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Thrifty Kids Thursday: Emergency Homemade Play Dough

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by Cassie on October 7, 2010

play dough baby play

It is time for Thrifty Kids Thursday. We wanted to share our Emergency Homemade Play Dough recipe.

This is a GREAT quick and very entertaining activity for kids and entertains in a wide window of ages! Plus this playdough is safe and non-toxic.

We named it Emergency Play Dough because it is something we can put together fast.  We have more involved play dough recipes, but this is for when “it has been one of those days!”

We have tried a few quick play dough recipes, but this seems to be the most like play dough of any that we have tried.

Let’s quickly put this play dough together because there is a boredom emergency around here and I need to get things done!

What you will need:

  • 3 cups of flour
  • 1/4 cup salt
  • 1 cup of water
  • 4-6 drops of food coloring
  • Mixing bowl
  • Kitchen tools

How to make:

play dough step 1

  • Mix the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.
  • In a separate bowl, mix the 4-6 drops of food coloring with the water.

play dough blue water

  • Pour the water into the flour/salt mixture.

play dough mixing with spoon

  • Mix with a spoon initially until all of the water is soaked up.

play dough kneading in the bowl

  • Then begin kneading with your hands until it is blended.

play dough table kneading

  • Finish kneading on the table until a big soft ball forms.

finished play dough ball

  • You can add more water if the dough is sticky or more flour if it is too dry.
  • Store in a Ziploc bag or airtight container.  You do not need to refrigerate.
  • Then let the kids have hours of fun imaginative play.

play dough play time

  • We just pull out safe kitchen tools to let the kids pretend with – “ain’t no fancy tools ’round here!”

It takes about 5 minutes to make Emergency Play Dough and will give you potential hours to get things done :) Plus, it is super cheap!

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Alex & Cassie

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

Karyn A. October 7, 2010 at 8:39 pm

My boys still love to do this and they are teenagers!

We always add a packet of koolaid to the water instead of food coloring and that gives awesome smells to it as well.

Fun!

Reply

thriftycas October 7, 2010 at 8:54 pm

Yes – Kool Aid is a great trick! It really is a fun activity that covers all ages! LOL! Thanks for sharing!

Reply

mistie October 7, 2010 at 9:35 pm

so do we i add a little vegi oil to keep it from sticking

Reply

thriftycas October 7, 2010 at 10:05 pm

Not for this recipe. That is for the one you would cook – we will share that sometime!

Reply

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