Make Christmas Eve a little more magical with this easy reindeer food recipe! It only takes a few minutes to mix together, and kids will love sprinkling it outside before bed to help Santa's reindeer find their way.
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Every Christmas Eve, I love having a few little traditions that make the night feel extra magical, and this reindeer food recipe is such a fun one. It only takes a few minutes to make with oats, Christmas sprinkles, and decorating sugar, and kids love sprinkling it outside before bed!
I'm also sharing a free reindeer food poem and printable labels to go with it. Just divide the mixture into small treat bags, add a tag, and save them for Christmas Eve.
Reindeer Food Recipe Ingredients
You only need 3 ingredients for this easy magic reindeer food recipe:
- 1 cup uncooked oats
- 2 tablespoons red and green jimmies sprinkles
- 2 tablespoons red and green decorating sugar
A quick note: This is meant to be a fun Christmas Eve activity, not a snack for people or pets. If you're sprinkling it outside, skip craft glitter, sequins, or plastic confetti.
The red and green decorating sugar adds plenty of sparkle, and you can dress up the plastic bags even more with festive ribbon and one of the printable reindeer food labels below.
How to Make Reindeer Food
This one's about as simple as it gets: add the oats, red and green jimmies sprinkles, and decorating sugar to a large bowl. Stir everything together until the Christmas colors are evenly mixed throughout the oats.
Divide the mixture evenly between 2 small bags. Each bag will have a little over ½ cup of reindeer food. You can easily double or triple the recipe if you're making it for a classroom, party, or larger group.
Tie each bag with a festive ribbon and add one of the printable reindeer food labels below. That's it!
Need a couple of great cookies to leave for Santa this year? Check out my Muddy Buddies Cookies or my Rocky Road Cookies.
How to Use Reindeer Food
On Christmas Eve, take the bag outside and sprinkle the reindeer food on the lawn before heading to bed.
The sprinkles and sparkly decorating sugar make this such a cute Christmas Eve tradition for kids. We like to think of it as one more way to help Santa and his reindeer find their way to our house!
You can make the bags ahead of time and save them for Christmas Eve, or let the kids help mix and package their own reindeer food that night.
Reindeer Food Poem & Free Printable Labels
Of course, every bag needs a little Christmas magic to go with it! I made a free reindeer food poem and printable labels that you can attach to your finished bags.
Here's the poem:
Sprinkle this food upon the ground,
So Santa's reindeer can be found.
The sparkling treats will guide the way,
And bring them here on Christmas Day.
The download includes a few different options, so you can use whichever style works best for you:
- Editable Canva template - customize the wording, colors, fonts, or size.
- Printable tags - four reindeer food labels per page to cut out and tie onto bags.
- Fold-over labels - two per page to fold over the top of a bag and staple in place (like my Halloween treat bag tags).
For sturdier tags, I recommend printing them on white cardstock, but regular printer paper works too.
All of the free reindeer food printable labels are available in my Printable Collection Library, along with the editable Canva version. It's free to access! Simply click the button below to sign up.
Reindeer Food Recipe FAQs
More Christmas Celebrations
I want to see this activity in action - if you make it, I'd love for you to rate/review it in the comments below. And, make sure to add Lamberts Lately as a preferred source on Google to see more of my content!
Magical Reindeer Food
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked oats
- 2 tablespoon red and green jimmies sprinkles
- 2 tablespoon red and green decorating sugar
Instructions
- Mix the oats, sprinkles, and decorating sugar together in a large bowl. Divide evenly between 2 small bags. Tie each bag with ribbon and add a printable reindeer food label.
Notes
- This recipe makes 2 small bags of reindeer food, about ½ cup per bag.
- You can easily double or triple the recipe for a classroom, Christmas party, or larger group.
- Quick oats or old-fashioned oats both work.
- If sprinkling the mixture outside, skip craft glitter, sequins, and plastic confetti.
- Store prepared bags sealed in a cool, dry place until Christmas Eve.
Leslie Lambert is a lifestyle writer and content creator specializing in home organization, family recipes, and intentional living. With 17 years of experience in blogging and digital storytelling, she helps busy women create calm, purposeful homes they love.
