Need a Christmas sensory bin for your kids? Try this easy one today!
We recently had a bit of snow, nothing major just an inch or two but in our neck of the woods that is usual. Rain is a staple but snow is rare! Getting to play in that bit of snow, which miraculously stayed around for a few days before the rain set in, sent the girls into seventh heaven and now they are wishful for more. As a way to bring the snow back I put together this quick and simple sensory bin for them.
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Christmas Sensory Bin: Peppermint Scented Snow Play!
Materials:
- Insta-Snow
- Peppermint Extract
- Snowmen & Other Christmas Items
- Pipe Cleaners
To make the scented snow I used about 1/4 of our container of Insta-Snow (non-toxic) and a drop or two of peppermint extract I had left over from our Candy Cane Playdough project. I then added some mini Christmas tree ornaments, bulbs and a bead garland, as well as two snowman ornaments and jars for scooping. I also made some pipe cleaner Christmas trees that I found over at Play Trains, where you can find her amazing trees and how to easily make them.
If you’ve never tried Insta-Snow (non-toxic) you should totally add it to your list of fun sensory materials! The girls LOVE it and it really does feel like you’re playing with fluffy snow! I even used cold water to give it a little extra snow-like feel.
This is definitely one of our favorite Christmas sensory bins. I put it out and the girls went crazy! My toddler was interested in it for about 30 mins and the older kids (preschoolers) both spent an hour straight playing with this!! It’s totally a kid-approved!
There’s so much fun imaginative play with this sensory box. Plus the kids love the way it smells.
We also added a mirror so the snowman could go ice skating.
Do you get snow where you are?
Here’s more Christmas themed crafts and learning activities:
Salt dough & melted bead ornaments kids can make! A fun way to make ornaments and treasured keepsakes with your kids! Click the image above to make them today!
Our 31 days of kids activities for December post has a free activity calendar full of learning activities, crafts, sensory play and more! All in one easy to use planner that’s perfect for busy families!
Looking for more crafts and activities? Check out our index for 100+ plus kids activities! Find activities by theme, materials, skills, age and much more!
Katie @ Happily Ever Mom says
I love this! I’m definitely going to have to try instasnow. I love that you added the mirror – we just used a mirror today for our own ice skating rink! Great minds think alike 🙂 Thanks for the wonderful inspiration as always!!
Helen @ Peakle Pie says
I can almost smell it from here! LOVELY POST! Visiting via MummyMondays 🙂
Amanda Boyarshinov (@ABoyarshinov) says
Simply delightful!!! I am so glad you stopped by our FB Playful Preschool Share Day and have selected this post to be linked up to our Reindeer Unit Preschool Post today! I hope that it inspires other parents to make a bin with their little ones! http://theeducatorsspinonit.blogspot.com/2013/12/preschool-learning-activities-reindeer.html
Where Imagination Grows says
Thank you for including it! It’s become one of our favorite activities!
Nila says
Lovely idea! I am going to create a bin tomorrow for my classroom.. I can totally visualize them going crazy over it!
Where Imagination Grows says
Hope they enjoy it! We’ve been having a great time all week with it! Thanks for stopping by!
Amy Beam says
I don’t know about using InstaSnow…what is it made of? What about toxicity? Of course the kids will want to eat it~kids love to eat snow. How about this…use real snow! One way to keep it cold is to have a tray of ice beneath the snow container. It works well and you can still use natural peppermint extract! I add a couple of pairs of mittens and a tiny snowman set. Good fun!
Where Imagination Grows says
Insta Snow is non-toxic but like any sensory material I do not recommend letting children put it in their mouths. We’ve used this many times now and none of my kids have tried but I’m am always there to supervise. I’m glad you are able to use real snow! I’d love to use real snow but as you’ll read above we don’t live in climate conducive to snow. 🙂
Eva @ The Multitasking Mummy says
Wow, that insta snow looks great! Would be fun to play with it here in hot and steamy Queensland, Australia!
Where Imagination Grows says
It’s so fun! Definitely fun for some hot weather! 🙂