Oscar the Snowman

​Libby was putting the final touches on her freshly carved snowman when her brother, Johnny, came by and poked fun at it.

Johnny said, “Your friend isn’t real, doesn’t stand straight and his eyes look like marbles.”

Libby glared at her brother and said, “He is very real to me Johnny. Can’t you see his smiling eyes and laughing face? His name is Oscar the Snowman.”

Johnny edged a bit closer and takes another look. At the same time, he realized that Oscar is as tall as him. All of a sudden, he wanted to show that he was bigger than Oscar. So, he jumped into the fresh granulated snow and made a big, round snow ball and aimed it right at Oscar’s head.

Libby shrieked in dismay as the head of Oscar fell into the snow in big snow pieces and the marble eyes flew deep into the snow bank.

Libby yelled, “Look what you have done Johnny. Oscar, my snowman friend just lost his head. Please come and help me put his head back on.”

Johnny laughed and said, “Who cares about a snowman because he isn’t real.”

Now Libby was feeling down-right annoyed and yelled, “Oscar is real. He is my snowman friend until he melts away. I love his crooked big smile and bright eyes. I feel the magic in the air when he is around. And, besides, anything is possible when we believe.”

Johnny thought he heard a chuckle coming from Oscar’s throat and decided to make amends by helping his sister put Oscar back together. Together they rolled some snow into the shape of a snowman’s head and placed it on Oscar’s broad shoulders. Libby than found the marbles and placed them back into his snowy eye cavity. Oscar was now animated with sparkling, intense blue eyes.

Something was missing though, thought Johnny. He looked around and saw Oscar’s carrot nose on the edge of the snow bank, retrieved it and shaped his nose onto his face. Now, what about a mouth. He couldn’t remember what it looked like.

Libby reading his mind, said, “I used some pink and red candies to shape Oscar’s mouth. You will find more in my bag of Christmas goodies there.”

Johnny grabbed the bag with enthusiasm as he felt Oscar was being re-created in this moment. He unwrapped a few more candies and laid them side by side on the snowman’s face. And they gave a nice effect of a full smiling mouth. He reflected for a moment and said to Libby. “I think Oscar will be cold without a hat and scarf. Let’s borrow Dad’s big black top hat and his red winter scarf.”

Libby smiled, knowing that Johnny was believing in her snowman friend now and said, “I will run into the house and get them. While you are waiting, take a few of those big black buttons to decorate Oscar’s coat.”

Johnny’s first thought was to say no, not wanting to be bossed by his older sister. However, he was having fun creating Oscar in a new light so went ahead and placed the buttons right down the middle of the coat, from Oscar’s chest to navel area.

Libby arrived with the top hat and scarf, just as Johnny finished placing the coat buttons. H’m, she thought, Johnny wants to join in and is having fun bringing Oscar back to life.

She was tall enough to place the top hat on Oscar’s pointy head and she let Johnny wrap the red scarf around his neck. They both stepped back to have a good look at Oscar.

“Wow, Oscar is a pretty cool snowman. But wait a minute, said Johnny, something else is missing” as he looked down at the snowman’s invisible feet. “He needs some black shoes so he can walk around the yard and greet people and animals for Christmas!”

Libby laughed at her brother’s total belief in the snowman now. “Yes, please go and fetch him a pair of shoes, Dad’s old shoes, sitting in the back kitchen.”

Johnny scooted off to get the shoes and Libby, admiring Oscar’s improved appearance said to him, “Johnny really likes you now. He just needed to get to know you better. So, don’t hold it against him that he knocked your head off.”

As Johnny returned holding a pair of black shoes, Libby thought she could see Oscar smiling out of the corner of her eye. She jumped up and down in delight once the shoes were on and said to Johnny, “He really is an ‘Oscar de la Renta’, like the perfume mother wears. Let’s take a picture of our fashion model snowman.”

Johnny, holding the camera, took a selfie of the three of them, happily together. Johnny thought he could hear Oscar chuckling again as Libby and him walked back to the house for some nice warm hot chocolate. They were excited to share their story of recreating Oscar. And, as they talked to their parents, both of them realized that they had fun creating and sharing this adventure together.

Oscar, standing tall in his new shoes, tilted his head and, with a big laugh, said, “Believe in magic children. Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!”