I have always been obsessed with the Christmas season, but since having kids it has gotten out of control. And, honestly, I would not have it any other way. Christmas is just magical and teaching them how to make reindeer food is a huge part of the magic of Christmas Eve.
Watching your child’s eyes light up in wonder and awe is really a beautiful thing and brings out the kid in all of us. This Reindeer Dust will only add to this magical time of year. When I was teaching, my students loved it and now my daughter loves it too!
This project is great for making with your children at home, but even more fun to make with a classroom full of students. A few simple supplies and an easy to follow recipe make this a great way to send your students home with a fun treat for Christmas Eve.
Supplies Needed:
-Colored Sanding Sugar (color of your choice)
-Printable (see below)
-Stapler
How To Make Reindeer Dust (aka Reindeer Food)
Make Reindeer Dust is SO easy. You will mix 8 cups of oatmeal and 2 cups of glitter and stir. That’s it! I was not lying, huh? Depending on how many students you will be making this for, you can adjust accordingly. This made me 15 bags total. I had my daughter help me make reindeer food for her and her classmates. She carefully poured the oatmeal into a large ziplic baggie.
After I sealed the ziploc bag, she had a blast shaking the bag to mix the glitter into the oatmeal.
After you make the dust, you will evenly place it into ziploc baggies. I placed 1/2 cup in each plastic baggie. Make sure you seal the bags properly. They can make a huge mess if not. Trust me, I have learned in the past. 🙂
You will want to print off the labels and cut and fold. These are editable. You can download KG The Fighter and open the document in Adobe Acrobat and then you can type in your name or your child’s name in the black spaces. You will then staple the label at the top of the plastic bag. This is what it should look like when you are finished.
To get this freebie, use the ‘click here to download’ button at the bottom of this page
How To Use Reindeer Food
On Christmas Eve, students will take the Reindeer Dust outside and sprinkle on the lawn. There are no words to describe the excitement on my daughter’s face when she does this. I can only imagine what she will be like this year since she is older.
The sparkle from the glitter will attract the reindeer during the night and guide them to each students’ house so Santa can come and bring presents for all the good boys and girls.
Once your kids are asleep, make sure that you go out and sweep the glitter around so that when they want to run outside and check to see if it is still there, it is all gone. We forgot that important step last year, but lucky for us, it was windy outside so that did the trick!
Print Your Reindeer Food Label Below!
Can you not find a resource that you would LOVE to have for your classroom? Contact me and I would be happy to make it for you.
I hope that you and your students enjoy Reindeer Dust and you will love the experience of teaching them how to make reindeer food! Check out more of our fun holiday themed ideas for the classroom below. Are you looking for more Christmas ideas, activities, and printables to do at home or in the classroom? If so check out our section of Christmas Lessons and Activities!
More Christmas Lessons:
- Reindeer Bag Printable And Craft
- 12 Reindeer Books For Little Learners
- 12 Gingerbread Books For Little Learners
Click the picture below to download.
My granddaughter (she’s in first grade) and I are going to make the dust. Ever since I showed her the picture a few days ago she hasn’t stopped asking if we are going to make it. I think I might contact her teacher and see if we can make one for each student. Thanks for a wonderful idea
I am so glad to hear this! I hope she enjoys making them. ?
This is an awesome idea! Just a suggestion though, swap out the glitter for coloured sugar sugar or sprinkles because birds and wildlife shouldn’t be eating the glitter 🙂 It is not good for their digestion and it also is not biodegradable, so it will last for ages.
That is a great idea!
Thanks for sharing.
I strongly suggest the same with swapping out the glitter with sugar crystals instead! Please don’t use glitter!!
That’s a great idea! Thank you for sharing!!
Hello Jennifer
Your free download is not working for reindeer food. Do you have a PDF or word file your able to send?
I’d really appreciate it if you could 🙂
Hi there Dana, The download is working now. Once you enter your information you will receive an email from me with the pdf download. It may go to your spam, promotions or other folders. Hope you enjoy!!!
That is great in stead of buying it
Yes, it is! Hope you enjoy it.
Hello Jennifer can I make a suggestion. First let me start off by thanking you for the printable. Glitter is very dangerous for birds and other animals. When they eat the oatmeal with glitter it tears up their digestive system. I use to use for many years. I now use candy shaped sprinkles. I usually buy the candy canes, gold stars and gingerbread shape ones. I get from Michael’s with coupon but I’ve seen other places like Walmart and Target. Another alternative would be coloring salt it has the same shiny effect and cost under a dollar to make several different colors.
Hi there Valerie, thank you for sharing all these great ideas! There are so many wonderful options!