Christmas Popcorn Balls with Free Gift Tag Printable: A classic childhood favorite, these marshmallow popcorn balls get all dressed up for holiday gift giving with a free gift tag printable!
We love popcorn around here! If you follow my social media, you may have seen that our boys have become young entrepreneurs selling popcorn and lemonade in our neighborhood and at our local farmers market.
So, it’s no surprise that this homemade popcorn in the microwave (that can easily become gloriously sweet and chewy caramel corn) is near and dear to my heart. Needless to say, Christmas Popcorn Balls with Free Gift Tag Printable is my favorite way to give one of our favorite holiday treats to our friends and family at Christmas.
Why you’ll love this recipe
There are only 5 ingredients use to make our homemade popcorn balls! Easy recipes like this one are perfect for this busy time of year.
Just like these nostalgic cornflake wreaths, this recipe for old-fashioned popcorn balls takes me back to childhood. Anyone else remember these traditional popcorn balls from your family’s kitchen?
There is no light corn syrup in our recipe and you don’t need a candy thermometer. We use basic pantry ingredients and the same process used to make rice crispy treats. It doesn’t get much easier than that!
Christmas treats, like these Christmas popcorn balls, are perfect for gift-giving during the holiday season. You can make a batch for a holiday party, for your service workers or to treat your favorite people! (Make them along with this Christmas pie to really get in the spirit!)
Jump to:
Ingredients
When a recipe starts with key ingredients that are easily found in my kitchen and pantry, I know I can whip it up at a moment’s notice. This recipe for popcorn balls in one to keep handy for any holiday or event.
- 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 8 cups of popped popcorn
- 10 oz. mini marshmallows
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup Christmas colored sprinkles (optional: additional sprinkles for garnish)
To wrap Christmas Popcorn Balls with free gift tag printable:
- 6 striped paper straws cut in half
- 12 cellophane bags
- Ribbon
- 12 Printed “Popping By to Say Happy Holidays” gift tags (or, here is the PDF version of the gift tag)
See the printable recipe card below for ingredients, nutrition information and detailed recipe notes.
Instructions
If you have made rice krispie treats, then you will have no trouble following this Christmas popcorn balls recipe. We’ve got step-by-step instructions with pictures below so you can easily follow along and make these sweet and salty treats!
- First, if necessary, prepare the popcorn. We love to make homemade popcorn in the microwave. Place the popped popcorn in a large mixing bowl. Sort through it and remove any unpopped kernels and set the popcorn aside.
- Next, in a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter and marshmallows together, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth and the butter and marshmallows are completely incorporated.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir the vanilla extract into the marshmallow mixture.
- Then, pour the melted marshmallow mixture over the bowl of popcorn and let it sit for a few minutes to allow the butter/marshmallow coating to cool slightly.
- Then, using a spatula or clean hands, stir or mix the popcorn until the marshmallow mixture is evenly coated over the popcorn. *IMPORTANT: Be careful not to mix the popcorn mixture with your hands right after you’ve added the marshmallow mixture or you can risk being burned by the hot butter/marshmallow.
- Now, add the Christmas sprinkles to the popcorn and mix them in.
- Finally, with clean hands, form the popcorn mixture into 12 balls and place them onto a sheet of parchment paper.
While it is optional, I love to roll the popcorn in extra sprinkles for easy Christmas popcorn balls. Who doesn’t love sprinkles?
To package Christmas Popcorn Balls with Free Gift Tag Printable
- First, insert a cut straw half into the center of each popcorn ball and let them cool fully.
- Then, place a popcorn ball pop in each cellophane bag. Punch a hole in each gift tag and be sure to fill out the “to and from”.
- Finally, tie each bag closed with a ribbon and gift tag.
A tray of these Christmas popcorn balls all wrapped up would make a wonderful favor for guests to take home after a holiday party. I am a big fan of a little snack for the drive home!
Or, I used popcorn on this Dessert Christmas Charcuterie and these popcorn balls would look amazing on a board too!
