Kids Crafts Kids Crafts Basics

Easy Play Dough Ideas

Child playing with playdough

Westend61 / Getty Images 

Playdough is fun, easy to make and provides kids with hours of fun. Once you have your playdough, all you need is a clear, solid surface, a few household items for props, and imagination.

Kids can roll, sculpt and mold with playdough—and some homemade recipes are even consumable! We love that play dough allows children to use their imagination while strengthening the muscles in their fingers. Playing with playdough can be done independently, but it’s even better with friends. 

When you make your own playdough with the best playdough recipe ever, you get more bang for your buck plus softer, easier to mold playdough. You can get more details on Kids Activities Blog.

Here’s What You'll Need to Make the Best Playdough Recipe:

  • 2 cups of flour
  • 2 tbsp. of oil (any oil will do, coconut oil, vegetable oil, even olive oil)
  • 1/2 cup of salt
  • 2 tbsp. cream of tartar
  • 1 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 01 of 07

    5-Minute Playdough

    5 Minute Koolaid Dough
    Kids Activities Blog

    This recipe only takes five minutes to make, and since it uses Kool-Aid for the dye, the colors are vibrant and lovely and it smells delicious.  

    Here are the ingredients you'll need to make the playdough:

    • 1 cup of flour
    • 1/4 cup of salt
    • 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar
    • 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
    • 2 Kool-Aid  packets
    • 3/4 cup of water

    Check out One CrazyHouse's quick video for instructions on How to Make 5 Minute Play Dough.

     

  • 02 of 07

    Candy Playdough

    Candy Play Dough
    Kids Activities Blog

    This completely edible playdough recipe only uses three ingredients. Since it uses Peeps, it works best in the Spring when Peeps are more readily available, but peeps can be found year-round.

    You'll need:

    • 3 peeps
    • 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
    • 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar (and some more for dusting)

    Video Instructions for making Candy Play Dough from Kids Activities.

  • 03 of 07

    Peppermint Patty Playdough

    Peppermint Patty Play Dough
    Kids Activities Blog

    If you want to take your playdough to the next level, Kids Activities Blog shares this recipe for peppermint patty playdough. It's ridiculously delicious so you might want to limit their consumption!

  • 04 of 07

    Sick Day Playdough

    Sick Day Play Dough
    Kids Activities Blog

    Kids Activity Blog brings it again with a feature that adds essential oils to a classic playdough recipe to help lift spirits on a sick day.  This recipe uses peppermint essential oil, but you could substitute whatever essential oil you'd like for a similar result.

    Continue to 5 of 7 below
  • 05 of 07

    How to Make Glop

    How to Make Glop
    Kids Activities Blog

    GLOP is just a two-ingredient playdough that requires no cooking. Best yet, it only takes five minutes to make.

    GLOP Playdough Ingredients

    • 1/2 cup of coconut oil (in its liquid state)
    • 2 cups of corn starch

    Learn to make GLOP, with Kids Activities.

  • 06 of 07

    Peanut Butter Playdough

    Peanut Butter Play Dough
    Kids Activities Blog

    Edible playdough that doesn't crumble is a favorite with our kiddos. You'll need three ingredients to make Peanut Butter Playdough. This recipe is worth every minute; it's a huge hit with kids and adults alike!

    Ingredients for Peanut Butter Playdough:

    • 3 marshmallows
    • 2 tablespoons (roughly) of peanut butter
    • 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar

    Follow along with Kids Activities' video tutorial for making edible peanut butter​ playdough.

  • 07 of 07

    Shiny Playdough

    Shiny Play Dough
    Kids Activities Blog

    We've found that kids LOVE shiny things, and playdough is no exception. You can make playdough shiny by adding makeup, and it works amazingly. You can also add other blingy items to play dough to make it shine like:  

    • glitter
    • beads
    • sequins
    • demerara sugar

    Whether you like classic, super-soft, or shiny playdough, these playdough recipes are some of our favorites because they get kids having fun, using their imagination and being social.  It’s one of our favorite developmental activities.