Reindeer Food

Since Santa's reindeer work so hard on Christmas Eve, we think it's really important they get a treat:). So, we make a fun little treat to spread on the lawn Christmas Eve.

For the project you will need:

oats

*glitter(can be toxic to outdoor animals) or

colored sugar

closeable sandwich bags

I pour the oats into a larger bowl so that the children can scoop them out easily. Each child gets a sandwich sized bag. I have the children scoop some oats out of the bowl and pour them into the bag. Then I let them add glitter, or colored sugar. I also have a little poem that I give the children to put in the bag so that when Mom & Dad get the "bag of stuff" they know what it is.

Here is what the poem says:

On Christmas Eve, sprinkle Magic Reindeer Glitter on your lawn.

Rudolph will smell the oats and the magic glitter will guide him to your rooftop.

Note: Got a comment today that I thought I should share. A reader noted that glitter is harmful to birds and squirrels. The reindeer food will be just as colorful with some colored sugar. Thanks. Of course, the poem I show will have to be changed. I'll probably just write Magic Reindeer Food.

Here's the poem I wrote to sent home with the reindeer food made with sugar crystals:

December 18, 2008: Today we made the reindeer food in class. I used the sugar crystals and I will say, we didn't have quite as much mess either. The colored sugar doesn't stick to the surface as much as glitter does. I had brought 5 different colors, and in teacher way I told the children then could pick a color and add it to the oats. In kid way they wanted to know if they could use all the colors--so why not. So this year our reindeer food was oats, and red, pink, blue, green, and yellow sugar crystals.