Southern Californians aren’t known for having a very high tolerance for cold. (Just ask Jimmy Kimmel.) And I’m certainly no exception. But one thing I have to be thankful for is that it never gets so cold that it actually snows.

Because even though the snow-covered trees and mountains look so pretty in pictures and snowflakes themselves are incredible works of art, I just cannot deal with snow in real life. Nothing good ever happens to me or my family in the snow. Injuries, car accidents, and general cold/wet discomfort are to be expected whenever we’re somewhere snowy, so I try to avoid it as much as possible. Basically, the closest thing to actual snow that I am willing to be around on a regular basis are snow-themed decorations, like these snowflake window clings.

This is a simple, kid-friendly craft that requires only three supplies:

• Puffy paint (I like the glittery kind.)
• Plastic ziploc-type bag
• Free Printable Snowflake Template

Just place the plastic bag on top of the template and trace over a snowflake with some puffy paint. Let the paint dry according to manufacturer instructions until completely dry, and then carefully peel each snowflake off of the bag and stick it to your window. That’s it!

Even though this craft is so simple, here are a few tips to make it foolproof:

• Try to make your lines on the thicker side, as the paint tends to contract as it dries. Thicker lines means your final product will be easier to peel and stick on the window.
• Make sure the snowflakes are completely dry before unpeeling them. I found it best to let them dry for a full 24 hours before peeling them off of the bag and sticking them to the window.
• It takes a little practice and hand strength to squeeze the bottle of paint and trace at the same time. Older kids can probably handle it if they take their time, but little kids might need some help.
• I also tried wax paper and plastic transparency sheets for this craft, but I found that the puffy paint was easiest to peel off of the plastic bag. With wax paper, some of the paper’s fibers stuck to the paint, and the transparency sheets were a little too rigid to peel the puffy paint off easily.
• If you’re using new bottles of puffy paint, you may need to squeeze out the runny, clear top layer of paint before using it to trace a snowflake. I found that with a few of my bottles, the top layer of paint was too runny to maintain its shape, and would cause flat blobs in my final product.
• If you want to store these for future use or transporting elsewhere, lay each window cling between two sheets of plastic wrap or sandwich them between the two layers of your plastic bag. Don’t let the individual snowflakes touch, or you’ll have to unstick them from each other later.
• The window temperature will change the consistency of the window clings–a hot window will make them a little more flexible and sticky, while a cold window will make them firmer. Either extreme makes them prone to ripping when you’re removing them from the window, so if you want to save them for future use, it’s best to unpeel them at a time when your window is roughly room temperature. Of course, if you rip them, you can easily make them again.