Have you seen the new popular themed play dough sensory kits? They are SO cute! I love any time I find activities for kids that are non-electronic and encourage creative, quiet play. Since my kids do a cousin gift exchange for Christmas, we decided it would be so fun to make a couple of these homemade play dough kit for kids and give them to our little girl cousins!

Items I used in my DIY play dough kit

I love these GLIS containers from IKEA. I feel like they fit everything so perfectly! However, you can totally use anything you can find, even a zip lock bag. You can also use smaller jars or cups to make party favors or mini play dough kits!

Here are a few other options:

I LOVE these color gels, they made the prettiest dough for my kits!

I found the mini rolling pins, pipe cleaners, marbles, beads, unicorns, pom poms, jacks, mini jars and cookie cutters at Hobby Lobby. Anywhere you can find party favors like Walmart or the Dollar store you can use really so many different things!

Although it can add up in cost to purchase a lot of different pieces for these kits, I still found it was cheaper to make my own than to order them online. Today I thought it would be fun to share a few tips with you on how you can make your own, too!

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Themes for Homemade Play Dough Kit for Kids

The themes are really endless for these kits! The sky is the limit and whatever you can find that’s tiny and fits into your little kit box, it works great for the kids to play with. Here are a few of my very favorite themes that I think would work so well for little boys and girls!

Boys:

Construction

Under the Sea

Dinosaurs

Army/Soldier

Out in Space

Pirate

Race Cars

On the Farm

Bugs and critters

Girls:

Ballerina

Unicorn

Under the Sea

Mermaid

Fairy Garden

Ice Cream

Frozen/ Winter wonderland

Birthday

Barbie

The Play Dough in Homemade Play Dough Kit for Kids

The play dough for these kits is similar to my easy 5 minute play dough, but this recipe is no-cook and includes glycerin. Why does your play dough need glycerin, you ask? OH LET ME TELL YOU WHY. Glycerin in play dough makes it SO soft and pliable. It is so smooth for the kids to touch and aside from the sensory aspect, its so fun to build, form and play with!

This play dough will dry out if its not in an airtight container or bag, so I like to keep mine stored in zip lock gallon bags.

Homemade soft play dough with glycerin

Handmade Farmhouse

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/4 Cups All purpose flour
1/4 Cup Table salt
1 Tablespoon Cream of tartar
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 Teaspoon Glycerin
3/4 Cup Boiling water
Wilton Neon Food Coloring gels
Fine Glitter optional

Instructions

Add all of the ingredients except the boiling water and coloring to a medium bowl. Whisk well.
Boil water and add a few drops of coloring. Add to ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula. Mixture will seem soft and sticky. Mix all ingredients until very smooth and then allow to cool on the counter top. I have found that the play dough will be too sticky to knead until it has cooled.
The play dough should be super soft and pliable but not too sticky for a child to play with. Add a little extra flour as you knead, if needed.
Form your play dough into balls and roll the top in glitter (optional). I like to wrap my play dough in plastic wrap if I am giving the kit as a gift. Pull the wrap tightly to the back. It just looks pretty!
The kits are not airtight so the play dough needs to be stored in a zip lock bag. This play dough can last up to 6 months!