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Magical Reindeer Food

Years ago my mom had a gift shop and one of our most popular things this time of year was homemade magical reindeer food. It was a simple brown bag that we stamped with a green tree and filled with dry oatmeal. We then wrote, “reindeer food, sprinkle on lawn Christmas Eve”. We sold tons and tons of these little bags.

Well, it has evolved over time and I see TONS of versions online. Since my adult kids now how their own kids (my beautiful grandkids) we have continued the tradition. This year my 3 year old granddaughter helped me mix up a magical batch.

It is very easy to make and takes only 1-2 ingredients. I have also included a header you can print off and attach BUT a handwritten note or no note at all works too.

How To Make Magic Reindeer Food

Materials

  • 1/2-1 cup Rolled Oats or Quick Oats (I like a mix of both for some different textures)
  • Red and/or Green glitter (a shake or two… or more). It has been brought to my attention this might not be good for some animals to eat. Edible glitter could be substituted.
  • Snack Size Bags. Sandwich bags work too.
  • Optional: Reindeer Food Header printed on cardstock and stapled in place.

Header Options

  • Folded over the top of the bag as shown in sample: There are two headers per sheet. I left extra room around the edges to fit a variety of bag sizes. If you will be printing from cardstock and folding over the top of the bags. Cut the paper in half (between the two sections), fold over, and trim the edges if needed. Do NOT cut the little rectangles out unless you want to staple just that part to the top of the bag. That works too.
  • Make the header out of regular paper: Cut out the rectangle section, glue it to another colored paper (green, red, whatever), and staple to the top of a baggie.
  • Tags: Cut out the rectangle section, glue it to another colored paper (green, red, whatever), and punch a hole in one end. Use a piece of ribbon, jute, yarn, etc to tie around the top of the baggie. Tie the tag to the bag.

Mixing it Up

I end up making a bunch of bags so we did a big batch.

Put the oatmeal and glitter in the bag. Zip it closed or fold down the top. Cut the topper and staple in place.