Make Christmas Eve extra magical with this DIY Magic Reindeer Food recipe! It’s a simple, sparkly tradition that kids adore — and it only takes a few minutes to make.

Our version is wildlife-friendly, meaning it’s safe to sprinkle outdoors for Santa’s reindeer to “snack on” before delivering presents.

Since the boys have been small we have always made Christmas Eve special. MadDad always takes Christmas Eve off and we spend the day together preparing for Christmas Day and then have a get together with our best friends and their kids before sprinkling our magic reindeer food on our drive before the boys do off to bed and hopefully to sleep!

Since we live in the sticks, we try and make sure that our reindeer food is animal safe, by using edible glitter and dyed sugar, but you can use regular glitter, oh and you never need buy reindeer food again as it is so simple to make.

How to make DIY Magic Reindeer Food

Ingredients

🦌 Ingredients for Magic Reindeer Food
You only need a few simple ingredients — most are already in your cupboard!
1 cup rolled oats (the reindeer’s favourite!)
2 tbsp birdseed or sunflower seeds
1 tsp coloured sugar or edible glitter (biodegradable only)
Optional: a pinch of cinnamon for a festive scent
Cellophane bags
One of our fabulous printable labels designed by The Purple Pumpkin Blog exclusively for Mum in the Mad House
Stapler or double sided tape

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🪄 How to Make Your Magic Reindeer Food

Stir your ingredients in a large bowl — little hands love this step.
Spoon the mix into small baggies or jars.
Add a cute label or printable tag (you can design your own or use one of our free Christmas printables).
On Christmas Eve, head outside and sprinkle the food on your lawn or doorstep to help guide Santa’s reindeer to your home.

How to colour sugar

To colour your own sugar is really simple and fun to do, you just put some cane sugar in a bag and add a 5 drops of liquid food colouring to 1/3 cup of sugar and smush in the bag. Alternately for a really vivid colour add a few drops of gel food colour to a 5 drops drops of vodka and then smoosh it around in the bag.

To dry the sugar lay it on a thin layer on a baking tray and allow to dry for 24 hours at room temperature or pop in your oven at its lowest temperature for 5 minutes.

If you dont want to go to the trouble of colouring your own sugar, you can buy it pre coloured in the shops or you could just add a selection of cake sprinkles to the oats to jazz it up a bit

We place our Reindeer Food in clear cellophane bags as we want to be able to see all that lovely glitter and sprinkles and double fold the end down before adding a folded label and stapling closed.

Free printable Magic Reindeer food labels

I have an update on last years free printable magic reindeer food labels. These fabulous labels are been designed exclusively for readers of Mum in the Mad House by The Purple Pumpkin Blog and designed to be printed on to small photo paper (4 by 6, but you can also download them and print them off in multiples on larger paper).

Magic Reindeer Food 2015 - Green Reindeer

Magic Reindeer Food 2015 - Green Snowflakes

Magic Reindeer Food 2015 - Red Snowflakes

Magic Reindeer Food 2015 - Green Stripes

To save, right click on the image and then click save as..

🎁 Make It Special

Turn this into a family craft activity!

Decorate your baggies or jars with ribbons, stickers, or washi tape.
Use the printable “Reindeer Food Poem” to add a magical touch.
Include them as small gifts in homemade Christmas hampers for friends or schoolmates.

If you’re feeling extra festive, pair it with our Robin Thumbprint Mugs or Tissue Confetti DIY Photo Frames for a complete homemade gift set.

💚 Wildlife-Safe Version

It’s really important not to use traditional glitter, as it can harm birds and small animals. Stick to biodegradable glitter, edible sprinkles, or coloured sugar for a safe sparkle.

This version keeps the magic alive while protecting the environment — a win-win for Santa and the planet!