It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The stockings are hung and the Christmas tree is waiting for presents to be put underneath it. If you are wanting to add a little bit of magic into this season, consider making reindeer food. Making magic reindeer food is a tradition that many households do around Christmas. While each reindeer food recipe is different, most recipes contain bird seed, oats, edible glitter, and perhaps a little sugar. The instructions are easy, which means you can have your kids help you make this tasty treat for Santa’s reindeer.
If you are being tempted to eat this reindeer food too, you’ll be glad to hear that there is an edible form of this food for humans to eat. Instead of containing bird seed and oats, reindeer food for humans consists of pretzels, M&Ms, and everything else yummy. Whether you make reindeer food to eat or reindeer food for Santa’s reindeer, these recipes make great gifts to friends and neighbors. Let’s get started on how to make reindeer food.
How to Make Reindeer Food
Because there are so many magic reindeer food recipes, you may be wondering which reindeer food recipe is best to use. Some people add glitter and sugar to their reindeer food, while others use bird seed and other natural ingredients. It is important that you only use ingredients that are safe for other wildlife. Even if you don’t plan on other animals eating it, you should never add anything that will harm wildlife. Here are some different recipes to try making. Some of them are for sprinkling on your lawn, while the others for us humans to eat.
3-Ingredient Reindeer Food
This first recipe only requires three ingredients. It is important that you use edible glitter because regular glitter can be harmful to wildlife. The kind of glitter you want to use is the same kind that you decorate cakes with. If you want this reindeer to be completely safe for animals to eat, leave out all glitter. Consider substituting it with bird seed.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup porridge oats
- 1 tsp edible red glitter
- 1 tsp edible green glitter
Instructions:
- Mix the oats and glitter in a small bowl until they are combined.
- Spoon the mixture into a bag and seal it.
- Print out a reindeer food poem (you can find the reindeer feed poem later in this article). Attach the label onto the bag.
- On Christmas Eve, sprinkle the reindeer feed onto your lawn. For added fun, read the reindeer food poem while sprinkling the food onto your lawn.
- Either let the wildlife eat this reindeer snack or gather the food before your kids wake up. The edible glitter is safe for birds to eat, so it is fine to leave it out.
Image Source: Fountain Avenue Kitchen
Reindeer Chow (For Humans!)
Reindeer shouldn’t be the only ones getting spoiled with goodies. Be sure to make some reindeer chow for you and your friends as well. It is very easy to make, and it is delicious.
Ingredients:
- 6 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup dry brownie mix or 1 cup powdered sugar mixed with 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 bag Christmas M&M’s 12-ounce bag
- 2 cups mini peanut butter cups
- 2 cups pretzel twists
Instructions:
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Place the cereal in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, combine the chocolate chips and peanut butter. Microwave the chocolate mixture for 30-second intervals until melted. Stir the mixture until it is smooth.
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Pour the chocolate mixture over the cereal and use a spatula to gently toss the cereal in the chocolate until completely coated.
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Place the brownie mix inside a resealable gallon-sized plastic bag. Add the chocolate coated cereal. Seal the bag and then shake until the cereal is coated in the brownie mix.
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Spread the cereal out in a single layer on a sheet of parchment paper. Let it cool completely.
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Combine the cereal, M&M’s, peanut butter cups, and pretzel twists. Enjoy!
Image Source: Dinner At the Zoo
Reindeer Food for Humans Recipe
Recipe by All Recipes
This is another reindeer chow recipe for humans. Unlike the previous reindeer food recipe, this one contains white chocolate and peanuts. Your friends and neighbors will most likely enjoy this little snack.
Ingredients:
- 1 (20-ounce) package miniature pretzels
- 1 (17.5 ounces) package crispy corn cereal squares
- 24 ounces white chocolate, chopped
- 1 (16-ounce) jar salted dry-roasted peanuts
- 1 (14-ounce) package candy-coated milk chocolate pieces
Instructions:
- Cover a large area of counter space with waxed paper and tape it down.
