Christmas baking for kids: Make your own reindeer food

At Santa Academy, our reindeer handler, Rupert Reins, has the perfect recipe for reindeer food. Rupert knows reindeer need to stay full of energy to be able to fly around the world on Christmas Eve. So, he has put together the best food to keep them flying! If you would like to follow along with his recipe, you will need:

• Oats & seeds
• Crunchy rice cereal/granola
• Dried fruit (cranberries or bananas)
• Grated carrot (to help the reindeer see in the dark!)
• Sugar
• Cinnamon.

Our activity packs also include other fun Christmas baking for kids ideas!

You could also use different bird seeds if you like. Then, on Christmas Eve you can help your little ones sprinkle the reindeer food outside. These are great as they are bird and wildlife friendly.

Reindeer kibble mix

For this Christmas baking for kids idea, you’ll need a variety of chocolate treats. Grab yourself some bags of M&Ms, Hershey’s Kisses, Smarties, Shreddies and chocolate drops.

Melt some chocolate and mix in the shreddies. When they are dried again, you can mash them up and add the other chocolates to create a mix.

The great thing with M&Ms is that they release packs of just green and red chocolates. So, you can add those if you want it to look extra festive. And it saves you having to pick out the red and green ones yourself!

You can then use melted chocolate to cover the shreddies. When they are dried again, you can mash them up and add them to the mix. You can add powdered sugar to them if you want a snowy look. They are a great snack to have in a big bowl whilst watching films or reading.

You could also buy little bags to store your reindeer kibble, and you can decorate them however you like. Perhaps you could attach some red and white ribbon, or a gift label.

Dried fruit

For a healthier alternative, use dried fruits! This is a great way to make reindeer food. You can use various dried fruits like apricots, apples, bananas and strawberries. You could even add nuts to make a varied assortment.

Reindeer cookies

One of the best Christmas baking for kids activities is to bake cookies. If you can, find some chocolate in the shape of Christmas characters. Then slightly melt the chocolates on top of the cookies. You could also make these chocolate shapes yourself. Melt chocolate into cookie cutters and pop the chocolate out once they have cooled down!

Festive breakfast ideas

You could put M&Ms in some porridge. Then seeing the M&Ms melt could make your breakfast super festive. Especially if you use the red and green coloured ones!

For another fun breakfast idea, cut your bread/toast into shapes to make a reindeer face. Then use your crusts to shape some antlers. This can be especially fun for kids!

Reindeer fudge

Another reindeer food idea for Christmas baking for kids reindeer fudge. Get pieces of fudge or toffee and cover them in melted chocolate. Then add festive coloured sprinkles. If you use white chocolate, red and green sprinkles will look especially vibrant. A pack of reindeer fudge pieces could make a great gift idea or stocking filler.

Reindeer bark

Melt some chocolate into a baking tray and add various sprinkles, perhaps some white stars. Then break the chocolate bark into various shapes and sizes. Then add in a red smartie for Rudolph’s nose. Use white treats for the eyes and then break up some pretzels into the shape of antlers. You could also wrap these into a cute bag and give them as a gift.

Candy cane nibbles

For a minty snack, smash/snap up some candy canes into smaller pieces and put them in a bag. You could also add these to the other Christmas baking for kids ideas if you like!

Reindeer-mallows

A fun reindeer food snack is to put marshmallows on sticks and dip them in melted chocolate. As they dry, add pretzel antlers and different coloured candies to make facial features.

Cookie cutter biscuits

And last but not least on our list of Christmas baking for kids ideas is Christmas cookies! This is an easy reindeer food idea. Get some reindeer shaped cookie cutters and make your own Christmas cookies! If you want to know Santa’s favourite cookie recipe, we have it  ! Then use icing to decorate them!

By now you should have plenty of Christmas baking for kids ideas. These ideas are also super fun activities to help you bond with your family and make magical memories.

Need ideas for activities?

Finding activities to do with kids can sometimes be a challenge. If you are looking for ideas, we have more at Santa Academy. You can download several activities from our activity packs. We have several to choose from, inspired by our different factions. You can learn how to care for pets and practice PE with Reindeer Recruit. Learn how plastic damages the environment and how different cultures celebrate Christmas with Fairy Fellow. Make slime and candy with Elf Ed! Our app launches November 2022!

Keep up with Santa Academy

You can find new stories every day on the Lacus Herald! Your little one can stay up to date with all their favourite characters, as well as the latest news. At Santa Academy, your little one can join Reindeer Recruit, Fairy Fellow or enrol into Elf Ed! Lacus Island features 70+ characters, 50+ buildings, 19 unique shops and its own TV and radio stations.

Lacus Herald

Many children have missed out on their learning due to the pandemic. We know how crucial it is to help kids catch up. That was one of the reasons for launching our learning resources. Our resources aim to keep kids reading and give families something they can enjoy together.

We know our resources have been a great help to those home-schooling children. So, we are not stopping there! On the Lacus Herald, we will be publishing stories and news updates daily, written by our Author, Jill. Your kids can catch up with their favourite characters and continue their learning in a fun environment. Designed to be enjoyed by the whole family.

Find more fun, festive tips and ideas, such as:

• Easy Christmas crafts for kids
• Christmas printables
• Things to do near you for Christmas
• Christmas activity book ideas
• Christmas art ideas
• Christmas party ideas for kids
• Tips for helping kids to read
• Christmas baking for kids
• Christmas countdown ideas for your family
• Christmas writing ideas
• And many more!