Toilet Paper Roll Snowman: Fit the Paper to Your Tube
Make a paper-wrapped tube snowman with a flat hat and scarf. Measure your own roll, print optional paper details, then try a family bowling game.
Wrap a cardboard tube in white paper, add a flat paper hat and scarf, then draw its face. Measure your own tube before cutting the wrapper. Make one snowman as a decoration, or three for a gentle floor bowling game once the glued pieces hold.
A source-based family activity with original diagrams and worksheets where included. We have not physically made or tested this version.
What you’ll need
- One clean, dry cardboard tube; an adult can cut a paper-towel tube to a comfortable working height
- White paper for the body and black, red and orange paper scraps for details
- Glue stick suitable for paper and cardboard; a small piece of tape if the back seam needs holding
- Black marker or crayon; colored pencils if using the outline template
- Paper strip, ruler and pencil for measuring; scissors with adult help
- Optional A4 or US Letter details sheet; it supplies flat hats, noses and scarf tails, not a universal body wrapper
- For the game: two additional finished snowmen (three in total) and a loosely rolled paper ball
Fit the white wrapper first
Measure before gluing. Around 3–5, children can hold the measuring strip; around 6–8, they can also record the numbers and check the fit. The adult handles scissors and tube trimming.
Measure height and circumference
Measure the tube’s height: H. Wrap a narrow paper strip once around its outside, mark where the end meets itself, then lay the strip flat and measure to the mark: C. Keep both measurements in millimeters.
Check: C goes all the way around the tube. Measuring straight across the opening gives a different, much shorter measurement.
Cut the wrapper
Cut white paper H high and C + 10 mm wide. For example, H = 100 mm and C = 140 mm gives a 100 × 150 mm rectangle. Use your own measurements; the extra 10 mm is the overlap, not extra height.
Original construction diagram. C is measured around the actual tube; the diagram is not a cutting template. View full-size diagram (opens in a new tab) Try it without glue
Wrap the paper around the tube with the overlap at the back. Trim excess height before gluing so the base can sit flat. If the side edges only meet or leave a gap, remeasure C and cut a wider rectangle. Do not flatten the tube to force the wrapper closed.
Check: The paper reaches both rims and overlaps at the back without squeezing the cylinder. The overlap should be about the 10 mm you added.
Wrap, dress and draw the snowman
Once the wrapper fits, glue it in place and add the details below. Draw the hat and nose yourself, or use the optional outline sheet. The hat is a flat front decoration, so it does not need to fit around the tube’s opening.
Wrap the body
Spread glue on the back of the white paper, including the overlap. Roll it around the tube, smoothing gently from one edge to the other. Press the back seam; avoid squeezing the cylinder flat. Let it hold before adding details.
Make the flat hat
Cut a black top-hat silhouette with a wide brim beneath the crown. If using the printable, cut around the outside only; the line inside the crown marks a hatband, not a cut. Hold the brim on the upper front of the tube, leaving space beneath for eyes and a nose, then glue the brim in that position.
Check: The hat remains one piece. Its crown projects above the brim; it does not fold into a lid or wrap around the opening.
Original construction diagram. Hat size is chosen against the tube; the scarf band uses its measured circumference. View full-size diagram (opens in a new tab) Add the scarf
Cut a red strip 15 mm high and C plus 10 mm long. Glue it around the lower part of the face area with its join at the back. Add a separate 15 × 40 mm paper tail on the front, angled slightly downward.
Draw the face
Draw eyes and a smile below the brim. Cut a small orange paper triangle for the nose and glue it flat. Draw buttons below the scarf. Drawing these details avoids needing loose plastic eyes or buttons.
Use the printable or draw your own
The details sheet has hat brims 50 mm and 62.5 mm wide, a small scarf tail and two nose outlines. Hold the printed options against the roll before cutting good paper. Choose the one that looks balanced on that tube; a brim slightly wider than the front can still work because it is attached only across the front.
Print at Actual size or 100% and check the 50 mm line. Cut and color the outlines, or trace them onto colored paper. The white body rectangle and long scarf band are deliberately omitted from the template because tubes vary in circumference. Their measurements are given above.
Measure that check line on the printed page with a ruler. If it is not 50 mm, check the A4 or US Letter paper choice and turn off Fit or Shrink before printing again. A correct line checks the print scale; you still choose the hat size against your own tube. Cut only each piece’s outside boundary, keeping the hat’s internal band line intact.
With no printer, draw the hat as one joined crown-and-brim shape and sketch a triangle for the nose. The exact facial spacing is your child’s choice. You do not need a three-dimensional hat, wire arms or a sock for this paper-only version.
Fix a lifting seam or a tipping tube
Before playing, set the snowman on a flat surface: it should stand on the tube’s base, the back seam should stay closed, and the details should remain attached with gentle handling. Give loose glued parts more setting time before moving them.
| What you see | What to do next |
|---|---|
| The wrapper seam lifts | Press the paper overlap, hold it with a small piece of tape, or reapply glue stick to the dry seam. Avoid soaking the tube with more wet glue. |
| The snowman rocks | Check for paper or a scarf tail below the base; an adult can trim it. Replace a crushed or uneven tube. Do not add loose coin weights. |
| The hat catches or comes loose | Set the snowman aside and reattach the brim to the front. Wait until it holds; keep the finished decoration out of rough play. |
Play after making: snowman bowling
Red Ted Art suggests using tube snowmen for bowling and adding numbers for a counting version. To try a small family round, place three dry snowmen on a clear floor area and roll a loose paper ball toward them from a nearby starting line. Aim away from people and breakable objects.
Take turns resetting the same three snowmen. Count how many fell over together. For an older child, draw 1, 2 and 3 on the backs, turn those numbers toward the players and add the numbers of the fallen pieces. Keep the distance and ball the same when comparing rounds; move the line closer if no one can hit a tube.
For the next session, change just the starting distance or add the number rule, then use the same three snowmen. Recheck the hats and seams before resetting them. Stop the game if a tube is crushed or its details keep coming loose.
For a cooperative round, give each person one roll, count the fallen snowmen together, then reset all three. There is no need to keep a winner’s score. If scoring by the numbers on the backs, falling 1 and 3 gives 4 points; standing snowmen do not count for that roll.
Another winter project: six-part paper snowflakes
References: Red Ted Art: toilet roll snowman and bowling variation · Kids Activities Blog: flat-hat toilet paper roll snowman
Downloads
- Snowman paper details — A4
One page of flat hats, scarf tail and carrot outlines. Print at 100% and check the 50 mm line. Measure your own body wrapper and scarf band using the article; these are not included as fixed-size pieces. Digitally checked; assembly not physically tested.
- Snowman paper details — US Letter
One page of flat hats, scarf tail and carrot outlines. Print at 100% and check the 50 mm line. Measure your own body wrapper and scarf band using the article; these are not included as fixed-size pieces. Digitally checked; assembly not physically tested.