- Mix pretzels, corn cereal squares, peanuts, and candy-coated milk chocolate pieces together in a large bowl.
- Melt white chocolate in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching. Pour melted white chocolate over pretzel mixture; stir to evenly coat. Quickly transfer mixture to the prepared waxed paper and spread in a thin layer; cool completely. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.
Image Source: All Recipes
Oats and Carrots Recipe
This next recipe is easy. Simply combine carrots and oats together and sprinkle it on your lawn. If you want, you can add some birdseed to the mixture. What’s nice about this reindeer food recipe is that it is safe for the environment. While edible glitter is safe for birds, it is much healthier if the birds don’t eat it. Even if you aren’t planning on wildlife eating this reindeer food, it is still important that you only put out foods that are safe for wildlife.
Magic Reindeer Food Poem
Here is a poem to attach to your bag of reindeer food. Remember to recite it as you are sprinkling the reindeer dust onto your lawn. If you will be giving these reindeer food bags as gifts, you may want to tie bows on them. This will make them look more festive.
“Sprinkle on the lawn at night,
The moon will make it sparkle bright,
Santa’s Reindeer fly and roam,
This will help them find your home!”
This next poem works well on reindeer too.
“Here’s what you do,
It isn’t hard,
Just sprinkle this treat in your yard!
The oats are for energy,
The sparkles are for flight,
The reindeer will come quickly, full of delight!”
Image Source: Kid Spot
Facts About Reindeer
As you’re making this reindeer food, you can use these amazing facts about reindeer to teach your children what reindeer are really like.
- Reindeer are also known as Caribou. When reindeer are wild, most people call them Caribou. Once they are domesticated, they are called reindeer.
- Reindeer are herbivores, meaning they are plant eaters. They especially like lichen, a type of moss, as well as grass and plants.
- A reindeer can live up to 15 years in the wild.
- They can weigh anywhere between 240-700 pounds.
- Reindeer are the only deer in which both male and females grow antlers. They shed their antlers in the winter.
- Reindeer antlers are actually rubbery, living masses of blood and marrow when they are growing. The antlers grow until around August, then the bone begins to harden.
- Like a human’s fingerprint, no two reindeer antlers are exactly the same.
- During the winter, reindeer migrate South. During the summer they migrate North. The trip is 1,200 miles round trip, which is one of the world’s largest migrations.
- Reindeer’s have an ankle tendon which rubs over a bone causing a clicking sound when they walk. That clicking sound helps the reindeer keep track of each other.
- Reindeer can run 50 miles per hour.
- A mother usually gives birth to one fawn a year, but sometimes two are born. Their baby is called a fawn.
Final Thoughts
Christmas time is such a joyful time of the year. A popular Christmas tradition is to put out Christmas cookies for Santa. But what about Santa’s reindeer? If you are wanting to start a fun holiday tradition with your kids, consider making reindeer food. On Christmas Eve, before your kids go to bed, you must sprinkle the food onto your lawn. Make sure you use food that is safe for the wildlife. Birdseed, oats, and nuts are all healthy ingredients. If you think you must add glitter, make sure you use the kind that is edible. Glitter can harm the wildlife, so be sure to use the kind that can be eaten.
In this article, I also gave some reindeer facts. While you can tell your children about Santa and his reindeer, these interesting facts are true about these amazing creatures. I hope this article on reindeer food has inspired you to start making some with your kids. They make great gifts to friends and neighbors. Don’t forget to attach the reindeer poem to the reindeer food bag. You are supposed to read the poem while you are sprinkling the reindeer food on the ground. You can also give some edible reindeer food that your friends and neighbors can eat. Make sure your friend or neighbor doesn’t have any allergies because the food contains nuts. I hope this article has answered all your questions about making reindeer food. Hopefully, this Christmas is a joyful and magical year for your family.
Image Source: One Creative Housewife
