Put on your detective hat and get ready for some frosty puzzle fun with this Winter Coloring Page: Find the Differences!
At first glance, the two snowy pictures may look exactly the same. Look a little closer, though, and you’ll discover that some of the details have changed.
Kids can carefully compare the two winter scenes, spot everything that’s different, and then bring the cheerful snowman and his surroundings to life with crayons, markers, or colored pencils.
It’s part puzzle and part coloring page, making it a wonderful quiet activity for winter afternoons, Christmas break, classrooms, homeschool lessons, or cozy family time.
⛄ Meet the Snowman
A cheerful snowman makes the perfect star for a winter puzzle.
Before beginning, take a moment to look carefully at both pictures.
Study the snowman from top to bottom.
Look at his face.
Check his winter accessories.
Examine everything around him.
The pictures may seem identical at first—but somewhere in the scenes are little details that don’t quite match.
Your job is to find them!
🔍 How to Play Find the Differences
The rules are simple.
Look at the first winter picture and compare it with the second.
Move slowly from one part of the picture to another and search for anything that has:
- Disappeared
- Appeared
- Changed shape
- Changed position
- Become larger or smaller
- Been turned around
- Gained or lost a detail
Whenever you discover a difference, circle it with a pencil.
Then continue searching until you think you’ve found them all.
👀 Start at the Top and Work Down
Find-the-difference puzzles can feel much easier when you use a system.
Instead of letting your eyes jump randomly around the pictures, start in one corner.
Look carefully at the top section of both pictures.
Then move slowly across and downward.
You might divide the page into imaginary sections:
Top left
Top right
Middle
Bottom left
Bottom right
Compare the same section in each picture before moving to the next.
This makes it less likely that you’ll overlook a tiny clue.
🕵️ Become a Winter Detective
Turn the activity into a full detective mission.
Tell kids that something mysterious happened in the snowy scene.
A few details have changed, and only a sharp-eyed winter detective can discover what they are.
A magnifying glass can make the game even more entertaining—even if it isn’t actually necessary!
Every time a difference is found, circle it and announce:
“Another clue solved!”
Continue investigating until the mystery is complete.
⛄ Study the Snowman Carefully
The snowman is a great place to start searching.
Compare the two snowmen one feature at a time.
Look at:
- The hat
- The face
- The nose
- The eyes
- The mouth
- The buttons
- The arms
- Any winter clothing or accessories
- The shape of the snowy body
Don’t assume that two details are identical just because they look similar at first.
Sometimes the tiniest change is the hardest one to spot.
❄️ Don’t Forget the Background
It’s easy to concentrate so hard on the snowman that you forget to check everything around him.
The winter scenery may contain clues too.
Compare:
- Snow
- Trees
- Clouds
- Snowflakes
- Ground details
- Decorations
- Shapes
- Objects in the distance
If you’re stuck, move your attention away from the main character and study the edges and background of each picture.
That elusive final difference might be hiding somewhere unexpected.
✏️ Circle Each Difference With a Pencil
A pencil works especially well for this activity.
When you spot a difference, lightly circle it on one picture.
Using a pencil means you can erase the circle if you change your mind.
Older children might prefer using different colored pencils for each difference.
For example:
- First difference — red
- Second difference — blue
- Third difference — green
- Fourth difference — purple
The completed puzzle will look even more colorful.
🧠 Winter Fun With a Little Learning
Find-the-difference activities may look like simple games, but children can practice several useful skills while playing.
They encourage:
- Careful observation
- Visual discrimination
- Concentration
- Attention to detail
- Pattern recognition
- Problem-solving
- Comparing and contrasting
- Persistence
Kids have to slow down, study two images, remember what they’ve seen, and decide whether each detail matches.
And because they’re searching through a cheerful winter picture, it feels much more like play than practice.
🎯 What If You Can’t Find the Last Difference?
There’s almost always one difference that seems determined to stay hidden!
If you get stuck, don’t give up.
Try a different strategy.
Look away from the page for a moment and then come back with fresh eyes.
You can also:
- Start searching from the opposite corner
- Compare only the outlines
- Look specifically at small objects
- Check the snowman’s accessories again
- Study the background rather than the main picture
- Use your finger to cover part of each image and compare one section at a time
Sometimes the missing detail becomes obvious as soon as you change the way you’re looking at the puzzle.
🎨 Now Color the Winter Scene
Finding the differences is only half the fun.
Once you’ve solved the puzzle, turn it into a coloring activity.
Grab:
- Crayons
- Colored pencils
- Washable markers
- Gel pens
- Metallic pencils
Then bring the snowy scene to life.
You could use the same colors for both pictures—or deliberately make them completely different!
🧣 Give the Snowman a Colorful Outfit
Snowmen may be snowy white, but their accessories can be bursting with color.
Try giving your snowman:
- A bright red scarf
- A green hat
- Rainbow buttons
- Purple mittens
- A striped scarf
- A polka-dot hat
- Colorful earmuffs
For even more frosty coloring fun, explore the Snowman Coloring Pages.
Each snowman can have an entirely different personality.
❄️ How Do You Color Snow?
White snow can sometimes seem tricky to color because the paper is already white.
Instead of filling the whole snowy area, try adding gentle shading.
Use:
- Pale blue
- Light gray
- Lavender
- Silver
- Very pale pink
Add a little color around the edges of snowbanks or beneath the snowman.
This can help create a wintry look while leaving most of the snow white.
Tiny silver or blue dots can also create sparkling snow.
✨ Add Some Winter Sparkle
Once the coloring is finished, kids can decorate the picture even more.
