Frozen DIY Play Snow
The most popular activity that we had for Allison’s Disney Frozen Birthday Party was the Do You Want to Build a Snowman DIY Play Snow.  I knew the kids would have fun playing with it, but I didn’t know just how much fun it would be.  My mistake was not putting an adult next to the snow to monitor the fun and make sure the kids didn’t throw snowballs at each other.  Oh well, live and learn.
How to Make Frozen DIY Play Snow
You will need:
- 2 – 16 oz. boxes of Cornstarch
- 1 can of shaving cream
- Silver Glitter (optional)
This is an inexpensive project. Â We found cornstarch on sale for $0.99 a box at Wal Mart and generic brand shaving cream was under $2.00 everywhere we looked. Â One batch of DIY Play Snow filled a gallon-sized plastic ziplock bag to give you a perspective on how much snow you will end up with for a single batch.
Pour both 16 oz. boxes of cornstarch into a large bowl.
Add some shaving cream into the bowl.  How much?  We found that you get a better consistency of DIY Play snow if you work in the shaving cream in small batches.
Here is where your arms will get their workout. Â Using your hands, knead the shaving cream into the cornstarch. Â The process is similar to kneading butter into biscuits or pie dough. Â It’s a messy process in the beginning. Â But the more you work the shaving cream into the cornstarch, the more the DIY Play Snow will start to mold together and not give off so much constarch dust. Â The chemistry of mixing the shaving cream and the cornstarch will make the play snow feel cold which is very cool. Â Add all of the shaving cream into the mixture, Â a bit at a time. Â You’ll know you are finished when the snow is moldable, feels dry to the touch and stops sticking to your hands.
Once the snow was fully mixed, we sprinkled a couple of tablespoons of silver glitter into the finished snow for some extra sparkle.
That’s all there is to it. Â The snow feels cold. Â It is light and fluffy. Â It sticks together so you CAN make a snowman. Â We made it ahead for the Frozen party and stored it in plastic ziplock bags in the freezer. Â We took it out right before the guests arrived so it was really cold and fun to play with at the party.
We used Allison’s water table as our “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” DIY Play Snow party activity station. Â It took four batches of snow to fill it up.
The kids loved the snow. Â This was definitely our most popular party activity at the Frozen Birthday Party. Â There was somebody here playing with the DIY Play Snow at every point through-out the party.
We thought the ground might get a little messy so we were so proud of ourselves that we remembered to put something underneath the Do You Want to Build a Snowman? activity station.
Ha ha ha ha ha!  We didn’t use a big enough table cloth!!!  We should have just  put an adult there to stop the snowball fight that ensued.
Oh well … the kids really had fun with the DIY Play Snow and that is what a birthday party is all about!
Don’t forget to visit our Disney Frozen Party Idea post to see all of the other fun things from our Disney Frozen Party!
Thank you for this recipe! I just made it for my daughter’s birthday party of Frozen and it came out perfect! The kids really enjoyed play with this!! even the adults enjoyed!! 😀
Yay! This one is a real crowd-pleaser!
When you make a snowman with it – how long do they hold up for? Thinking of doing the activity with the residents of s nursing homeÂ
Until you knock it down. The shaving cream makes it a little bit sticky.
Hi.. this bro a great idea.. we have about 30 kids coming for my daughter’s birthday party. If i put the the  in  her water table, about how many bags of snow would I need to make? Would I need to put it in a bigger container for  many  kids?Â
Thank youÂ
Hi! We made two bigs batches of the snow and put it in a small water table (you can see it in the picture above.) We had a bunch of different activities at the party so that not too many kids were at one station at one time. That seemed to work.
thank you so much for the response!
Love love love this idea!! I def want to do this for my daughters birthday party. Do you think if i did it a couple days before it would hold up well enough?
Nm I just read where you made it the night before and kept it in the freezer. So awesome!! Thank you!!
This is a great idea! We are about to try it!Â
Thanks so much for this activity, I made this for my daughter’s Frozen Themed birthday party a few years ago, and it was a huge hit! I did it again for her this week, and it kept her busy for hours!Â
Yay! We are so glad to hear this! It is a definite crowd-pleaser with kids! (And frankly with the adults too at our Frozen party.)
Hi
I am trying to make fake snow for a school I work at but we don’t want it to stick on the carpet and enough for them to actually play in It because it’s a play they are doing .
Is this non stick meaning
It won’t make a mess
No, it will make a mess.
we are having our childs birthday party inside. if we pack it into a goodie bag will it be just as good?
Hi Haylee – sure! That will work.
