A Christmas Invitation to Play...

Yesterday poor little Aisling kept asking me for some play dough which we had none of. I always make my own but I had run out and it was a cleaning day so I hadn't any time to whip some up, so once the kids were in bed I got cooking. First I made some Christmas themed dough. The basic recipe I always used on stove top is as follows:

1 cup of water
1 cup of flour
1/4 cup salt
1 Tbsp cream of tartar
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
Food colouring*
Peppermint essence or extract or oil {optional but will add a festive scent}

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over low-medium heat whilst continuously stirring. It will all come together and form a ball shape. Don't take it off too soon. Take it off the heat then and pop it on baking paper or a clean chopping board. Let it cool a little and knead it together.

*Food colouring- You can add this to the cooking process or if you are making different colours as I was you can separate your dough at the end and knead it in until fully coloured.

My favourite containers to store play dough in are the Kmart round food containers. They are really cheap and the perfect size! They also come in a smaller size for when you want to make different colours from the same batch.

This morning Aisling spotted our Christmas play dough up on the bench and began asking me for it but I made her wait until after we all had breakfast, were dressed and I had had my morning coffee coffee {mean mummy!}. I set it out on the table and Aisling couldn't wait to get her hands in, she began by squishing and rolling it out flat and cutting out shapes with our Christmas cutters.

Then I found a foam Christmas tree which she grabbed and spent ages decorating with play dough then pulling it off and re decorating. "Take a picture Mummy!' She said. 

And then while Archie was rummaging through the draws {It seems like Aisling only grew out of this and now it's Archie's turn, Oh man!} he pulled out the garlic press so I showed Aisling how to use it and she had lots of fun making Christmas spaghetti. This was great for strengthening her little hands and working on her fine motor skills. 

This kept her busy for ages and even after we packed up she kept trying the get back into it. Play dough is one of our favourite and most used toys. It's so cheap and easy to make with ingredients you most likely have in your pantry already and there are so many ways to customize it. 

Stay tuned for "A Christmas Invitation To Play Part Two.." where we use a super simple sensory item found in your pantry that I've always wanted to try.