Sheet-Cake Snowman

• Bake chocolate cakes in two layer pans, one smaller than the other. After they're cooled, turn the pans over and remove the cakes. Set them side by side, with the smaller layer at the top, and cover them in white frosting, followed by a dusting of shredded coconut. Create a mouth, nose, eyes and buttons with black-licorice gumdrops. If you don't like licorice, use purple gumdrops. Use candy corn for the nose or teeth. Pull a few strings off a red licorice whip and cut them short enough to outline a candy scarf. Use red licorice twists for arms.
  
  

Standing Snowman

• To make a standing snowman, you'll need to make spherical cakes. Pour cake batter into four greased and floured, round Pyrex bowls (see References). When they're baked, cover the flat sides with thick layers of frosting, and put the other half on top of each to make two spheres. Cut about two inches off the bottom of the larger sphere, and put it on a plate. Put a layer of frosting on top of it, and put the smaller sphere on top of the larger one. Cover the whole cake in white frosting, and dust it with coconut. Make a hat out of a white cupcake. Remove cupcake paper and turn the cupcake upside-down. Cover it in red frosting. Once the hat is frosted, attach it to the snowman's head at a jaunty angle. Build a small rim around the hat with more red frosting. Secure it with basting sticks if necessary. Create a green scarf with a layer of green frosting around his neck, and add a tiny green fringe. Use brown M & Ms for buttons, red gumdrops for eyes, green gumdrops for his nose and orange for his smile. Put stick candy canes on each side for his arms.
  
  

Snowman Gathering

• Make five small snowmen (or as many as you'll need so everyone at your party will have their own). Bake them in small Pyrex bowls and attach the halves with frosting to create spherical cake shapes. Create a small group of pines out of Christmas-tree cookies by sticking two cookies together with frosting, then covering them with green frosting to make trees. Group the trees by sticking them in a thick layer of white fondant covered in white frosting and dusted with coconut. Decorate the snowmen with tiny chocolate chips for eyes and buttons and tiny cherry-flavored chips for noses and mouths. Wrap a strip of licorice around each snowman for a scarf, and use small stick candy canes for arms.