Want frosted, snowy tree branches without buying a spray can of flocking? This old-fashioned Christmas Snow gives you that soft, freshly-dusted look with liquid starch, soap flakes, and just enough water to whip it into a thick, brushable foam.
CAUTION: Do not let pets lick this, tell young children not to handle it, as they may end up with soap in their eyes.
It’s inexpensive, easy to mix in a few minutes, and best for adding snow to the tops and tips of branches where you want a little winter magic without coating the whole tree. Keep it decorative only, and keep curious pets and little hands out of it.
If you use essential oil for scent, use extra caution around animals, since concentrated oils can be a problem for pets according to ASPCA guidance on essential oils around pets.
What You’ll Need
This mixture relies on a simple balance. The liquid starch helps bind the flakes, the soap builds that fluffy white body, and the water loosens the mix just enough to whip into a spreadable texture. A couple drops of blue food coloring shift it from plain white to a more icy, snow-like finish.
- 1/3 cup liquid starch
- 1 cup soap flakes, shaved from an Ivory bar, or detergent granules
- 1 to 2 tablespoons water
- Blue food coloring
- Glitter (optional)
- Cinnamon essential oil or balsam fir essential oil, about 15 drops (optional)
If you need help prepping a bar into flakes, a coarse hand grater works just fine. Save the fancy box grater for cheese unless you enjoy soap-flavored hash browns.
How to Make Christmas Snow
- Place the soap flakes in a mixing bowl and pour in the liquid starch.
- Beat the mixture with a hand mixer until the starch is worked through the flakes.
- Add 1 tablespoon of water and continue beating.
- Add the remaining water a little at a time only if needed, beating until the mixture looks like marshmallow fluff or thick meringue.
- Beat in a couple drops of blue food coloring for an icy tint, if desired.
- Add about 15 drops of cinnamon essential oil or balsam fir essential oil if you want a scented version.
You’re looking for a mixture that holds its shape on a brush without dripping. If it slides off the bristles, beat in a little more soap flake. If it’s too stiff to dab, add water by the teaspoon.
How to Use It
Dab the snow onto the tops and ends of Christmas tree branches with a paint brush or foam brush. Concentrating it on the branch tips gives a more natural dusted effect than slathering every needle from trunk to edge.
For extra sparkle, sprinkle a light pinch of glitter over the wet snow before it dries. Use a small amount. You want frosty, not disco-ball gone rogue.
If you’re decorating a live tree, a few related reads can help you keep the setup safer and cleaner: How to Keep Your Christmas Tree Free of Bugs and Help Fire Proof Your Christmas Tree.
Tips for Best Results
Work in thin layers. A light dab looks more like settled snow than a heavy smear.
Test one branch first. That lets you check color, thickness, and drying before you commit to the whole tree.
Use the least water possible. More water makes the mixture easier to spread, but it also makes it slower to dry and more likely to slump.
Keep it away from lights and cords. This is a decorative soap mixture, not a heat-safe craft coating.
Use it where it won’t be handled. It can transfer if rubbed after drying, especially on busy lower branches.
Variations
Icy blue snow: Add just a couple drops of blue food coloring for a colder, frosted look.
Classic white snow: Skip the coloring entirely if you want a clean white finish.
Sparkling snow: Dust with fine glitter while the mixture is still wet.
Scented snow: Add cinnamon essential oil for a warm holiday scent or balsam fir essential oil for a tree-like scent. Keep scented versions strictly decorative and away from pets and children.
Storage
Use the mixture the day you make it for the best texture. Once whipped, it slowly loses volume and can separate as it sits.
If you need to hold it briefly, cover it tightly and refrigerate for up to 24 hours, then re-whip before using. That 24-hour window is a conservative quality estimate rather than a lab-tested shelf life. Since the mixture contains added water and soap, it’s better treated like a short-term craft paste than a pantry staple.
Dry, unused ingredients keep far longer on their own. Store leftover liquid starch, soap, glitter, and food coloring tightly closed in a cool, dry place.
Caution: Do not let pets lick the finished snow, and do not let young children handle it unsupervised because soap residue can irritate eyes and mouth.
