Towering 20-foot snowman becoming must-see attraction at Massachusetts home

A 20-foot snowman that towers as tall as its home's roofline has become a must-see attraction in Shirley, Massachusetts. 

The giant, smiling snow sculpture is named Parker after the road he sits on. His jolly presence is stopping traffic.

"They stop all day. I am like, 'Who is that? Oh, someone looking at the snowman,'" Katie Aalerud, pointing at people by her snowman, "They are always out taking pictures, and smiling kind of like these people right now."

Aalerud's husband Eric built a huge snowman after their daughter Emerson was born.

"We last November had our baby girl. We got some snow and my husband Eric was going stir crazy in the house, and he started to build this massive snow pile," Aalerud said. "Last year the tradition started and became a giant snow man, and this year it's even bigger. The big snow storm mid-January is how he got it as big as it is today."

His eyes and buttons are made with lights, as well as his arms. The hat is adorned with lights, mostly made from a trash can. The entire spectacle lights up at night. People can see it emerge as they drive up the hill near their home.

"You start to drive, you are like, 'Oh what is that? You get close, and its like, 'Oh a giant snowman," Aalerud said.

The hope is to make it bigger and bigger each year. A popular question is, how does her husband make it so tall?

"So the back is less appealing to the eye, but he uses a big extension ladder and climbs all of the way up, and he can fiddle with the lights, fiddle with the eyes, fiddle with the ears," Aalerud said. "He told me he has a fear of falling, but you can see so much from the top. You can see to the end of the road."

So far, she said most of it has stayed intact with little melting, and there are a few storms forecast for the near future.

"Last year it dwindled slowly, and I would say probably at the beginning of April the last of it finally melted. I'm interested to see when it will last," smiles Aalerud.