Just made this for my son’s Frozen party. Your recipe worked perfectly, but I did have to knead for quite a while to get to the snow-like consistency. Once I did, it just rubbed right off my hands… and now they smell great! I found shaving cream at Dollar Tree – 12 oz can for $1. My cornstarch was a little over a dollar, but not too much, making this a reasonably priced activity. Can’t wait for the kids to try it. I sat here for a full 15 minutes once it was made playing with it, so I know they’re going to love it! Thank you for sharing your ideas!
Yay!! We are so happy it worked out well.
I made mine with baking soda and hair conditioner. It worked great except I have a lot left over. What could I do with it all? does it “keep”?
Nice idea. I was just wondering how to make snow for my kids party for quite some time now. Thanks 🙂
Just made this but it doesn’t seem quite right. Should there be any residue left on our hands? I can make a big snow ball but smaller ones seem to break in half. Any thoughts on what I may have done wrong?
Keep mixing. It doesn’t sound like you’ve got the shaving cream fully mixed with all of the cornstarch. There is a little residue but it should brush right off.
There’s another great recipe that involves baby oil and flour. I made this one tonight, and think I prefer the baby oil version. It leaves absolutely no residue behind, plus it leaves your hands silky smooth 🙂 but this came out great also!
Hi Erin! Glad that you like our snow recipe! We are going to have to try the one with baby oil!
Super fun! The kids loved it! It doesn’t stay moldable for long. Lasted the whole party, but the next morning it was kind of just nice smelling corn starch. Maybe if i put it back in the bags.
I’m so glad the kids at your party had fun with the snow!! We made the snow for our party early and then packed it in big ziplock bags and stored them in the freezer. It was fine. I think you need the cold to keep the chemical reaction of the cornstarch with the shaving cream intact.
Hello, I was wondering how long this would last. I was thinking of making it, putting some in a ziplock baggie and mailing it to someone. It’s more of a joke to this person, they live in Florida and I live in Ohio. I want to send then some snow. Do you think it would survive the journey?
Hmmm… I’m not sure. We kept ours in the freezer but that was just so that it would be really cold the day of the party. I’m guessing it would last a little while if you packed it up very tightly in an air tight container of some kind.
How was the clean up? Was it hard to get off the cement? Did it land on any grass or plants and how did that clean up? I’m willing to have a mess if it means fun, just like to know what I’m in for
Hi Rebecca! The snow was mostly on the patio. It took awhile but it swept right up. We didn’t want to use water because we weren’t sure how the plants would handle that much cornstarch. There was some on the grass and we just left it and the sprinklers washed it off the next day. The grass was fine after that.
Is the shaving cream toxic at all? I have a two year old
Dear KN, that’s a good question and one we thought about when we were planning this activity. We couldn’t find anything on the can that indicated one way or another if it was safe for kids but we did buy the shaving cream for sensitive skin. We also had someone stationed by our Play Snow to make sure the kids didn’t put it in their mouths because we didn’t think it would be good to eat a mouthful of cornstarch either. We had 12 kids at our party, they all played with the snow and everyone was fine but that being sad, if you are at all concerned, you shouldn’t do it.
Does anyone know if you could mix this with a KitchenAid mixer?
That’s a really interesting idea. The cornstarch is very powdery but I think a dish towel over the top of the mixer would help cut down on the dust. If you try it and it works, let us know!
Hello, how many gallons did you use?
Hi V – we made three batches of the Play Snow and that mostly filled up one side of the kid’s water table. There were 12 kids at the party and we had enough snow for everyone to play with it.
Hi There! This looks great! I was wondering how far in advance I could make the “snow” for a party? How long does it last?
Hi Kimberly, we made ours about a week ahead and then stored it in the freezer. It was fine. I’m sure it could have been in there much longer. At our party the kids went a little crazy and had a snowball fight so we didn’t have any left over so I’m not sure how long it would have lasted once they had played with it.
I’m glad it turned out Andrea! The Play Snow was definitely the kid’s favorite activity at our Frozen Party. One tip – post an adult at the snow station to stop the inevitable snow ball fight before it starts! It feels so much like real snow the kids can’t help themselves from wanting to throw it at each other.
Thank you for this recipe! I just made my first batch for my daughter’s party and it came out just like you said!!!! Living in the south without any snow the kids will LOVE this! Thanks!!!!!
Hi Stephanie! No this will be perfect for you. The snow is a powder (constarch) so it won’t melt. The cold feel comes from mixing the cornstarch with the shaving cream. It feel’s cold to the touch and becomes moldable but your fingers are dry when you play with it. It’s a weird feeling and SUPER fun!
Hi there,
I’m wondering if this would melt in the heat? We live on an island and would love to do this activity, but am afraid it would end up being mush.
thank you!
Stephanie