Variations
Here are a few more ways to make and decorate these Christmas popcorn balls:
- We made these popcorn balls using a stove top method, but you can use a microwave-safe bowl to melt butter and the marshmallows. Either way, please be careful when handling the hot marshmallow mixture.
- For some added festive flair, set the popcorn balls into Christmas cupcake liners before tucking them into the cellophane bags. A cupcake paper adds a little more color and provides a flat bottom when placed in the bag.
- Melt white chocolate chips and drizzle white chocolate over the popcorn balls and add more sprinkles for a different way to decorate these holiday treats.
- For a seasonal twist, add red or green food coloring to the marshmallow mixture for tinted popcorn balls.
How to Store Christmas Popcorn Balls
Store any leftover popcorn balls in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days. The popcorn will soften but the popcorn balls will still taste delicious.
We don’t really recommend freezing these holiday popcorn balls. Honestly, they are so yummy that you won’t need to worry about leftovers!
Easy Christmas Recipes
Christmas Popcorn Balls with Free Gift Tag Printable are an easy, no-bake Christmas dessert. Here are a few more of our favorite easy Christmas recipes:
- This Christmas Tree Cake Dip is a sweet dessert dip made with Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes and is a big time crowd pleaser!
- Our Cornflake Wreaths start with cornflakes and an ooey gooey marshmallow mixture just like these popcorn balls. You’ll love decorating the cute little wreath cookies, or for a similar cookie, this cornflake candy will be a breeze to make!
- A Christmas Chocolate Chip Cheeseball will make your holiday dessert table fun, festive and delicious!
- This Sweet Christmas Chex Mix recipe is perfect for snacking on during the holidays, and it’s easy to make!
Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!
📖 Recipe
Christmas Popcorn Balls with Free Gift Tag Printable
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 8 cups popped popcorn
- 10 oz mini marshmallows
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup Christmas colored sprinkles optional: extra sprinkles for garnish
To wrap the popcorn balls for gifting
- 6 striped paper straws, cut in half
- 12 cellophane bags
- ribbon
- 12 printed gift tags You can download the gift tags here!
Instructions
- First, if necessary, prepare the popcorn and set it aside in a large mixing bowl. Make sure to remove any unpopped kernels.
- Next, in a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter and marshmallows together, stirring constantly.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir the vanilla extract into the marshmallow mixture.
- Pour the melted marshmallow mixture over the bowl of popcorn and let the popcorn sit for a few minutes to allow the butter/marshmallow coating to cool slightly.
- Then, using a rubber spatula or clean hands, stir/mix the popcorn so that the marshmallow mixture is evenly coated over the popcorn. *SEE NOTES*
- Now, stir in the sprinkles and mix them in.
- Finally, with clean hands, form the popcorn into 12 balls and place them onto a sheet of parchment paper. While it is optional, I like to roll the popcorn balls in extra sprinkles.
To package the popcorn balls for gifts
- Insert a cut straw half into the center of each popcorn ball and allow them to cool fully.
- Place a popcorn ball pop in each bag.
- Punch a hole in each gift tag and fill out the "to and from". Tie each bag closed with a ribbon and a gift tag.
Notes
- IMPORTANT: Be careful not to mix the popcorn mixture with your hands right after you’ve added the marshmallow mixture or you can risk being burned by the hot butter/marshmallow.
- You can use any type of popcorn for this recipe: stovetop popcorn, bagged microwaved popcorn, homemade microwave popcorn or pre-popped from the grocery store deli. If you use pre-buttered popcorn, the popcorn balls with have a slightly saltier flavor.
- Store any leftover Christmas popcorn balls in an airtight, sealed container for up to 5-7 days. The popcorn may soften but the popcorn balls will still taste delicious.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Katie says
These are so fun and festive. Super nostalgic as well! I love these around the holidays.
Journa Liz Ramirez says
This is a brilliant holiday gift idea! I had so much fun preparing these cut popcorn balls. Highly recommended!
jess says
this is so great and I really appreciate the gift tag printable! makes small little gifts so easy!
Kristen says
I know it’s not Christmas yet but these looked so good I just had to try them and they were so good, so happy I decided not to wait until Christmas to make these.