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Make this fun Christmas play dough this year to keep little hands busy all season long! It only takes a few minutes and a few ingredients and is SO soft!
How to make Christmas Playdough
Making playdough isn’t hard at all, and it comes together very quickly. You only need a few ingredients, a small pot, a whisk, and a silicone spatula!
Christmas play dough is so much fun to make! You can make Christmas colors, maybe even festive scents, and then kids can create all the Christmas characters and icons they love!
This is an awesome way to help your kids have some hands-on creativity during the Christmas break! Let them pick some favorite characters to recreate, do two color challenges, and more!
Christmas Play Dough Creating Ideas:
- Santa
- Snowman
- Christmas Cookies
- Christmas Tree
- Stocking
- Elves
- Sleigh
- Santa’s Hat
- Reindeer
- Polar Bear
- Star
Supplies needed for this Christmas Playdough
- All Purpose Flour
- Salt
- Gel Food Coloring (not liquid!)
- Vegetable Oil
- Cream of Tartar
- Water
- Small Pot
- Whisk
- Silicone Spatula
Step 1: Whisk all your ingredients, except for the food coloring, together in a small pot. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pot so there aren’t any lumps in the flour.
Step 2: Next, you can whisk in the food coloring of choice. We used Wilton brand icing colors and they turn out great!
Do not use liquid food coloring. The liquid ratio can make your dough watery.
Red will be the hardest Christmas color to get. Make sure you add enough food coloring to make it a bright red, otherwise your color will be muted.
Step 3: Cook your fully mixed Christmas play doh batter over high heat, stirring and flipping constantly with a silicone spatula.
Your play dough should cook within 2-3 minutes max, so don’t walk away! As soon as you no longer see any liquid, immediately remove from the pot and place it on a paper plate to let it cool.
Allow your play dough to cool for 20-30 minutes before handling, as it will be very hot. Be sure to test it with your hands before giving it to a little one to make sure it’s cooled enough.
Each batch of Christmas play dough you make following this recipe will be roughly the equivalent to 4-5 regular store-bought containers of play dough.
This Thanksgiving playdough recipe makes a very soft and squeezable dough that kids just love! It stays soft for MUCH longer than store-bought play dough, and it’s so much cheaper to make at home too!
Storage
Store your Thanksgiving Play Doh in sealed plastic baggies in a cool, dry place. You can also store in tupperware containers, but we love using baggies because they’re easiest for little hands to open and close.
This play dough has stayed out for days at a time and remained soft! It’s an excellent recipe that’s so easy to make you will want to make every color of the rainbow!
If you want softer dough, you can add another tablespoon of oil, and another 1/8 cup of water before cooking!
Homemade Play Dough Tips & FAQs
- Food Coloring. Always use gel food coloring and not liquid for the best results. Mix in the food coloring before you cook the play dough.
- Cooking. Cook over high heat, but be sure to stir and flip constantly to keep it from burning. A silicone spatula and non-stick pot works best.
- Clean-Up. Be sure to clean your pot, whisk, and spatula completely before making a different color batch.
- Safety. Freshly cooked play dough stays hot for a while. Give your play dough 20-30 minutes to cool before handling. Always test the play dough in your own hands first before handing to a child.
- Storage. Store your play dough in airtight containers to keep it soft and pliable. Play dough should last up to a year when stored properly.
Christmas Play Dough Ideas
- Cookie Cutters. Get some holiday themed cookie cutters for easy play dough fun!
- Manipulatives. Fun themed items like snowflakes, Christmas lights, mini stockings and more make playing with this so much more fun!
- Scents. Make your play dough scented like Christmas! Use scented oils to add to your dough after cooking. You could make evergreen play dough, or gingerbread scented, or sugar cookie and more!
- Activities. Have timed challenges, take sensory breaks, or let kids create and have people guess what they made!
Yield: 1
Christmas Playdough
Make this fun Christmas play dough this year to keep little hands busy all season long! It only takes a few minutes and a few ingredients and is SO soft!
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
3 minutes
Cooling Time
30 minutes
Total Time
38 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
- 2/3 Cup Salt
- 1 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- 2 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil
- 1 Cup Water
- Gel Food Coloring
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients in a small pot, except for the food coloring.
- Add in the gel food coloring until the desired color is reached. Whisk together mixture until there are no more streaks.
- Cook over high heat, stirring and flipping constantly with a silicone spatula for 2-3 minutes, or until there are no wet spots left.
- Immediately remove the play dough to a paper plate to cool for 20-30 minutes before handling.
Notes
Want more Christmas ideas?
hi! I'm shannon
I’m a wife, mom of three, doctor, and blogger! In 2018, I decided to turn my mom blog, into a personal finance blog so others could follow along on our journey to pay off over HALF a MILLION dollars in student loan and practice start up debt. I hope you enjoy following along, and maybe even find some inspiration along the way.
