So there’s this sweet tole painted snowman piece made by my MIL back in the day that TheMisterT and his sister have some inside jokes about that, but there will be more about that later in the post. Right now, I want to share this nutcracker I made for my SIL for her 50th birthday that pays homage to that decoration.
It’s also a holiday countdown.
Here’s the first round of too many detail shots.
And, because it has another secret special interactive feature, I made a drawer to add to the base.
What’s that secret special interactive feature? Well, that birdhouse perch is magnetic! There’s a tiny neocadmium magnet embedded in the end of it and then covered with paper, glue, and paint.
Which brings me to the second round of too many photos: the little magnetic funsies that attach to it. I had a lot of fun with this part!
Here’s where the brother/sister joke part comes in. It’s NSFW so I’ll be making it an opt-in situation.
Summary
The original was made by my MIL in a class where they made an icicle dangle from the end of the perch which was placed just below the snowman’s waist. Ahem. 
Her children, found this hilarious and much teasing of their mother followed. She insists, “It’s a birdhouse!”
This decoration has been passed between the siblings with various additions over the years. I have been designated as the adder for TheMisterT. The pierced nipples are my work.
ANYWAY, I replicated the original icicle (which broke off the original decades ago) and here that is.
I also made several other… accessories along this vein that aren’t magnetic..
Because we won’t be there when it’s unwrapped, I included directions in the drawer.
At the last minute it occurred to me that this snowman could have a… well, a fancy, peppermint butthole. 
But subtle and hidden under the lever.
Underneath it’s labeled with a title, the date, and the for/from deets.
Construcion details:
I bought only a few things for this! Some embroidery floss to finish weaving the scarf, ribbon for the bell drawer knob, and the bird for the hat. The rest was stash, including the nutcracker blank.
The drawer was made from scraps left from the big bookcase I built last year and trimmed with wood stir sticks.
It was so fun to make! But, I may have geeked out more about building a safe box to wrap it in for giving and shipping! I wanted it to be very secure, especially because I flocked the top hat. It should work well for storing him, too.
If you’ve made it to the end… THANK YOU and maybe you’re nuts enough for nutcrackers to join us over at the Nutcracker Along 2026 that goes through the middle of January 2027!
Congratulations! Your Snowman Nutcracker is a Featured Project this week!