I adore Christmas. My love of this holiday borders on fanatical. So, it goes without saying that when I deck the halls, I deck ‘em good. One thing I love to do is place fake snow around many of my Christmas decorations. It makes everything much more festive. I’ve experimented with lots of options over the years, and I’ve discovered the best fake snow can’t be found in the seasonal or craft aisle.
Inexpensive, Easy to Source & Environmentally-Friendly
There are a lot of options out there – fluffy batting, glittery mixes, aerosolized sprays, etc. But nearly all of them fall short in the three most important areas for good fake snow. (In my book, at least.)
It has to look like snow.
I know this one is kind of obvious, but I want my fake snow actually to look like snow. I want it to heap and pile up and scatter. Batting and polyester fiberfill just don’t cut it. It looks hokey.
It needs to be environmentally-friendly
This one has grown in importance in our household over the years. That means glitter and anything aerosol is out. No polyester batting, either.
It has to be inexpensive and easy to find.
I’m not going to spend a fortune on it every year, nor am I going to special order it.
While it may seem like a tall order, the perfect fake snow does exist, and it’s probably in your bathroom right now.
It’s Epsom salt.
Yup, pound for pound, this stuff is the best fake snow. I discovered its amazing snow-like qualities one year while shooting photos for a Christmas post on Rural Sprout. It was early fall, and I didn’t want to go digging around in my storage totes full of Christmas stuff. I wandered around my house looking for something I could use as a quick stand-in for snow, as I was losing my lovely afternoon light.
Walking down the hall and past the bathroom, that’s when I saw it.
I keep a jar full of Epsom salt next to the tub for baths. I grabbed it, cursing the fact that I was going to waste my nice lavender-scented Dr. Teal’s on a photo shoot. But oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do.
It was beautiful!
The Epsom salt looked amazing in the photos. (It was this post about using pine cones for Christmas crafts, if you’re curious.) It looked even better in person and was surprisingly easy to clean up after my shoot. I was hooked. That November, when I finally dragged out my Christmas decorations, I also picked up a four-pound bag of Epsom salt and went to town.
This stuff costs less than a dollar per pound, and you can get it at any grocery store if you don’t already have some. You can put it on furniture, glass, metal, whatever and not worry that it’s going to stain or damage them. And clean up? Easy-peasy.
Clean Up Is a Breeze
At the beginning of February, when I’m hesitantly ready to pack up Christmas for the year (don’t judge me), cleaning up my snow is a breeze. I remove all of my decorations from the little “piles” of snow. Then, all I have to do is vacuum it up. If only real snow removal were this quick and painless.
Don’t waste that snow!
Before I come in with the vacuum cleaner, I usually scoop up as much snow as possible into a Ziploc baggie. There’s enough dust and cat hair mixed in with it that I wouldn’t want to use it in a bath. But that doesn’t mean my tomatoes won’t appreciate it all the same. I save my dirty snow to use in my garden, so it isn’t wasted. I’m an avid gardener, and I use Epsom salt every summer.
Some Interesting Things to Note When Using Epsom Salt as Fake Snow
Oxidization is Your Friend
As you can see, when first applied, the Epsom salt is translucent and slightly sparkly.
One thing you’ll note about Epsom salt snow is that the longer it sits out, the more it looks like real snow. That’s because the magnesium sulfate oxidizes in the air and loses its translucent appearance. The crystals turn a bright, clean white.
Image Credit: Tracey Besemer
Christmas Vignettes
A little snow can turn any scene into a holiday scene. One of my favorite ways to decorate for the holidays is by creating small picturesque scenes or groupings around my home. These are often referred to as vignettes in the interior design world.
They can be tiny ceramic figures, a group of velvet-flocked Christmas trees or different cocktail glasses filled with Christmas baubles and evergreens. The idea is to draw attention to a little curated area of your home. Most of these little Christmas vignettes look even better with fake snow.
Image credit: Tracey Besemer
Caveats for Using Epsom Salt Snow
It goes without saying that using Epsom salt as fake snow may require extra consideration when using it in a household with pets or small children.
I used to create little Christmas vignettes right on the floor in my hallway, and then I was adopted by two small kittens. I can only imagine what they would do if they found tiny ceramic figurines of Santa, bottle brush trees and piles of “bappable” Epsom salt on the floor. The Yule cat of Iceland comes to mind.
Image Credit: Tracey Besemer
Epsom salt can cause severe digestive issues, like diarrhea and vomiting, in cats and dogs. It can be toxic if large amounts are ingested. While generally safe for humans, large amounts can be toxic. If you have small children or pets, plan to use Epsom salt as fake snow only where it’s safely out of reach.
With such an inexpensive and easy-to-use option, I just have one thing to say – Let it snow, let it snow, let it now!
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