I couldn’t wait to create this post becauseI have the best play dough recipe to share with you! It is soft, smells good, and it seems to keep forever as long as you store it in a plastic bag or airtight container.
What I love about making my own play dough kit versus buying store bought is that it is more affordable, you can add whatever gadgets and trinkets you want, it is so easy to make, and the kids can play with it for what feels like forever.
So let’s get started!
The Best Play Dough Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 4 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2-4 packets Kool-Aid powder (the more packets you add, the brighter the color)
- 3/4 cup salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cups lukewarm water
Instructions:
- In a large bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, and kool-aid packets and mix well. Set the bowl aside.
- In a large sauce pan, add water, salt, and vegetable oil, and stir until dissolved most of the salt is dissolved. After many recipes and attempts of making the perfect play dough, I found dissolving the salt in water before adding the flour mixture yields the best play dough. When the salt doesn’t dissolve, you get a gritty textured play dough that also dries your hands out as you play.
- Add the dry ingredients from the mixing bowl to the sauce pan and mix well. The play dough will look like a lumpy cream pie. But, don’t worry, it will get better!
- Cook on medium heat until dough starts to form into a ball. The color of the play dough will also darken slightly.
- Once the play dough is fully cooked, remove from heat and let it cool slightly.
- When the play dough is cool enough to handle, knead it for 5 minutes until soft and smooth.
What Goes into a Play Dough Kit?
The best part about making your own play dough kits is you can tailor it to each individual kid’s interests. For my younger kids, I make more of a sensory kit with pom-poms, pipe cleaner, large beads, gem stones, googly eyes, etc.
For my older kids, I include tools so they can construct whatever their imagination wants to bring to life. Some of these tools include small pizza cutters, garlic press, rolling pin, butter knife, cookie cutters, melon baller, etc.
Most of these items can be found at the Dollar Tree. While you’re there, look for their chopping mats. They make great play mats for these play dough kits. You can also find other utensils and cookie cutter assortments at thrift stores.
When the kids are done playing, I store everything in a 6qt storage container. But any container with a lid will work!
Play the Day Away
I seriously love how quick and easy it is to put these play dough kits together. Another added bonus is how long my kids will stay preoccupied with it. We switch it up and make themed play dough kits around some of the major holidays. There are just so many different ways to play with play dough!
But if you’re looking for other ideas on how to keep your kids busy, check out my blog post, 8 of the Best Summer Boredom Busters for Kids.
I’d love to see your kids’ play dough creations! Be sure to add pictures to my social media pages!
