Microwave Play Dough

I LOVE play dough – and what better toddler Christmas craft activity than Christmas colored glitter play dough!

There are so many things that you can do with it, it’s heaps of fun, it’s non-toxic (thankfully, as kids and dogs have tried it in our house) and it is really really quick and easy to make. Cheap too! I admit that I used to buy the proper Play Dough because it was easier (so I thought) and the thought of turning my best pans blue and green with food coloring didn’t really appeal to me. But last week I discovered Microwave Play Dough – it’s great!

I’m not an amazing cook and baking is the area where I really fall down, but this is EASY! So easy I let my 2 year old make the play dough (with supervision of course – otherwise my whole house would be covered in flour and oil) which meant that I got two toddler activities for the price of one. Even with a 2 year old making it, it still took less than 5 minutes (add a few extra minutes if you plan on making more than one color).

For the amount that I made (about 1/2 a kilogram) the ingredients would have cost me less than $2 (if you had to buy everything it would be around the $7 mark, but that would make you a mountain of the stuff!). We added glitter (optional) for a bit of extra Christmas sparkle.

Tip: Make sure that adding the glitter is an adult only job – it’s a nightmare to clean up if you spill it! You’ll still be finding bits next Christmas!

Microwave Play Dough

Ingredients 

• 2 cups of plain flour
• 2 cups of water
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 1 tablespoon of cream of tartar
• 1 cup of salt
• A few drops of food coloring (add more for an intense color, less for a more pastel color)
• glitter (optional)

Method

1. Mix all of the ingredients together with a wooden spoon (you can use a mixer if you like, but if you mix it well a spoon is fine).
2. Place in a microwave safe container
3. Microwave in 30 second intervals (stirring each time) until the mix if a dough consistency. (takes about 4 minutes depending on your microwave)
4. If the dough looks a little dry add a dash of oil and kneed the dough.
5. Store in an airtight container or snap lock bag in the fridge.

To keep with the Christmas tradition, buy some Christmas cookie cutters for your toddler to play with.