Reindeer Food [recipe + printable]- Balancing Motherhood (2024)

Reindeer food is so easy to make! And, Rudolph and his friends get pretty hungry on Christmas Eve! All that traveling can make a reindeer hungry. My kids and I started putting out carrots and lettuce on Christmas Eve for the reindeer (in addition to the cookies for Santa), then we upped our reindeer game and started making this reindeer food for Santa’s helpers instead.

This reindeer food recipe is easy and simple, plus we have a free printable at the bottom for you to use!

This reindeer food recipe is simple and you can use what you have. Every year we make it a little different based on what’s in our pantry at the time. It’s one of the reasons I love it so much … 1. you can’t go wrong. 2. You never have to shop for it, and 3. it’s a hit with the kids!

Reindeer Food Ingredients

You can really use anything you want in this “recipe,” – just go to your pantry or baking drawer and pull out some fun, colorful items. We like to use oats and sugar, plus some sprinkles and glitter.

If you don’t want the glitter lingering in your yard, just skip it and double up on the sprinkles! Just remember you’re going to want items that will biodegrade in your yard so you don’t end up with big chunks of reindeer food in your yard after Christmas.

You can make these to give away. Put a scoop of the reindeer food into individual clear bags. You’re going to fold the top over and place a “topper” on it so that you can use these as gifts or just for yourself.

Make a big batch and hand out to friends or neighbors. We love to make extras and give away to our friends so they have something to give the reindeer that stop at their house on Christmas Eve. This is a great gift for the grandkids and nieces and nephews too!

And, I’ve got a sweet printable for you – and it’s free! You can download this and print it out to use on top of your baggies filled with reindeer food. It’s best printed in 4×6.

You can print it on card stock or plain paper from home, or take it to a grocery or drug store to have printed. Just sign up below and it will be sent to your email.

I like to put red buttons (get these from your local craft store) and glue them to the reindeer’s nose on the printable for an added texture.

Here’s the back:

Sprinkle on the lawn at night.

The moon will make it sparkle bright.

As Santa’s reindeer fly and roam.

This will guide them to your home!

I put the ingredients in a printable recipe format so you can print and save for later, but it’s really so simple. Just have fun with it!

You may also like: