Now that we’re spending more and more time inside the house, with a toddler that gets bored really fast, we have to get as creative as possible to keep them entertained. And sometimes, using simple ingredients that we already have at home can be extremely rewarding.
This is the case of the DIY play dough recipe that I am going to share with you today: it’s easy to make and your kids will love it! I am actually writing this article while my boy is playing with this exact homemade play dough! He’s happy, I’m happy and I am sure that the same will apply to you.
The quantities recommended below are for just a small amount of homemade playdough, so you can get an opinion of how it actually is and decide if you like it or not (I am sure you will!).
If you need more, you can simply double or increase the amount of ingredients, making sure to keep the ratios the same. You can even make larger batches and store them in the fridge for up to 48 hours.
Ingredients for our easy homemade play dough
- 1 cup of regular flour
- 1/2 cup of salt (fine)
- 1 teaspoon of lemon salt (citric acid). I read that you can use the same amount of viengar if you don’t have lemon salt but I haven’t tried it personally.
- 1 spoon of vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup of warm water
- Optional: any food coloring that you have to add color to your homemade play dough
How to make my easy homemade play dough:
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, then add the oil, and leave the water last, adding it slowly and mixing in really well (you can add the food coloring in the water, if you want to add some fun to it), then put some more flour, if you need it, and knead it really well.
The entire process is really fast and your child can help you prepare the playdough too, making it even more interesting to play with.
I gave my son some cookie shapes when the homemade play dough was ready and he had a ton of fun creating all sorts of foods and cookies for me. So I’m counting this as a big hit – a toy that’s really easy to make and extremely fun for the little ones.
It will dry up eventually – sooner rather than later, but until it does, it remains a really fun activity for your child, which can start with actually preparing the playdough all the way to it becoming unusable. Which will take a while!