‘Do you want to build a snowman?’ Good luck topping this 20-footer in Shirley.

By Hannah Goeke Globe Correspondent,Updated February 17, 2026, 5:13 p.m.
{original article on Boston Globe}
 
PHOTO:  "Parker," the 20-foot-tall snowman.courtesy Eric Aalerud
 
 
While most of town was busy shoveling their driveways over the past month, one Shirley resident decided to put all of the excess snow to creative use.
A 20-foot snowman named ‘Parker’ now stands in Eric Aalerud’s driveway, stopping traffic on Parker Road.
Aalerud, 36, had built a slightly smaller snowman last year when he had taken some time off work to be with his newborn daughter. This year, he set his sights even higher.
“I thought, oh boy, I got to get back out there again,” he said.
As soon as the snow started falling in January, he got to work. One storm at a time, Aalerud used a snow blower to add snow to the pile between his driveway and the street.
The big storm at the end of January dropped about 18 inches, giving him plenty of material to work with.
 
An electrician and house flipper, Aalerud carved out the giant snowman for days using an extension ladder. Aalerud said he hadn’t felt so sore in a long time but the end result made it worth it. The snowman is 20 feet to the top of its hat, and 21 feet wide at the base.
Last year, Aalerud had used a five-gallon bucket as a hat to give the snowman its signature look. But with Parker, it looked a bit puny.
“It just looked ridiculous,” he said. Aalerud upgraded his snowman’s look with a painted trash barrel, attaching a rim out of plywood.
After a request from his wife, Aalerud made one final change to his masterpiece.
“I changed the eye color from red to blue because she said the snowman looked creepy last year,” he quipped.
 
Last year, the snowman lasted for nearly a month, but with the warming weather Aalerud expects Parker to lose some altitude soon.
Yet, the memories will last for his daughter.
“I think she’ll look back at it seeing pictures of her on the news, which will be kind of cool,” Aalerud said.
The snowman has become a tourist attraction in the neighborhood. The steady stream of visitors hasn’t stopped, with people driving by and hopping out to pose with the snowman, Aalerud said.
“If you get out and talk to them, you’ll get stuck out there,” Aalerud said. “I don’t do that too often. But it’s fun. We like looking out the window and watching everybody take pictures with it.”
Aalerud’s wife is already talking about next year.
“I’m a little nervous about that,” he said. “If I do it again, the thing has got to be even bigger.”