Should I sell reindeer food at my upcoming Xmas Market.

[LauraSaidIShouldBeNicer]

I have a Xmas Market coming up on the 20th Nov selling homemade pet things and natural treats (I have all official stuff, insurances and bits sorted) am wondering should I make some reindeer food bags up? Would they look out of place with the dog and cat treats?

My first market is in a specialist school.

Absolutely.

Do you mean raw oats and glitter in a plastic cone?

It might sell well as pocket money’ item, but reindeer food is gimmicky, never mind that is bad for animals and children if ingested. Real animal lovers won’t buy it, and it’s bad for the environment.

How about hot chocolate packs instead, or festive seed balls?

Reindeer Food or Magic Reindeer Food

I had a tube of edible glitter stars ( Lakeland ) years ago , (don't use craft glitter)
I mixed some sugar with food colouring , let it dry .
Added porridge oats then the glitter
Very pretty .
Put in gift bags for my DC to sprinkle on the lawn for the reindeer on Christmas Eve .
(The birds will eat it , I thought)

DS threw it in a clump where it sat like vomit til I sneaked out to tidy it .

When we went to a Visitor Centre they sold little paper cones of Reindeer Food (it looked like horse food ) which was a lovely idea .

I wasn't going to put glitter in it definitely not. I was going to do bird seeds or muesli mix with sugar sprinkles.

@LauraSaidIShouldBeNicer

I wasn't going to put glitter in it definitely not. I was going to do bird seeds or muesli mix with sugar sprinkles.

Sounds good :)

Should I put it in a clear bag with a sticker on or a brown paper envelope with a sticker?

Ha! Never mind the reindeer .................. what are your Cat Treats ?

(Asking for a couple of friends , obvs . Fur coated whiskery friends)

Is this food made out of reindeer?

Being serious, what are you supposed to do with the reindeer food? Is it just pretend food or do you give it to another animal?

I’d use bird seed in a paper bag /envelope - eg kraft paper stamped with Christmassy designs and tied with twine. Then I’d sell it as plastic-free reindeer food (so making it clear that there’s no glitter inside). Kids still have the fun of throwing it on the lawn on Xmas eve but no harm to wildlife.
Not sure how well it would sell though as easy to make at home. I guess an attractive label on the bag or design on the envelope would help

It's bird seeds that you sprinkle out for the reindeers "to eat" while parked up santa is busy delivering.

For the cats I have some grain free High meat content little packets in different flavours and dreamies pick n mix bags.

I would do a paper bag and something edible for birds

@shylatte

Being serious, what are you supposed to do with the reindeer food? Is it just pretend food or do you give it to another animal?

@shylatte chuck it in the garden and hope it doesn’t rain…

Thinking maybe suet pellets the Berry type with sugar sprinkles they would be more than likely all gone by morning 🤔

Some birds have problems digesting sugar. What ever happened to leaving out a carrot?

If you're using a muesli mix, please make sure you don't use raisins of any kind, as they are highly toxic to dogs and could pose a risk if sprinkled on the ground (some dogs are more susceptible than others and even one or two raisins could be very dangerous to them). Same with macadamia nuts.

@thelegohooverer

Some birds have problems digesting sugar. What ever happened to leaving out a carrot?

The PTA et al can’t sting you the same for a carrot as they can for 5g of bird seed.

Feeding sugar to birds doesn't seem right to me, I'm no expert but I thought high fat (eg suet) is what is recommended, can't see sugar sustaining or helping them build up to stay warm.

Berry or mixed suet mix sounds more environmental friendly and a bit different than the standard bird seed glitter combo.

a)Leave out the sugar sprinkles
b)be prepared for rats to eat it, not the pretty birds you imagine

Perfect found mixed suet pellets in "Christmasy" colours. Birds will hopefully eat them come morning.

I have fond memories of DD chucking a handful of magic reindeer food at the man delivering pizza to next door.

@LauraSaidIShouldBeNicer

Perfect found mixed suet pellets in "Christmasy" colours. Birds will hopefully eat them come morning.

Oh that’s absolutely perfect.

Some birds have problems digesting sugar
I used literaly a tablespoonful and some food colouring .
And it never got eaten , it just sat there like a solid lump !

I did it once about 16 years ago....never bothered again.

You do realise now Laura I have to buy the cats a Dreamies stocking ..

I hate to be a party pooper but I know of a garden centre which has actual, live reindeer for quite some time pre-Christmas. My first thought on reading your title was that you were going to sell food for children to feed actual reindeer which they went to see.

So in case there's anyone else as middleclass out of touch with modern Christmas traditions as I am, maybe you should put a warning on the bag not to feed to actual reindeer; but that would spoil a few Christmas fantasies.