If you’re looking for a way to bring the fun of winter indoors, try making magic snowballs!

Two common household ingredients make this fabulous, powdery, packable play snow that you and your kids can easily mold into indoor snowballs.

Little hands making snowballs indoors out of special magic snow

Then, right when you think the fun is over, I’ll show you how to turn those snowballs into bombs of fizzy magic!

Winter fun means

going outside and sledding,
making snow angels,
building snowmen,
and having snowball fights…

… outdoors… in freshly fallen snow.

But, is it possible to experience winter fun indoors without real snow?

Yes, it is!

When I found this play snow recipe from Growing a Jeweled Rose, I thought it would be a perfect indoor activity for my toddler.

Making play snow is incredibly simple, requiring only two ingredients and a little time in the freezer.

This indoor play snow is a great sensory experience.

(Hats, coats, and mittens optional.)

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How We Made Magic Snowballs

First, you’ll need baking soda and water.

To make your indoor snow as realistic as possible, pop a box of baking soda in the freezer for an hour or more.

a key ingredient in making magic snow to form magic snowballs, two cups of baking soda in a measuring cup with a box of baking soda next to it

Freezing the baking soda is totally optional. If your kids hate the cold, then just use room temp baking soda.

I dumped an entire 16 ounce box of baking soda in a bowl and added about half a cup of water to it.

Mix, mix, mix…

Magic snow shown in a yellow mixing bowl; it is a mixture of baking soda and water

And it turns into this fluffy, packable, perfectly cold, magical play snow!

Playing with Magic Snowballs

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We put the magic snow on a large, rimmed baking sheet to confine most of the mess. I use a large, commercial-size baking sheet for our activities.

My two-year-old, Elena, had a blast squeezing, smashing, and building snowmen and snowballs with this magic snow.

Child holding a round white snowball made of magic snow/play snow with more play snow on a large baking sheet in front of her

She also “went skating” (sliding her fingers through the snow on the tray), and “made it snow” (sprinkling handfuls of snow from up high).

Child dropping bits of magic snow/play snow from one hand up high to another down low with more play snow on a large baking sheet in front of her

Just as her once gentle snowfall began to turn into a messy blizzard, I pulled out tall glasses of vinegar for our magic snowballs!

Experimenting with Magic Snowballs

We’ve done a few experiments with baking soda and vinegar, like this hidden colors experiment and foamy paint STEAM activity.

So Elena is no stranger to the magic that happens when you combine baking soda and vinegar.

Little girl peering curiously at a glass of green colored vinegar with gobs of magic snow strewn about on a large baking sheet

However, this was the first time we made magic SNOWBALLS and dropped them into colored vinegar.

A drop of food coloring goes in each tall glass of vinegar.

blue food coloring creating smoky, swirly patterns when dropped in a glass of vinegar on a baking sheet with magic snow all over it

I swirled the glasses to mix the liquids, and then it was time to drop our snowballs in!

Elena formed a magic snowball and dropped it in the glass of colored vinegar.

Child dropping a magic snowball into a tall glass of red colored vinegar

Look at that fizz!

Kid watching a glass of red vinegar foam and fizz after adding a magic snowball made of baking soda and water

We dropped snowballs in each glass over and over!

Little girl smiling and dropping a tiny magic snowball in a tall glass of blue colored vinegar on a large baking sheet covered with bits of magic snow

Adding a Little More Drama

So, the first time we did this activity, I had only a little bit of vinegar in the glasses so that it wouldn’t overflow.

However, if you are wanting a little more drama, then mix in a little dish soap like we did for our foamy paint activity.

The result is a gorgeous, slow-rising, dense foam that will cause you to ooh and ahh.

four tall glasses of yellow, blue, red, and green foam overflowing onto a baking sheet with bits of magic snow on it

Or at the very least want to poke and prod.

Toddler sticking a finger into red foam overflowing from a tall glass

Thankfully, the baking sheet caught all the overflow!

The Science Behind Magic Snowballs

Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, has a special reaction when combined with vinegar.

When vinegar (made up of acetic acid and water) is added to baking soda, this reaction forms carbonic acid and sodium acetate.

Almost instantly, the carbonic acid decomposes into water and carbon dioxide, which you see as fizzy bubbles!

Little girl looking surprised at adding a magic snowball made of baking soda into a tall glass of blue colored vinegar

This is why you get a beautiful foam when you mix a little dish soap with the vinegar.

The fizzy bubbles don’t immediately pop. They stick around long enough to build more and more and more bubbles until they rise and spill over.

So, you see, magic snowballs aren’t really magic; they’re science!

Little girl smiling with a baking sheet of magic snowballs in front of her

Print Activity Pin

Magic Snowballs

Make and play with magic snowballs, the only indoor snowballs that fizzle and pop when you drop them in vinegar!

Prep Time 5

Activity Length 20

Supplies

2 cups baking soda (or one 16 oz box)
1/2 cup water
vinegar
food coloring
dish soap (optional)

Instructions

Freeze the baking soda for an hour or more.
Place the baking soda in a large bowl and stir in half a cup of water. Mix until thoroughly combined. Mixture should resemble wet snow.
Dump the snow onto a baking sheet or play area. Make snowballs or build snowmen!
Fill tall glasses a third of the way full of vinegar. Add a drop of food coloring to each glass.
Drop snowballs in the glasses of vinegar and watch them fizzle and pop!
For a dense, foamy effect, add a squirt of dish soap to the vinegar before dropping the snowballs in.