How to Make Playdough (Play-doh)

Indoor Play Activities for Kids and Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

Nov 16, 2009

Making playdough is a fun activity for kids on a rainy day and cheaper than buying it from the shops. It's also an imaginative Christmas gift idea. Here's an easy recipe.

Looking for fun, indoor play activities for the kids now that winter is approaching or fancy creating an imaginative homemade Christmas gift? Try making playdough at home. It’s quicker and easier than most parents think, and rewarding for the kids to get involved.

Playdough is a soft and squidgy, non-toxic material that can be made into various shapes using cookie or animal-shaped cutters. It helps to develop a child’s sense of touch, taste and smell, and stimulates creative and imaginary play. Here’s a quick and easy recipe for making it at home.

Recipe for Playdough

The following recipe was provided by Emma Barker, nursery officer at Battle Abbey Nursery in Bexhill-on-Sea, UK:

How to Make Playdough

Mix the ingredients together in a bowl to form a smooth paste. Add to a saucepan and gently heat until the dough comes away from the side of the pan and forms a ball. Allow the mixture to cool. When it is cool enough to handle remove the dough from the pan and knead it three to four times. Soak the pan in hot water immediately so that it isn’t a nightmare to clean later.

Repeat this process as many times as desired using different food colourings if parents want to make a batch of different colours. The BBC's H2G2 online encyclopedia suggests using half quantities to do so, as the quantities given above will make around double the amount of shop-bought tubs of playdough.

Cleaning Playdough off the Carpet

Playdough is messy stuff and will inevitably get trodden or mashed into the carpet by enthusiastic little ones. When this happens, get it off using warm, soapy water and a cloth. Try and remember to do it before it dries!

How to Store Playdough

Once the dough is dry store it in the fridge in small plastic bags or tin foil to keep it soft and moist. If it is for a present, keep it in the bag and wrap it in a gift box with ribbons so that it keeps its shape and is fun for the kids to open.

Making playdough at home is quicker and easier than most parents think. It is a fun activity to keep children occupied on a rainy day, and makes an imaginative budget Christmas gift for children of friends.

The copyright of the article How to Make Playdough (Play-doh) in Kids Indoor Activities is owned by Nicci Talbot. Permission to republish How to Make Playdough (Play-doh) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.