Enjoying Outside, Inside – Homemade Faux Snow
I am not a fan of getting cold and wet to play in the snow, but if I can do it inside my house while my feet are warm and dry, I’d love it. Below are several easy to make at home recipes for your own indoor fake snow; in reasonable amounts rather than the midwestern snow measurements. Most of the ingredients are probably things you already have at home or could easily get from your nearest grocery store. I most definitely wouldn’t call any of the final products edible but none of the ingredients are things that you haven’t heard of.
The first recipe I found uses regular baking soda and corn starch and a smidge of water. Use equal amounts of baking soda and corn starch and using your fingers blend them together. The mixing can get mess,y so doing it in a larger container isn’t a bad idea. Once the dry ingredients are blended add just a tiny amount of water until the mixture is a snow-like consistency. Remember to go slow because if you add too much water your mixture will turn into a runny glop that will need lots more baking soda and corn starch to get it more snow like. Once you have it where it’s fun to play with, you’re done and ready to play! The corn starch will cause this mixture to be a little more off-white than bright white but I’m refraining from making any comments about yellow snow…
The next recipe isn’t really a recipe but more of a technique. Fill a plastic container with a lid or ziplock bag with shaving foam and freeze for a few days. The longer it’s in the freezer the more snow-like it will be. This doesn’t really hold its shape so you can’t really mold it and it does melt quickly but because it’s cold it’s pretty fun and satisfying to play with. If you can find unscented shaving foam it’ll be even more snow like.
Another recipe I found uses plain baking soda and either white hair conditioner or white body lotion. Simply mix about three cups of baking soda and about a half a cup of conditioner or lotion with your hands in a large bowl. If it’s too wet you can add additional baking soda and if it’s too dry add a bit more lotion or conditioner, whichever you’re using. Once it’s all combined it should turn out light and fluffy but also stick together like a snow ball. Invite your kiddos to make snow scenes with small toys or make and then re-make snow families using pebbles, sticks and whatever else they’d like to add.
This final recipe seems to be the most life-like and uses baking soda and shaving foam. Using a large bowl or even a plastic tub add roughly equal parts of shaving foam and baking soda and mix thoroughly with your hands. If the mixture is too dry add a bit more shaving foam and if it’s a bit more like melted snow, add some more baking soda until you like the texture. This mixture actually feels quite cold once it’s all blended and turns out light and fluffy but also holds its shape like real snow. This concoction was the clear winner for the best artificially made snow ball. Side note, you can actually use this mixture to clean stains from countertops, bathtubs and other surfaces so hang on to it once you’re done playing in the snow!
You can also purchase “fake snow” which uses sodium polyacrylate (which is the absorbent material found in diapers, potty pads and some medical bandages) and water. Although this is super fluffy and fun to play with, it does not hold its shape at all and what’s the fun of snow if you can’t make a snowball?
You can skip the boots, mittens and cold nose and while you can’t ski or sled in any of these recipes, you also don’t have to get all bundled up to play in the snow!
-Kristie Ehrhardt
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