How to make fake snow – 3 ways to try
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How to make fake snow – 3 ways to try

Discover three simple methods for how to make fake snow at home – whatever the season – using some store cupboard staples.

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Zoe Williams

Published: September 30, 2024 at 9:00 am

Get ready to learn one of our absolute favourite DIY projects – homemade snow that you can make all year round. Making your own fake snow at home is surprisingly simple. It makes a a great sensory play activity with children too.

We'll show you three ways to make fake snow in this guide. Each one only needs a couple of every day ingredients that you can already find around the house and the whole process will only take a few minutes.

Fake snow is an inexpensive way to decorate your home at Christmas. Use it to dress up mantlepieces, windowsills and photo frames for a homemade winter wonderland.

All of the methods in this tutorial are quick and easy. While the finished snow varies slightly, whichever method you choose will create fluffy, realistic-looking fake snow in a flash. It's so life-like that you can even crunch into snowballs.

Homemade snow is fun for all ages, but it also makes a great sensory play activity for children. If you are crafting with really young children, you might prefer the third method in this tutorial (baking soda, cornflour and water) as all of the ingredients are edible if they end up trying to eat it.

3 ways to make fake snow: Cornflour and baking soda method (top left), Conditioner and baking soda method (front centre), Shaving cream and baking soda method (right).
confetti baubles christmas craft for toddlers

Get your kids crafting early!

For more mini maker ideas, see our round-up of craft ideas for toddlers.

What can I use to make fake snow?

We'll show you 3 different methods in this guide.

  1. Shaving cream and baking soda (also known as bicarbonate of soda)
  2. Baking soda and hair conditioner
  3. Baking soda, cornflour and water

Read on for our step by step guide to each of these techniques. The end results aren't hugely different from one to the next, it just depends on what you have to hand at home.

Bicarbonate of soda

Also know as baking soda this is miracle stuff and gives your snow a bright white finish. We've used a 200g pot in these methods, which will make a small bowl (or a few handfuls) of fake snow.

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Shaving foam

The beauty of the shaving foam method is you may well already have some in your bathroom cupboard.

As the shaving foam we used was scented, so was the final snow we made – although this was tried and tested with my two children and they loved the smell. You can get unscented versions too if you prefer, but just make sure you use shaving foam, not gel.

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Cornflour

If you're crafting with younger children and want to use completely edible ingredients, try our cornflour method. We've used a 500g pack, but as with all these fake snow recipes, the more you use, the more snow you'll make.

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Hair conditioner

You can use any hair conditioner to make fake snow (just make sure it's colour-free) – and the plus side is, your finished snow will smell great. This method gives you a lovely soft, crumbly snow that holds it's shape well.

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How to make fake snow with 2 ingredients

We'll now show you three different ways to make fake snow that each only require 2 ingredients.

If you love the sound of this DIY but don't have any of the ingredients in your cupboards, why not try some pre-made fake snow? Just add water to create your own snow at home.

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How to make fake snow with baking soda and shaving cream

Step 1

Pour the bicarbonate of soda (also known as baking soda) into a mixing bowl.

Pour some bicarbonate of soda into a bowl

Step 2

Measure out a small amount of shaving foam into a bowl. You won’t need much – around 3 tablespoons-worth.

Add shaving foam

Step 3

Now for the fun bit! Use your hands to mix a small amount of shaving cream into the bicarb. Just start with a small amount and work it in – it’s easy to use too much by accident. If you start with a small amount, you can add more if you need it.

Mix the shaving cream into the bicarbonate of soda

Step 4

After about 30 seconds of mixing, your DIY fake snow will start to become a powdery, snow-like texture.  You should find that it holds it’s shape in a snow ball when you squeeze it – so it’s perfect for snowball fights all year round.

How to make fake snow with 2 ingredients

How to make fake snow with conditioner and baking soda

Step 1

Pour 200g of baking soda into a bowl.

How to make fake snow with 2 ingredients step 1 baking starch

Step 2

Pour some hair conditioner into the baking soda. Start by adding just a couple of tablespoons-worth – you can always add more later.

Pour around 3 tablespoons of hair conditioner into the bowl

Step 3

Stir the 2 ingredients together with a spoon.

Stir your fake snow with a spoon

Step 4

Finish mixing the fake snow with your hands. It will start to form a fluffy texture. If it feels too runny, add a bit more baking soda. If it feels too dry, add a little more conditioner. This was actually our favourite method of the three in this tutorial, as it smells delicious and felt lovely when we played with it with our hands. It also made the best snowballs of the 3 – they held their shape really well.

Your fake snow will start to form a fluffy texture.

How to make fake snow with baking soda and cornflour

Step 1

Pour 200g of baking soda into a bowl.

Pour 200g of cornflour into a bowl

 

Step 2

Add 200g of cornflour and mix the two together.

How to make fake snow with baking soda and cornstarch step 2

Step 3

Pour a little water into the bowl and mix it with a spoon or your hands. Not too much at this stage. The aim is to mix in a little at a time until you get the right consistency. We added around 2 tablespoons here but didn't need quite that much.

How to make fake snow with baking soda and cornstarch step 3

Step 4

Don't worry if your mixture sticks at first – this is quite normal when cornflour and water mix. If you need to add a little more water to break it up, sprinkle some extra in. If it's too runny, add some more baking soda and cornflour.

How to make fake snow with baking soda and cornstarch step 6

Step 5

Keep mixing your fake snow until it turns into a crumbly, fluffy snow-like texture. This is a good method to use with small children as all the ingredients are edible. They'll love mixing the water in with their hands.

The downsides are, it will have a slightly cream finish because of the cornflour, and we found it didn't hold it's shape for snowballs or snowmen in quite the same way as the first two methods.

How to make fake snow

Fake snow for fun festivities

Whether you're using it for decoration or as a way to entertain the little ones, these fake snow recipes are simple to make and kids will love getting their hands stuck in with the making.

Much like real snow, you should make sure your kids don't try to eat it – although they'll probably learn that for themselves pretty quickly once they get a taste of shaving foam!

Your next store cupboard craft

For more fun craft recipes to make with small children, you should definitely try our how to make salt dough tutorial.

Read more

Zoe Williams

Launch Editor, Gathered.how

Zoe launched Gathered.how as editor in 2019. A keen crafter, quilter and sewist, she has worked with the UK’s best-selling craft magazines – from Today’s Quilter to Love Patchwork & Quilting, Simply Sewing and The World of Cross Stitching. With over a decade of craft publishing experience under her belt, she loves crafting with her kids and curling up on the sofa with a spot of hand patchwork. Zoe has previously written for radiotimes.com, Simply Knitting and The World of Cross Stitching and was previously Deputy Editor of Papercraft inspirations magazine. She has guest-lectured at Bath Spa University. She’s a keen quilter with 5 projects in progress at any one time and another 12 or so planned. Specialist skills include hand modelling for YouTube craft tutorials and fabric foraging (she has an inbuilt radar for local haberdasheries and community craft gatherings).
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