Make Your Own Playdough: The BEST Recipe Ever!

No need to buy play dough ever! – it’s SOOO easy to make your own, you’ll get heaps, it’ll stay soft – and when it gets all hairy and eurghhh, simply chuck it out and start over. It’s a brilliant toddler activity from about 18 months right through to preschoolers. It’s also a great activity to bring out at a young toddler's birthday party to keep them all amused.

What You'll Need

• 2 cups plain flour 
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (not olive oil)
• 1/2 cup salt (the cheapest home brand stuff is fine – this helps to stop them eating it)
• 2 tablespoons cream of tartar (available from any supermarket)
• Up to 1.5 cups boiling water (adding in small amounts until it feels likes it’s going to turn into dough)
• A few drops of food colouring
• Few drops glycerine (this is optional)

Best tip – to make it smell much better, replace the vegetable oil with baby oil. Or simply add a few drops of peppermint or lemon flavouring.

What To Do

• Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl, no need to sift the flour (flour, salt, cream of tartar)
• Add the oil (vegetable or baby oil)
• Add your food colouring to the hot water then pour into the dry ingredients.
• Stir until it’s one big lump in the bowl.
• Leave the dough to cool for 5 minutes – then give it a jolly good knead until it’s not sticky anymore, you can add more flour if it’s still a little sticky. You can add the optional glycerine at this point.

Dahh, Dahhhhh!

To store: keep in cling wrap in the fridge for up to 3 weeks or until you can’t look at the hairy bits anymore!