Home » Kids Activities » Book Extension Activities » Sweet Smell of Christmas Play Dough Recipe
Today we are kicking off some fun activities inspired by a children's Christmas books with a Christmas Play Dough Recipe. Just a note, affiliate links are used in this post.
Every since joining the Virtual Book Club for Kids group we have had SO much fun with book extension ideas. Today's activity is a taste safe play dough recipe that was inspired by the kids' Christmas book,The Sweet Smell of Christmas.
My 4 year old preschooler was crazy nuts for the cute scratch-n-sniff pages. I could barely read the text of the page before she was excitedly scratching the scented sticker.
The same week that we first read the book, my kids suddenly got WAY into play dough. My two year old toddler seriously spent every waking hour playing with play dough. I had to make him put it away to eat meals and snacks. There were tears! And this kid LOVES to eat.
So we have had fun making play dough and, in fact, the other time I made some recently was for a Pete the Cat Play Dough Activity! Books and Play dough, I never would have thought they go so hand in hand!
So I made one big batch of this taste-safe no salt play dough from Cathy James of NurtureStore. Cathy literally wrote the book on play doughs so when I read her post about no salt play dough I was totally on board. My son once licked play dough and probably due to the saltiness he had no desire to continue to explore it with his mouth BUT making food-like play dough, with food scents, I thought it made sense to make this one taste safe.
Sweet Smell of Christmas Play Dough Recipes
So once I made the batch of plain play dough, I started pulling off hunks to make the various scented items from the book. Here are the basics for each one.
I will note that I did NOT make a pine scented play dough for this. I was not too sure if pine oil should be consumed and since the the rest are taste safe I didn't want to risk it. When my daughter noticed there was no pine play dough I just folded up a green pipe cleaner to sort of resemble a pine branch and we went on playing.
Apple Pie– Add a generous splash of apple cider and a generous dash of cinnamon and knead them in. A few drops of yellow food coloring is optional. I thought it was going to wet but it worked itself out after a bit of kneading. Feel free to add flour if yours does not. Set it out with a small ramekin, silicone cupcake liner or other small dish. if desired, flatten into a circle and use fingernails to add the shapes to the crust.
Candy Cane– Place a peppermint candy cane between two plates (or using a mortar and pestle) and crushed it to a fine powder. Add that a table spoon of water and stir it up, then add it to a hunk of play dough. Add red food coloring to some of it, knead it in, then roll out the white and red to tube shapes and twist them together.
Gingerbread– Add a dash of nutmeg, a dash of cinnamon and roughly a teaspoon of molasses to a hunk of play dough. Knead it in and set it out with cookie cutters.
Hot Cocoa-Add cocoa powder a tablespoon at a time. Knead it in and determine if you want more. Set it out with a play mug.
Christmas Orange- Add a few drops of orange extract, several drops of yellow food coloring and a few drops of red food coloring. Knead it together and if desired use a toothpick to add texture and poke the stem hole.
Then it is time to read and play! My daughter liked adding the other ingredients to the pie. she also loved making the gingerbread man over and over!
If you haven't already readThe Sweet Smell of Christmas, we really enjoyed it. My toddler was less impressed but my preschooler loved it!
What is your favorite themed play dough recipe? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!
If you like this book you should also check out our Sweet Smell of Christmas Cloud Dough and Scratch n Sniff Water Color Ornaments!
Story Book Advent
For new Christmas book activities every day, head over to Rainy Day Mum to check out the Story Book Advent! So many inspiring Christmas books and SO many fin activity ideas are being shared!! Happy Holidays!
Some fun essential oils could include: Wild Orange, Peppermint, Lemon, Rosemary, or Lavender essential oil. Combine all ingredients, except for essential oils, in a large saucepan and stir until combined. Once combined, put over medium heat. Using a spatula, continue to stir ingredients together until it forms a ball.
The trademarked scent, which Hasbro formally describes as a unique scent formed through the combination of a sweet, slightly musky, vanilla-like fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, and the natural smell of a salted, wheat-based dough, makes the PLAY-DOH brand one of the few active and certainly most famous ...
With this recipe the key is to really make sure you knead the dough well to avoid ending up with an end product that is too sticky or wet. The glycerine is a secret ingredient that makes the playdough extra stretchy and fun!
Easy seven ingredient play dough that requires no cooking. Store in an airtight container and the play dough will keep for several weeks. Mix the flour, salt, ground cinnamon, and vegetable oil together. Add the water and essential oil.
I choose to use coconut oil when making play dough as I find it less drying on my kids' sensitive skin (and my skin when making it!). It also makes the play dough smell great! If you don't have any coconut oil to hand though, vegetable oil or even baby oil can be a substitute.
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil. 1 cup water. 1/2 Tablespoon ground cinnamon , pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract OR caramel extract to each batch made. Add more for stronger scent if desired.
Homemade playdough recipes are a dime-a-dozen, but mine has a secret ingredient: essential oils. Not only does the addition of essential oils make your homemade playdough smell pretty, but there are many health benefits associated with essential oils as well.
Add a few drops of your choice of essential oil into the dough. The amount you use will depend on the strength of the oil you've chosen and your own preference. Start with about 6 drops and add more, if desired. Knead the oil into the dough to distribute.
In fact, baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and cream of tartar. It is slightly acidic, and because of this, it affects the gluten structure of the playdough to make it more elastic. Tartaric acid acts as an emulsifier, so it helps prevent any added oil from separating.
ALL Aroma Dough® products are 100% Gluten-Free made with organic, wheat-free rice flour, sodium, water, moisturizing oils, real, natural aromas (no perfumes or "fake "scents"). Utilizing our proprietary olfactory stimulating formula, it is perfect for all children, even the youngest ones.
1 cup water 1 cup flour ½ cup salt 1 tbs oil 1 tbs alum 2 tbs vanilla Food coloring (optional) Mix dry ingredients together. Add oil and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the consistency of mashed potatoes. Remove from heat and add vanilla and food coloring.
This is a simple dough that's fun to eat! It only requires two ingredients — a container of vanilla frosting and 2.75 cups of powdered sugar. Then mix the sugar into the frosting, half a cup at a time. Stop when it reaches a consistency that you enjoy.
Introduction: My name is Lakeisha Bayer VM, I am a brainy, kind, enchanting, healthy, lovely, clean, witty person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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