How to Make Fake Snow – Sensory Play for Kids

Making fake snow is a fun way to enjoy the winter season without having to bundle up and go outside. Explore this simple two ingredient fake snow recipe that is perfect for hours of sensory play.

With just a little bit of preparation, you can have your very own indoor winter wonderland with a snowman or snow fort!

• DIY Fake Snow With Shaving Cream
• Fake Snow Recipe With Conditioner
• Fake Snow With Lotion
• Homemade Fake Snow With Cornflour
• How to Play with Fake Snow
• How to Store Fake Snow
• Benefits of Sensory Play

DIY Fake Snow Recipes

Making fake snow is super easy and such an enjoyable indoor activity for kids that your kids would want to make it again and again.

Related: Also Make Kinetic Snow at Home for a tactile experience like no other!

With just two ingredients, which are readily available in your home, you can make your very own snow in a matter of minutes. No need to wait for winters to come and oblige you with fresh snow.

Below we are sharing four hand tried recipes to make fake snow at home. 

Choose the one that sounds more fun or one whose ingredients are readily available at home. 

DIY Fake Snow With Shaving Cream

What You’ll Need:

– Shaving cream

– Large bowl

– Baking soda

How To Make Fake Snow With Shaving Cream:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the shaving cream and baking soda until well combined.

2. Add more shaving cream if your fake snow feels too crumbly and dry. In case it sticks on your hands, you will need to add more baking soda until the mixture resembles the consistency of real snow.

You can also add environmentally friendly glitter while you make fake snow to give it a nice shimmery effect. 

What we love about this recipe of fake snow is how it feels cold, thanks to shaving cream, just like the real snow giving a feel that the cold weather has finally arrived.

Quick Tip: Add a few Winter Picture Books for Kids to this fun winter-inspired activity.

Make Pretend Snow With Hair Conditioner

This recipe for fake snow uses white hair conditioner instead of shaving cream.

Here is what you will need to make fake snow:

– White hair conditioner

– Baking Soda

– Large mixing bowl

How to Make Fake Pretend Snow With Conditioner:

1. In a large mixing bowl, add nearly 2 cups of baking soda.

2. Mix a cup of white hair conditioner to the baking soda and mix well until well combined.

Depending upon the consistency, you might need to add more hair conditioner or baking soda to your pretend snow to make it just like actual snow.

Quick Tip: Club it with Fun Winter Would You Rather Questions for Kids!

Make Fake Snow With Body Lotion

Here is another version to make fake snow at home that uses white body lotion. It is essentially the same as the fake snow recipe using hair conditioner, except in this fake snow; you substitute hair conditioner with white body lotion.

We found that this recipe makes softer fake snow and smells nicer too!

Related: Like this cool activity? Now try Making Ice Cream In a Bag! It is super easy, fun and takes under 20 minutes to make.

Make Fake Snow With Cornflour

Another quick and easy way to make fake snow is with cornflour. Just like the above fake snow recipes, this recipe makes excellent, super soft artificial snow that kids love playing with.

Ingredients To Make Fake Snow:

2 cups Cornflour

1 cup White Hair Conditioner

Mixing Bowl

How to Make Fake Snow With Cornflour:

1. Add 2 cups of cornflour into the mixing bowl.

2. Stir in 1 cup white hair conditioner into the cornflour and stir the mixture until well combined.

Just like in the above recipes, you might need to use judgment and add in more cornstarch or hair conditioner to get that perfect snow consistency.

Related: Have you tried making Homemade Moon Sand? It is a great addition for space themed study and a wonderful sensory tool. Give it a try!

How To Play With Fake Snow

Now that you know how to make fake snow, it’s time to learn how to play with it. Below are a few ideas to get you started:

• Make snowmen and snowwomen: Nothing can beat the joy of making snowmen indoors on a warm summer day with fake snow.

• Make a snow fort: How about making a large batch of fresh fake snow and building snow castles and fort with it? Use a plastic cup to make the tallest castle possible. In fact, have a competition to see who can make the tallest castle using instant snow.

We bet your budding engineer will love this activity!

Related: Got a construction crazy kid at home? Challenge her to build these Coin Towers! Fun guaranteed!

• Make Winter Sensory Bin: What could be more fun than making a winter sensory bin in summers? Make sure to invite your kiddo’s arctic animals to play.

Related: Check out more Winter Activities for Kids to keep them engaged and learning.

• Make snow shapes using cookie cutters.

• Hide small felt snowflakes or any other loose parts and invite your kids to find them all and count them. This is a fun toddler activity to keep them mindfully busy.

This homemade snow is just as soft and fun as real snow. Perfect for winter sensory bin or just another sensory activity, this artificial snow is a perfect addition to your child’s winter activities.

Quick Tip: Try this Paper Bag Snowflake to welcome winters!

How To Store Fake Snow

This play snow becomes dry if left open, so you would need to store it in an airtight container or a zip lock bag when not in use. You can store this fake snow for up to five days.

In case it gets dry, you can refresh it by adding a little cold water or shaving foam/conditioner.

Benefits of Sensory Play

The benefits of sensory play are vast. It can help improve cognitive function, focus, communication skills, and more. Below are just a few of the ways that sensory play can benefit kids:

– Sensory play aids motor skills by encouraging kids to use their hands in new ways. The tactile play opportunities that fake snow provides to kids, helps them understand and learn about pressure, temperature and much more.

– Sensory play can improve cognitive function by helping kids learn new information and solve problems.

– It can help kids focus and stay on task by providing them with a stimulating and engaging activity.

– Sensory play also aids scientific mindset by encouraging kids to think, hypothesize, experiment and analyse. All these are cornerstones of building STEM acumen.

– Sensory play encourages discovery as it is mostly self-directed and independent in nature.

– Sensory play can promote communication skills by giving kids a way to express themselves without words.

– Playing with fake snow offers a great opportunity to get creative. Children can indulge in make-believe pretend play and give form and shape to their ideas while exploring this form of sensory play.

Related: Check our Sensory Development Activities for Preschool to boost learning.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re looking for a way to keep your kids entertained on a snow day or you’re just looking for a new activity to try, making fake snow is a great option. 

Not only is it fun, but it’s also beneficial for your child’s development. So what are you waiting for? Give it a try today!

We hope you enjoyed this tutorial on how to make fake snow for sensory play. If you try it out, be sure to let us know how it went in the comments below.

And if you’re looking for more ways to keep your kids entertained, be sure to check out our other blog posts. Thanks for reading!

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