We showed up right on time, having signed into the contest on the lodge event app. The air was crisp and clear. And icy.
About ten other groups were there. Not much competition. But I didn’t have much by way of a plan, either. The rules stated accessories would be provided. We were given a sealed bag and couldn’t look inside until the whistle blew.
The event coordinator already looked half-frozen. She announced the theme was wonderland. Whatever that meant. It was obviously a play on the name of the lodge.
A metal bin had been brought out and a fire burned within. We could rush over there to warm our gloved hands and that was it. Even though I wore waterproof mitts, the cold would penetrate when I began working in the ice.
The whistle went off. I dived into the deep drifts.
“We have to work fast or we’ll freeze before we finish,” I said.
Aspen grunted. Together we started shoving snow into a pile to make a big ball for the snowman’s base.
“Wait,” Aspen said. “Shouldn’t we check out the accessories?”
“Let’s get the structure done and then decorate.”
“Okay.”
Several times, we ran to the bin to try to remember the sensation of warmth on our faces and hands. Not to mention arms, legs and other parts. It was quite grueling if not so funny. We laughed most of the time as we constructed a three-tier body, especially when the head exploded in our hands and we had to roll another ball.
Finally, we had a basic snowman shape. It was about as tall as Aspen.
“We did good,” I said.
“Now to the details.”
We opened our bag and poured out the accessories. Rocks. Sticks. Pieces of coal. A carrot. A scarf. And a tiny magician’s hat.
“This is it?” I asked. I shook the bag to see if more things fell out.
“I guess we’re all limited to Frosty the Snowman, or we use the sticks as antlers and make a reindeer shifter snowman.”
“Hey, that’s a good idea.”
Since he was an actual reindeer shifter, just to be sure, I said, “You’re not joking, are you?”
“Nope.”
I began sculpting the face. Damn, it was freezing bad enough that my hands were shaking, but moving around helped a little. I shaped the rounded face into more of a snout shape.
“Hey, that’s great,” Aspen said. He was working on putting rocks in the middle to look like buttons on a coat.
Together, we shaped the snow into something weird and lumpy. It looked hideous.
“What do we do with this?” I held up the carrot.
“Reindeer love carrots. We’ll stick it in his mouth.”
I laughed.
Aspen made little snowy tufts for ears on either side of the head.
“More snout,” Aspen ordered. “Wider.”
I packed on more snow. I couldn’t feel my fingers anymore, but I kept going.
I could tell Aspen weathered the cold better, that inner reindeer of his no doubt helping. When I lagged and ran to the fire bin to warm up, he took up the slack. When I looked back, I saw that our snowman was the tallest of everyone’s. But that didn’t make it the best. It was very strange-looking.
