4 ways to get a taste of a white Christmas when the weather isn't cooperating

With the state inching closer to a brown Christmas, many Minnesotans are eager to get a mantle of snow — or maybe just enough to cover the grass.

If you're wanting a white Christmas this year, you're going to have to work for it or shell out a few bucks.

Here are four ways to make your Christmas glisten.

Make a visit to the snow creature at Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis. The larger-than-life statue — aptly named "Eddie McYeti" — was unveiled earlier this month on social media. Made by artist Gustavo Boada, the "friendly northern snow creature is rumored to be more than 200 years old," according to a post from the venue. "[It] makes its way to the market each year after the temperatures drop in hopes of seeing Santa and picking up some new three fingered gloves."
Cost: Free.

Snow (and music) lovers crashed First Avenue's website when the legendary music venue released a limited number of snow globes with gold and purple glitter featuring the historic building, complete with its star-spangled walls and dancefloor.

They sold out almost immediately, but you can get on the waitlist at firstavenue.com.

To hold a white Christmas in the palm of your hand, Amazon sells snow globes starting at $11. Some are even shatter-proof.
Cost: $11 and up.

Many local ski hills and some cross-country loops around the metro are making their own snow and have been open for several weeks.

There's a good amount of snow at Hyland Hills in Bloomington ($32 for kids, $36 for adults for a half-day; closed on Christmas Day), Afton Alps in Hastings ($65-$89; open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day), Welch Village in Welch, Minn., ($60-$80) and Buck Hill in Burnsville ($49 for kids, $59 for adults).

Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis has 2.5 kilometers of trails groomed with man-made snow for cross-country skiing (daily passes are $20 for adults, $10 for kids; lessons and rental equipment are available).

If sitting down is more your speed, try the Wirth Park tubing hill in Minneapolis ($17), which opened earlier this week.

"We are seeing a slight decline in skiers thus far [this winter], but anticipate an increase with winter break," said Devin Sundquist, marketing and communications director at the Loppet Foundation. "While Minnesota has been seemingly reluctant to welcome the snow, we are very much making winter happen at Theo Wirth."
Cost: From $17 to $80.

Admittedly, this option is a bit costly. But if you just have to have snow, a snow-making machine might be the way to go.

At Special FX Rentals in Woodbury, you can rent a machine that creates snow. It's not the real thing — you can't ski on it or make snowballs — but at least it looks merry and white.

If you really want to make it snow, consider buying a snow maker.

Matthew Pittman, owner of Snow at Home, said he's sold at least a dozen snow-making machines to Minnesotans so far this year. The company, based in Connecticut, sells machines that are "a scaled down version of what ski resorts use," he said.

"I think everyone thinks about having a white Christmas," he said. "The snow [from the machines] can be soft if you're making it [with temperatures] in the teens. It's almost like sugar."

Most of his sales are placed in the weeks leading up to Christmas and are primarily to states that don't normally have snow. "This time of year our phone rings like crazy," he said. "We build the machines in the summer for shipping because during the winter we're so busy with the number of calls that come in."
Cost: Rentals start at $175. Purchases start at $498.