Christmas time can be really difficult for grieving children and families. Whether it’s been a few months or several years, we know grief isn’t a step-by-step process and no two people have the same experience. Lots of things might change, but it’s important to try and make some new traditions. Perhaps one of them could be playing a game or creating something together – like our Christmas activity, Snowman Strike.
This Christmas, we hope you can find little moments of joy amidst your grief, so here is a make and talk activity we hope will be a distraction, even if it’s only temporary.
Once the Snowman Strike activity has been made with the help of a grown-up, a child or children can play the game by themselves. They could create a competition to play against others or keep a scoreboard by themselves. You could add numbers to each snowman to make the scoring system even more tactical if you like!
Make Snowman Strike for Christmas
You will need:
- Toilet roll tubes or pieces of card
- Pens or pencils
- A ball
- Any other arts and crafts materials (optional)
How to make Snowman Strike
1. Take your toilet roll tubes or pieces of card (an adult can roll the card into tube shapes like a toilet roll tube and tape them together for you!) and paint or colour them in white if they aren’t already. Ideally, you’ll need at least three, but you can make as many as you’d like if you have lots of these materials lying around.
2. The child can then colour or paint the snowman’s face onto the tube. You can add any craft materials at this stage – go as creative as you’d like! You could add a paper scarf, stick a curved piece of paper over the top and add pompoms to look like earmuffs…
3. Line your snowmen up just like you might have seen skittles lined up if you’ve been bowling or played a similar game before. Make sure you’ve got enough space to bowl a ball at them…
4. Take your ball and have a go! See how many you can knock down.
You might like to add a scoring system to each snowman. You could then play more tactically and try to always knock down the one with the highest points! Maybe you could play this game over the Christmas period with anyone who’s visiting, or you can compete with yourself and make a note of your high score each time you play!
We hope this game can bring a moment of joy to your household. If you complete this activity, please tag us in your photos on social media – we’d love to see your snowmen! Just search for Winston’s Wish.
Getting grief support
Our bereavement support workers are available to offer information, guidance and support, right away. Reach out on 08088 020 021 or use our live chat (click the blue ‘chat’ button on the bottom right of your screen) between 8am and 8pm, Monday to Friday. You can also email us on ask@winstonswish.org and we’ll get back to you within two working days.
Our Winston’s Wish Crisis Messenger is available 24/7 for urgent support in a crisis. Text WW to 85258.
Over Christmas, our Helpline opening hours are:
- Friday 23rd December, open 8am-8pm
- 24th – 28th December, closed
- 29th – 30th December, open 8am-8pm
- 31st December – 2nd January, closed
- Tuesday 3rd January onwards, open 8am-8pm
You may also like
Activities for grieving children
Download our free activities to help grieving children express their feelings and remember someone who has died.
Coping with grief at Christmas
Advice from our practitioners on ways to cope at Christmas and ideas to remember someone during the festive period.