One of my FAVORITE activities for ages 2+ is playdough!
The best way to encourage creative play with playdough is with a theme. For the holidays, you can use a gingerbread theme to invite children to play with playdough in a new and exciting way!
Gingerbread playdough can be made following the same recipe as regular playdough, but with brown food coloring (I usually mix several drops of yellow and 1-2 drops of red together) and spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and/or allspice for the gingerbread theme). My favorite generic playdough recipe will be shared at the bottom of the page 🙂
Suggestions on what to add to your “gingerbread” playdough:
- buttons
- plastic gingerbread cookie cutters
- ribbon, yarn, string or pipe cleaners
- googly eyes
I like the flower-shaped plastic trays (I usually find these at Dollar Tree) for the materials because it can be easily organized for children to find what they are looking for. In addition to these materials you could also have rolling pins and other playdough tools available.
Why play with playdough?
- hand-eye coordination picking up small materials and placing them on the playdough
- fine motor strengthening picking up small materials, rolling, squishing & molding the dough, etc.
- sensory experience that is engaging yet calming for most children
- encourages creativity
- enhances language development/new vocabulary about a specific activity (making gingerbread)
How to make homemade playdough:
