People "sculpt" Santa Claus in Hanoi

(Fatherland) - Mr. Vu Anh Tuan (in Hang Luoc Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi ), has 20 years of experience in making foam snowmen. With his skillful hands and meticulousness, the Christmas products he creates are very charming, and help him earn millions of dollars every day.

Performed by: Nam Nguyen | December 22, 2024

(Fatherland) - Mr. Vu Anh Tuan (in Hang Luoc Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi), has 20 years of experience in making foam snowmen. With his skillful hands and meticulousness, the Christmas products he creates are very charming, and help him earn millions of dong every day.

As Christmas approaches, snowman and Santa Claus making facilities are busy producing to meet market demand.

Mr. Vu Anh Tuan (on Hang Luoc Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi) - the owner of a Christmas decoration production facility with more than 20 years of experience in creating foam snowmen - shared: ''Since the end of November, my store has had many orders. Mainly businesses, coffee shops,... come to shop very early''.

Mr. Tuan said that at this time, he and his wife have to work overtime from morning to late at night because they cannot hire more workers.

“Currently, the shop sells nearly 30 snowmen every day, earns nearly 10 million VND, not including labor and materials. However, this job is only seasonal, after the festival season, I go back to making votive offerings,” Mr. Tuan happily shared.

For large foam snowmen ranging from 2m to 3m in size, Mr. Tuan needs about 2-3 days to complete. For smaller snowmen, it takes about 3 hours to complete.

To create a foam snowman requires going through many different stages. First, workers import foam blocks from companies outside Hanoi.

Then, from the foam blocks, the craftsman will cut and mix them into parts of Santa Claus (depending on the size, the division will be different). For the round head, the craftsman will create a round sphere, for the vertical body, he will create a vertical shape...

“Depending on the needs of customers, I create different shapes. Every detail of the foam snowman must be made carefully and meticulously so that each finished product looks as realistic as possible,” said Mr. Tuan Anh.

According to Mr. Tuan Anh, in the process of creating a foam snowman, the hat making step is probably the most time-consuming, requiring meticulousness, precise and balanced angles. Making the base is simple because the base has a rectangular shape.

“The completion time varies depending on the size of the product. For large products, it takes me about 3 hours to complete, and for smaller products, it takes about 2 hours. On average, I can make about 5 pictures a day, and less than 3 pictures,” Mr. Tuan Anh confirmed.

In Hanoi, foam snowmen have been around for a long time on Hang Luoc Street. On holidays, New Year's Eve or Christmas, people buy them as decorations for their homes, adding beauty to their homes and creating a cozy, full space.

After meticulous steps such as foam carving, shaping and smoothing, the final step is priming, glitter coating, decorating accessories, eyes, nose, and buttons for the snowman.

“Compared to previous years, this year this item sells quite slowly. About 5 years ago, I alone made about 200 to 300 pictures at a time. Now, the most I can make is about 100 pictures. The price ranges from 300,000 VND to 1 million VND,” added Mr. Tuan Anh.

Source: https://toquoc.vn/nguoi-nan-ong-gia-tuyet-o-ha-noi-20241222105802322.htm