the puddle and what is left lying in it, such as a cone, a wick or a carrot and a hat. 3. Hold the drawings up one at a time. 4. The others guess what melted. The artist counts how many guessed right. Ages 5 and up. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: paper and crayons.

How this list was compiled: Our suggestions for a child's snowman party indoors, for ages 3 to 10. The wording is ours, and the player counts, times and ages are our estimates. Ten are classics by name and the rest are familiar kinds of party game, each with a snowman prop or rule; the first step says which. Nobody is blindfolded, nothing is eaten, no game uses real snow or ice, and nobody is out for long. Rules of the classics were checked against Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) on 2026-10-03, after the stem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/: Pin the tail on the donkey, Ring toss, Button, button, who's got the button?, Hunt the thimble, Tiddlywinks, Hopscotch, Kim's Game, Sleeping lions, Simon Says, Pass the parcel. Licence: own work