🛒 Walmart Grocery List
- Sta-Flo Liquid Starch, 64 oz
- Ivory Bar Soap, 3 count, 3.1 oz bars
- Blue Food Coloring Gel, 1 oz
- Craft Glitter Shaker, 4 oz
- Cinnamon Essential Oil, 1 fl oz
- Balsam Fir Essential Oil, 1 oz
Not sure exactly what this batch costs you per serving? Here’s how to break down the real cost of any recipe so you know before you shop.
Frequently Asked Questions about Christmas Snow
You can, but expect a slightly different texture. Shaved bar soap usually whips into a fluffier, softer-looking snow, while detergent granules can stay a bit grainier and may need a touch more beating to smooth out.
Stop when it looks like marshmallow fluff or stiff meringue and stays on the brush instead of dripping. If it spreads like frosting, it needs more body. If it crumbles or won’t dab onto the branch, add water 1 teaspoon at a time.
You can make it a little ahead, but same-day use gives the best result. If you need a short head start, cover it tightly, refrigerate it up to 24 hours, and beat it again before brushing it on so the texture perks back up.
It can work on either one if you apply it lightly. Test a hidden branch first on artificial needles so you can see how it dries and whether you like the look before you decorate the front of the tree.
Less is usually better. Focus on the top edges and outer tips of branches, not the entire limb. That gives you a fresh-dusted look instead of a heavy pasted-on coating.
Absolutely. The coloring is only there to give the snow a colder, icier cast. Plain white works perfectly fine if you want a classic snow look or if you’d rather not fuss with tinting at all.
Use a small paint brush or foam brush and dab instead of brushing in long strokes. Dabbing keeps the mixture on the branch tips where you want it and cuts down on clumps dropping onto the floor, which saves you one more holiday cleanup job.
You can, but sprinkling it over the wet surface gives better control. Mixed in glitter tends to disappear into the foam, while a light top layer catches the light where you can actually see it.
Too much water is usually the culprit. Start with the lower amount, then add only enough to reach a thick whipped texture. If it’s already loose, beat in a little more soap flake until it holds soft peaks again.
It’s better to skip the essential oil if pets can reach the tree. Even a decorative project can become a problem if an animal licks the branches or rubs against heavily scented areas, so plain unscented snow is the safer choice in a pet-active house.
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Did you make this recipe? Did you try this on a real tree or an artificial one? Leave a comment and tell us how it turned out, or share your best tip for getting that just-frosted look.
🖨️ Print-Friendly Christmas Snow
Christmas Snow
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup liquid starch
- 1 cup soap flakes shaved Ivory soap bar, or detergent granules
- 1 to 2 tablespoons water
- A couple drops blue food coloring
- Glitter optional
- 15 drops cinnamon essential oil optional
- 15 drops balsam fir essential oil optional
Equipment
Instructions
- Place the soap flakes in a mixing bowl and add the liquid starch.
- Beat with a hand mixer until the starch is blended into the flakes.
- Add 1 tablespoon water and continue beating.
- Add more water only as needed until the mixture reaches the consistency of marshmallow fluff or thick meringue.
- Beat in a couple drops of blue food coloring for an icy look, if desired.
- Add essential oil if using.
- Dab onto the tops and ends of Christmas tree branches with a paint brush or foam brush.
- Sprinkle with glitter before the snow dries, if desired.
Recipe Size Alteration
💡 If you altered the ingredients above by doubling or tripling the recipe, you may also need to change the pan/dish size and adjust the cook time.
Notes
Prep time is an estimate based on grating the soap, mixing, and applying the finished snow.
Use the mixture the same day for best texture.
If needed, cover tightly and refrigerate up to 24 hours, then re-whip before using.
Keep away from pets and supervise children because the mixture contains soap and is not edible.
thank you for a great recipe! we made our own liquid starch using cornstarch. it came out great, thank you!
hi.
looks grate, but what is liquid cornstarch?
and also, this is only for natural trees or it goes on fake too?
liquid starch is found in the laundry isle of your grocery store.