31 Days | Reindeer Food

Reindeer Food has become a fun little tradition for our family. And for the last two years, it is a tradition that we have shared with Taft's class.

I first saw the idea of reindeer food from my husband's SIL, Teresa. She has always been very creative with her children and I have copied a few things from her. (Like Taft having his own tree in his room.) My niece and newphew would leave out reindeer food on Christmas Eve. I have also heard about people leaving out grain or carrots. But then a wonderful thing happened. Pinterest. And I found these.

I pretty much followed her recipe and use her free printables. One thing I do different is leave out the glitter. Glitter is pretty and sprakles but it is terrible for the birds and small animals that may eat your food before the reindeer get to it. I also included dried split peas. They have a nice green color.

Here's the ones that we have done.

I also used a photo of Taft as the gift tag. I loved doing thee for his gifts when he was very little. You may not know the children's names in your child's class, but you recognize them in a photo. You can read how I did that here.

Do you leave out goodies for the reindeer or elves?

This is part of a 31 day series.  Check out the other posts here.  And check out the other bloggers participating in this challenge here.

Christmas Eve

Today we decided to just stay in.  Taft and I worked on the playroom a little and tried to make room for all the new toys that we knew were on their way from the north pole.  So as the afternoon rolled in, we decided to let Taft start opening gifts from grandparents.That is beginning to be a tradition for us. 
Gran got him a train table for his GeoTrax that also came with another train and more track.  I love that the table is in 3 pieces.  We can use it for so many things including playing with blocks. (We are waiting to see if Santa brings those.)

Mawmaw and Pawpaw got him a grill.  Taft is a big fan of cooking in general and loves to watch Shane on the grill.  This one is as close to ours as you can get and even has a rotisserie attachment.  It makes noise and sounds like Taft is cooking away.  I can see that he is going to cook me a alot of hot dogs.

Another tradition is to get some new ornaments for Christmas.  Here are the ones that Taft got this year.
A big giraffe.  This one is special since he went to the zoo for the first time on his birthday.  He also got to feed the giraffes.

A circus tent.  We also went to the circus for the first time this year.  Instead of a picture, I put his ticket in the little slot.

A circle cut from his first live tree.  I got his idea off Pinterest and knew we had to do it.  I added a ribbon and a little tag with the year. 

A recordable wish ornament.  Gran sent Taft this ornament and it is special since this is the first year that Taft really made a list for Santa and it is great to record a little memory of that.

And we got a new family ornament from Gran.  A silver star.

And Taft made us a new ornament this year too.  He made a bell at school.  It is my favorite this year.

After opening a few gifts, we went to Central Park for the Festival of Lights.  Different businesses and clubs in town donate a light display to go around the lake.  Taft really liked it since you get to walk and see the lights up close. 

Because he is 3.

And after coming home and having dinner, we went outside to leave Reindeer Food for Santa's reindeer to have a little snack while he is putting out Taft's gifts.

And finally, before bed, Taft made some "circle" cookies with sprinkles for Santa.



{Pinterest Inspired}: Reindeer Food

Reindeer Food is not an original idea and I am not sure that it can be traced to the first person that made it.  I have seen many versions on Pinterest this year and knew that I wanted to make it for Taft's friends. Some online instructions tell you to use glitter.  Please don't.  Glitter can cause health problems and death when eaten by birds and reindeer.  The sugar sparkles just enough.
Here is what I used:
Split Peas (in a bag with the dried beans).  They are the top and bottom layers in that pretty green color.
Quick Oats
Christmas Sugar (I got them in an 8 oz bottle at Michael's and picked up the ones that are clear, green, and red mixed).  They are the middle layer.
Pretzel Bags
Ribbon
Photo gift tags (I altered a photo of Taft with Santa in Picnik.  I then printed it on a 4x6 collage at Wal*Mart for 9 cents a sheet.)
Reindeer Food instruction tag (I used these free printable)

I only filled the Pretzel Bags about half full and cut off the extra.  I decided to layer the different foods because I love the way it looks.  You can mix everything together and package it that way to be an even faster gift. 

Taft was very excited about taking it in to his friends!