I think snowmen have been around as long as there has been snow. It's not hard to lose your heart to one and, unless you count the Michael Keaton character in the movie "Jack Frost," it's difficult to find a malevolent one. Snowmen never discriminate — they are friendly to everyone. Perhaps that's why I imagine snowmen made of lots of things other than snow.

For example, once, on a particularly cold Halloween, I piled pumpkins on top of one another to create a snowman with a decidedly orange glow. I tied a muffler around it, stuck a hat on top and displayed him by the door to greet the trick or treaters. He just oozed the "brrrrr" factor.

Some types of vegetables, such as the butternut squash, seem to cry out for a coat of white paint and a corncob pipe. Gourds are good candidates, too.

If you'd prefer to make a snowman with more staying power, use plastic foam balls in graduated sizes. Get my (snow) drift? The trick is to use your imagination.

This little peanut shell snowman pin is featured in Kathy Ross's "Crafts for All Seasons," available at bookstores and online at www.amazon.com. I modified her directions a bit and used a bar pin and tiny rhinestone buttons, both available at craft stores. You can use whatever materials you have or make buttons from black construction paper. This snowman is easy and inexpensive to make and would be a good holiday activity for groups of children.

Supplies you will need:

Small bowl for mixing.

White glue.

White poster or acrylic paint and brush.

Peanut.

Scissors

Salt.

Black and orange felt or construction paper.

Red yarn.

Bar pin.

Two small rhinestones for buttons (optional).

Waxed paper.

In a small bowl, mix a few drops of glue into a tablespoon of white paint. Paint the peanut white for your snowman's body. Sprinkle the wet paint with salt and lay the peanut on waxed paper to dry.

Cut your felt or construction paper into the shapes you need. Make two small eyes, a hat and buttons. Cut a carrot nose from the orange paper or felt, and glue all the pieces to the peanut. If using rhinestones, glue them to the front of the bottom section of the shell.

Cut a small section of red yarn for a scarf. Tie the yarn around the snowman's "neck" and secure the knot with glue.

Glue a bar pin vertically to the back of the peanut and let dry.