Magical Reindeer Food

//Featuring Jordan from jordanandcoblog.com//

This is a tradition that dates waaay back when I was a little girl. I believe one of my grade school teachers gave us a baggie labeled "Reindeer Food" as our favor at a class Christmas party. I remember excitedly toting this mysterious bag home and explaining the attached directions/poem to my parents. Then on Christmas Eve, out I went to the front lawn with my sister and brother to scatter our bag of oats, in hopes that Santa's reindeer would stop for a snack. I'm pretty sure we made Reindeer Food a few times after that, but it wasn't until I became a teacher in my 20s that I brought the tradition back. I started by giving out baggies of pre-made Reindeer Food with the cute little poem attached to my students and then eventually started making it in class with the kids during the Holidays. It was something that had such a magical impact on the children and I knew I one day wanted to hold on to the idea for my own future family.  In the years between, I made this little craft with cousins, family friends, kids that I babysat, basically anyone who let me....and now I get to do it with my own girls!  What started as a simple baggie of oats has developed quite a bit over the years as the girls have helped add ingredients to the list. I love the ever-evolving ingredient list and hearing the girls' reasoning behind why things like "sprinkles" and "rice krispies" are a necessity. I may eat my words, but I think the concoction we currently have is a winner! For this year, anyways. :)

Oats ("Cause dats what dem reindeers eat." -A)

Nuts (this year it was sliced almonds)

Cereal (cheeries, rice krispies, granola, or whatever is currently on hand usually goes in!)

Sprinkles  ("to make the boring oatmeal taste yummier" -Q)

Brown Sugar (because, sugar. duh)

Large Glitter Flakes ("To make our grass sparkle so the reindeers can see it up from the sky and know there is food down there. It prolly doesn't taste very good, but how else will they know it's there?" -Q)

Pixie Dust (aka extra fine white glitter. We got a vial of said "pixie dust" at a performance of Peter Pan a few years back and Q has saved it and sprinkles a dash into our reindeer food every year. You know, "In case they get tired from all that flying." Think of it as a deer version of a Grande Americano with an extra shot!)

Anything Else in your Pantry (The sky is the limit with this one. Which is of course what makes it so fun!)

xo,