Christmas Snowballs for Santa
These no-bake snowballs are a delicious and healthy alternative that can give Santa the energy he needs to finish the big job of delivering all those presents tonight! Bonus: Make them ahead for less stress on Christmas Eve!
Why Traditions Are Important for Kids
You may not believe the impact small traditions and rituals you carry on have on your children. During holidays, birthdays, or even in daily interactions you can use traditions or rituals to connect with your kids in special ways. New studies are showing that traditions (no matter how small) have long lasting benefits for children. 4 specific benefits are identified:
- Predictability: Kids look forward to rituals, like bedtime stories.
- Connection: Whether connecting with one parent, or extended family, rituals and traditions give kids a chance to connect.
- Identity: Traditions give kids a sense of belonging to a family or group.
- Values: Religious or other rituals and traditions give opportunity to teach the values held by the family.
Although it may seem insignificant, a tradition as simple as leaving treats for Santa and his reindeer give kids something to look forward to, and a way to connect. It may seem hard to make cookies on a day when you may have a million other things you have to cook. These no-bake snowballs are a delicious and healthy alternative that can give Santa the energy he needs to finish the big job of delivering all those presents tonight! This simple tradition is easy to start, and fun to continue!
Do you carry this tradition in your house? What do you leave for Santa?
Christmas Snowballs
Ingredients
- 9 each Medjool dates
- 1/3 cup old fashioned oats
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup peanut butter natural
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/3 cup coconut flakes
Instructions
- Place the oats in a food processor, and blend until you get a fine flour-like consistency (it may take a few minutes.) Transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Place the dates (without pits) into the food processor and blend until a sticky paste forms. Add the sticky ball of date paste to the mixing bowl.
- Add cocoa powder, peanut butter, and vanilla to the mixing bowl. Use your hands to combine all the ingredients thoroughly.
- Gently shape the dough into balls, using about two tablespoons of dough per ball.
- Place coconut in a shallow bowl. Roll each ball into the coconut.
- Enjoy! Store leftovers in the fridge or freezer.
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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These look GREAT!! Thanks for another healthy recipe! We’ll be trying these.
Thanks Annett! Merry Christmas!
What a fun idea! Thos snowballs look yummy! We leave our traditional “reindeer food” for all the reindeer on the sidewalk outside. My kids love that tradition. Merry Christmas!
I am SO going to be stealing those snowballs and incorporating them into our Christmas’ from next year on! Thanks for the ideas!
Growing up, one of my favorite memories of Christmas was making cut-out cookies with my mom and decorating them. Now that she is gone and I have kids of my own, I love doing it with them. We leave one for Santa and give the others away. Next year I think we are going to try making ornaments out of dough and letting them dry and decorating them instead. Still fun, but not tempting to eat!
My daughter made Reindeer food in preschool and we sprinkled it on the lawn so Rudolph could find our house. Such a good idea I never thought of (we too always left carrots growing up). I think that will turn into a tradition we do every year.
My mom didn’t like cooking but I always made fudge with my mom every year. I do have such fond memories of it. I love to cook and I hope that when my kids get older I will include them in the kitchen.
I’ve made no bake peanut butter balls with rolled oats and coconut. Using granola sounds like a great idea! I will put this on my to-do list.
The last time I have had these I was just a child myself…Thank you for reminding me about the little things in life that can make a person happy!
Can I replace the rice cereal with oatmeal? My girls don’t like rice cereal. Thanks for the great idea!
Oh yes Giovanna. This type of recipe is very flexible!
How do store these no bake snow balls?
I jut keep them in an air- tight container in the pantry. No longer than 3-4 days though. @Neela
These are SO good. We just made them :). Substituted fluff for the honey and added chocolate protein powder. Highly recommend!
Thanks. We made this on Dec. 23rd with our grandson and they turn out so good. Next time will make with little less honey.
Our grandson loved making them santa