Try adding:
- Glittery snowflakes
- Silver stars
- Snowflake stickers
- Metallic details
- Extra falling snow
- Sparkly ice
- Christmas lights
- Tiny stars in the sky
Metallic pencils or glitter pens can make a winter scene look especially magical.
🎨 Color the Two Pictures Differently
Here’s a fun twist.
Instead of coloring both scenes exactly the same, create two completely different winter worlds.
Maybe one picture has:
- A blue sky
- A red scarf
- Green trees
While the other has:
- A purple sky
- A rainbow scarf
- Pink trees
The drawings started almost identical, but your coloring can make them dramatically different.
🖍️ Create Your Own Difference
After finding all the differences already hidden in the puzzle, add another one yourself.
Draw something new in only one of the pictures.
You could add:
- Another snowflake
- A bird
- A Christmas present
- A star
- An extra button
- A candy cane
- A tiny Christmas tree
- A mitten
- A snowball
Then show the page to someone else.
Can they spot the extra difference you created?
👩👧 Make It a Two-Player Game
Find-the-difference pages are fun to solve together.
Two children can take turns finding differences.
Player one circles a difference.
Then player two gets a turn.
Continue until everything has been found.
You could also have one person study the left picture while another studies the right and work together to discover what doesn’t match.
There’s no need to make it competitive—the goal can simply be to solve the mystery as a team.
⏱️ Try a Winter Detective Challenge
Want to make the puzzle harder?
Set a timer and see how many differences you can find before time runs out.
Try:
One minute
Two minutes
or
Five minutes
Then complete any remaining differences without the clock running.
Children can try the puzzle again later and see whether their observation skills have improved.
📖 Tell a Snowman Story
After solving and coloring the page, use the picture as inspiration for a winter story.
Ask:
What is the snowman’s name?
Who built him?
Where does he live?
What happens when everyone goes inside for the night?
Does the snowman come to life?
Who are his winter friends?
What is his greatest winter adventure?
Younger children can tell their story aloud.
Older children can write it on the back of the activity page.
🏫 A Fun Winter Classroom Activity
Because this printable combines a puzzle with coloring, it works nicely as a classroom activity.
Teachers can use it for:
- Morning work
- Early finishers
- Indoor recess
- Winter activity centers
- December worksheets
- January winter activities
- Classroom Christmas parties
- Quiet independent work
- Take-home activity packets
Children can solve the puzzle first and color afterward.
Completed snowman pictures can then be displayed together on a winter bulletin board.
🏠 Easy Fun for a Snowy Afternoon
This printable is equally easy to enjoy at home.
Print it whenever kids need something quiet to do during a chilly winter day.
Set out pencils and crayons while you:
- Make hot chocolate
- Bake cookies
- Prepare dinner
- Wrap Christmas presents
- Relax with a cup of coffee
- Watch the snow outside
No complicated preparation is required.
Just print and play.
🚗 Add It to a Winter Travel Pack
Heading out on a Christmas road trip or winter vacation?
Print several activity sheets and put them inside a folder.
Add:
- Find-the-difference puzzles
- Dot-to-dot pages
- Mazes
- Crosswords
- Word searches
- Matching games
- Color-by-number activities
- Coloring pages
Pack a pencil case with crayons or colored pencils and you have a simple travel activity kit.
It can be useful for car journeys, flights, hotels, restaurants, and family visits.
🎄 Create a Christmas and Winter Activity Book
Combine this winter puzzle with some other Holly Jolly Christmas printables.
Try the Christmas Crossword Puzzle Game for a word challenge.
Add the Christmas Reindeer Dot to Dot for number practice and the Christmas Activity Page for Kids for more visual puzzles.
Then include some Christmas Coloring Pages for plenty of creative fun.
Staple the pages together and you’ve made your own little holiday activity book.
🌨️ Make Your Own Find-the-Differences Puzzle
Once kids understand the game, challenge them to create one themselves.
Draw a simple winter picture.
It might include:
- A snowman
- A Christmas tree
- A snowy house
- A sled
- A penguin
- A winter hat
Next, draw the picture again—but secretly change a few things.
Perhaps remove a button.
Add another snowflake.
Change the shape of a hat.
Remove a tree.
Then give both pictures to someone else and see if they can find every difference.
Designing the puzzle can be just as entertaining as solving one.
☕ Enjoy a Cozy Winter Activity Afternoon
Turn a few simple printables into a cozy winter tradition.
Put on Christmas or winter music.
Make hot chocolate.
Set out crayons, colored pencils, and puzzles.
Then spend some time searching, coloring, drawing, and chatting together.
Not every holiday activity needs complicated supplies or lots of preparation.
Sometimes all you need is a pencil, a coloring page, and a snowman waiting to be discovered.
❤️ Can You Spot Every Difference?
The two winter scenes might look the same—but sharp-eyed puzzle solvers know better!
Study the snowman.
Examine the background.
Check every hat, button, snowflake, shape, and tiny detail.
Circle each difference as you discover it, and don’t give up when one seems impossible to find.
Then, when the mystery is solved, grab your favorite colors and transform the pictures into your own sparkling winter wonderland.
Happy puzzling and happy coloring! ⛄❄️🔍🎨
🔗 Related Articles
- Snowman Coloring Pages
- Christmas Coloring Pages
- Christmas Activity Page for Kids
- Christmas Crossword Puzzle Game
- Christmas Reindeer Dot to Dot
- Christmas Gnomes Activity Page for Kids
- Christmas House Coloring Page
