DIY Fun: Make Your Own Play-Doh

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Did you know September 16 was a cause for celebration?! Neither did we, until we recently discovered that it was National Play-Doh Day. Yep, that’s right people, Play-Doh has it’s own day. Every year September 16 is set aside to celebrate the wondrous invention that is Play-Doh! While we missed the actual day of celebration, we decided we should belatedly honor this special day that highlights one of our favorite childhood toys with some fun DIY Play-Doh ideas for you and your kiddos!

But, first, a brief history on Play-Doh. What exactly is it and where did it come from?

History of Play-Doh

Play-Doh was first invented in the 1930s and sold as wallpaper cleaner. When rolled, Play-Doh helped remove dirt from wallpaper without tearing or ripping it off the wall. In 1955, the dough compound was reworked into a children’s toy. The detergent was removed and colorful dyes were added.

Play-Doh is created from a mixture of water, salt, and flour. However, the official Hasbro website doesn’t disclose the exact contents, claiming the compound is proprietary information and therefore the exact ingredients cannot be disclosed.

Since its creation, there have been nearly 2 billion cans of Play-Doh sold around the world!

How To Make Your Own Play-Doh

Although Hasbro won’t disclose the exact contents of Play-Doh, creative parents have figured out how to make Play-Doh at home from their own ingredients. So, we’re sharing our favorite DIY Play-Doh recipe with all of you! Try this at home, and let us know: do your kiddos love Play-Doh as much as we all did as kids?!

And, shhhh, don’t tell the kiddos but playing with Play-Doh is more than just playing, it helps stimulate motor skills, brain development, and creativity. Click here to read about the many benefits of playing with Play-Doh.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
• 1.5 cups boiling water
• food dye or coloring

Directions

• 

  Mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar and oil in a large mixing bowl

• Boil 1.5 cups of water. When at a boil, add food dye to water.
• Combine flour, salt, cream of tarter, oil and boiled water.
• Stir continuously until it becomes a sticky, doughy mixture.
• Once mixture is thoroughly stirred, take out of bowl. Knead the dough until all stickiness is gone.

{Recipe courtesy The Imagination Tree}

We hope you and your kids love making your own DIY Play-Doh in a belated celebration of National Play-Doh day!

We’d love to see photos or hear comments on how your DIY Play-Doh turned out. If you have tips and ideas for creating the perfect at-home Play-Doh, let us know! We’d love to hear from you and share your thoughts with our Hapari community.

Interested in more posts like this? Check out these posts: House Plants and Succulents, Unique Home Accessories, Summer Reading List.